Making sure your plants can grow to their full potential requires several crucial steps and one of the most important is providing good drainage. But how can you allow for drainage as well as stopping the compost from leaking out? This one gardening expert has the answer.
If you're an avid gardener you'll no doubt know how to repot your plants and have struggled with the matter of providing sufficient drainage when adding compost to a pot. Too much drainage can lead to loss of compost when watering your plants but not enough can result in them becoming waterlogged.
Online gardening expert Simon Akeroyd, @SimonAkeroyd on YouTube, has revealed the solution for this issue by making use of teabags in your garden.
Expert's teabag drainage trick for potted plants
There are several sustainable garden ideas that you can easily adopt for your space and this teabag trick is our new favourite. Not only does it benefit plants, but it also solves a frustrating issue most gardeners run into every potting season.
"Pots must have drainage holes but if you don’t cover holes over with something permeable, all the compost washes out when you water the plants," says Simon.
The last thing you want to see is your homemade compost that took months to make washing into the ground every time you water your garden plants. But luckily Simon has the solution and it's ideal for tea lovers.
"To avoid compost washing out of the holes save your teabags and place them over the drainage holes. Teabags will allow the water to drain away but prevent compost from washing out," he says.
Simon shows how he flattens out the used teabags and covers the entirety of the bottom of the pots, making sure each drainage hole has a teabag placed on it.
You can then cover the teabags with compost as you usually would and plant your March seeds and bulbs ready for their summer blooming.
It's not just drainage, the teabags are useful for. Simon also points out that teabags help retain moisture which prevents your compost from drying out too quickly which is ideal for the upcoming warmer weather.
Similar to how you can use coffee grounds in your soil to aerate it, the teabags can also provide your plants with some extra natural nutrients. However, unlike coffee grounds, teabags can help both acidic and alkaline-loving plant species.
If you know your soil type there are various ways you can use natural waste like teabags to enhance it and keep your plants thriving without spending a penny.
Shopping potting essentials
RRP: £15.95 | This hand trowel does it all, from cutting through root balls to filling pots with soil. There's even a twine-cutting notch that doubles up as a bottle opener, perfect for a mid-gardening beer.
RRP: £17.49 | Why not repot your plant in style with these stunning padded gardening gloves? They have mesh between the fingers to regulate the temperature as well as ultra-soft fell palms that won't stiffen when they dry. Just perfect!
RRP: £12.99 | This popular mix from Miracle-Gro can be used to plant flowers and seedlings in containers. It includes coir, which is great for absorbing water and keeping plants hydrated.
If you're looking for other ways to reuse your household waste in your garden why not try out eggshells on your soil to keep pesky slugs and snails away?
