Composting Chai
With the echoes of Earth Day still ringing through eager ears, we thought we’d identify a step in the right direction in a fun, DIY setting – composting tea leaves.
Tea leaves are an efficient source of organic material for gardens and compost pits, as well as soil enrichment. As a nitrogen-rich component of compost, it acts as a viable counterbalance to carbon-heavy substances in the soil.
If you’re a tea bag consumer, you can compost the bag too, considering how most tea bags these days are mostly biodegradable. However, some tea bags are made of polypropylene and feel slick to the touch. If the tea bag doesn’t disintegrate, remove it from the compost pit. Simply spreading tea leaves around flower, fruit and vegetable plants works well too, and provides mulch for the plant as it dries while also being nutrient rich.
Blended teas however, may yield mixed results when composted in your garden. Different spices have different properties, some which enhance the quality of the soil, some neutral and some may be ever-so-slightly detrimental. You can look up those particulars depending on what tea you’re planning to compost.
All said and done, remember to cycle organic substances like tea, to not add to the carbon footprint and ever-piling garbage heaps that end up in a pile in some plot of land where these nutrient rich, soil enhancing compounds find no use to anybody. The first step towards sustainability begins at home.
