"Used Tea Bag" for Seed Germination - Live Experiment

[Frogster]

if i had a seed for every tea bag i use,i could put mephisto out of business
no special treatment for the teabag other than letting it cool down first ?
i wonder if i put some loose tea in a.....thinking ....loading....updating....
View attachment 920725
a pic will have to do the names not coming to me,one of these would it be like an expanding plug ?

I have one of those @archie gemmill , so I just did a quick test..... didn't hold together that well, broke as soon as it was touched....Agreed that was just one go at it and I may try a different moisture content, but I think the diameter is a little small overall.

Good shout tho mate... and yes, just let the Tea leaves cool down.

Gonna do the toilet roll experiment next...

 

[MickJ]

View attachment 920567

Can you germinate cannabis seeds in used teabags ?

A gardening show that I saw somewhere, a few years back - gave me the idea for this experiment, and prompted for the reasons below.

Tea leaves contain all the big three nutrients, N-P-K, as well as some trace minerals, in fact - tea leaves contain about 4.4% nitrogen, 0.24% phosphorus and 0.25% potassium.

There is significantly more nitrogen in tea leaves than in most liquid pot plant fertilisers. Tea leaves contain tannins, which are acidic - cannabis likes acidic.

Tea leaves also contain other compounds that are reputed to be beneficial in breaking down the husk on a seed in germination and there are useful plant nutrients in there too.

So, in theory, that humble and discarded old Tea Bag should make a great seedling food

Tea Leaves make a nice soft rooting medium, and because they have been dunked in boiling water, they’re are almost sterile.

All in all, this sounds a perfect environment to germinate a cannabis seed.

So.... I think the question needs to be asked....
"Are used Tea bags a good place to germinate cannabis seeds ?".

But, try as I might.... I could not find any documented cannabis/teabag/germination related research.

This may be a "first of it's kind" experiment.... It could even be a previously unknown, critical and lacking area of research.
Who knows? -

I guess that's enough reason for me to test it out...... So, my "fellow growers", that is what I am going to do....

Oh... and if it works and starts to get used.... It should be called
"The Frogster Germination Method"


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Equipment used In this Experiment
2 x Used tea bags (Yorkshires finest)
A paper towel
A small plastic tray & lid (old Chinese takeaway container)
Tap Water
2 x "AK47".Autos from Femaleseeds

Method - How I did it
(Instructions below, if you want to replicate the experiment)

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1) Fold the paper towel, put it in the tray and wet it.
View attachment 920348

2) Soak the used tea bags in water, drain a little and place on the paper towel.
View attachment 920349

3) Make a hole in each bag and poke in a seed.
View attachment 920350

4) Cover the seed with some of the tea grains and close the opening over the seed.
View attachment 920353

5) Add water to keep the paper towel wet. It will keep the tea bags moist. This is VERY IMPORTANT.

6) Put the lid loosely on the tray, and put the tray in a warm place, out of the sun.
View attachment 920354

7) Keep checking the paper towel remains damp !

8) When the seeds germinate and the seedlings pop their heads, very gently plant them (still in their tea bags) into their final pots.

The roots will easily penetrate the teabag and the paper tea bag will eventually breakdown.

So, now I guess you want to know if it works ?

You need to keep watching this space.... I only planted the seeds this evening.... I will update.



@CannaZone Tier 1 @CannaZone Tier 2 @CannaZone Tier 3​

Brilliant, maybe grow in a teapot?[emoji848]

Sent from my comfy chair.
[emoji16][emoji41] [emoji43][emoji848]

 

[Frogster]

And so..... onto the Tea Bag/leaf stuffed Toilet Roll idea...

Step 1)
Another "Chinese Takeaway Carton" with a wet paper towel in the bottom.

Step 2)
Place a used tea bag in the bottom of a empty toilet roll to give a firmer base, then fill the rest of the toilet roll with the used tea bag leaves.

Step 3)
After filling the remainder of the toilet roll with tea leaves, turn over and place on the wet towel in the tray (1 am experimenting with a long tube and a short tube).
I also placed some small elastic bands around the tubes to hold integrity when they become damp.
Make a shallow hole in the tea leaves and place a seed in the hole and cover it.
Water till moist and put away in a warm dark place to germinate.

As before, check they don't dry out too much...

That's that, another two AK seeds planted. I have had so many cups of Tea today, I am constantly peeing....The things I do for AFN !

 

[MickJ]

And so..... onto the Tea Bag/leaf stuffed Toilet Roll idea...

Step 1)
Another "Chinese Takeaway Carton" with a wet paper towel in the bottom.
View attachment 920761

Step 2)
Place a used tea bag in the bottom of a empty toilet roll to give a firmer base, then fill the rest of the toilet roll with the used tea bag leaves.
View attachment 920768

Step 3)
After filling the remainder of the toilet roll with tea leaves, turn over and place on the wet towel in the tray (1 am experimenting with a long tube and a short tube).
I also placed some small elastic bands around the tubes to hold integrity when they become damp.
Make a shallow hole in the tea leaves and place a seed in the hole and cover it.
Water till moist and put away in a warm dark place to germinate.
View attachment 920773

As before, check they don't dry out too much...

That's that, another two AK seeds planted. I have had so many cups of Tea today, I am constantly peeing....The things I do for AFN !

The band's around the tubes is a good idea. I would have done the same but after they got soggy and fell apart.
Instead of drinking shit loads of tea, get @archie gemmill to send you his dregs. He has enough for the 1,000 seed grow!

Sent from my comfy chair.
[emoji16][emoji41] [emoji43][emoji848]

 

[Dichoti]

Any updates yet?

 

[Free Flow]

This is very interesting for sure

 

[AutoWonders]

Cool experiments. Can't believe that I haven't thought of using a tea bag previously. I wonder if caffeine or non caffeine makes a difference? Hey, is that a PG Tips tea bag by chance? Lots o' luck.

 

[MickJ]

Does this mean it failed? I hope not, the hopes and dreams of tea drinking growers iOS riding on this! [emoji41]

Sent from my comfy chair.
[emoji16][emoji41] [emoji43][emoji848]

 

[Dichoti]

I'm sitting here waiting for an update haha

 

[Frogster]

OK..... Update time.....

I planted two seeds in Tea Bags & 2 seeds in toilet rolls filled with lose leaves from the tea bags.

The two teabag plantings at this time have not sprouted, I think the depth is insufficient for them.

Out of the two toilet rolls filled with lose leaves from the tea bags, 1 has sprouted, 1 has yet to pop.

The one that germinated looks OK, but will need to be grown out to examine it more.

So it could be the other seed was a dud, or something else.... either way it has proved it is possible to use "Used Tea Leaves" as a germinating medium, but more research needs to be done.

The trouble is... I need 2 seeds for my tent, so I am going to wet 1 more seed (following my normal germination method of shot glass & water) and try and grow the two out together side by side.