[Longshanks]

I drink a lot of tea (loose rather than tea bags) and wondered whether the leaves make a good fertiliser. The internet says leaves can be sprinkled around plants, but has anybody actually tried it?  On a similar note, I was thinking of raiding my local Costa for spent coffee grounds. Is it worth it?

[Kleftiwallah]

As I was just going to mention that tea bags don't rot down but as you're a 'loose leafer' this doesn't matter.  There seems to be quite a following for coffee grounds on the garden, you may have been beaten to the counter!

Cheers,  Tony.

[mrs bouquet]

I use both and find them to be good.  If you can get the coffee, the bonus is a slight smell of it sometimes.  Good Luck,  Mrs Bouquet.  Ps:    Try Nero's for coffee grouts, sometimes they have it ready bagged to go.

[mumofstig]

If you can get them in bulk, coffee grounds make a fantastic addition to the compost bin, they seem to speed up the rotting process.

[Yorkie]

Something at the back of my mind is suggesting that tea leaves might be slightly acidic.  Unlikely to affect most veg or other plants, but I'd probably avoid using them around any plants that prefer alkaline conditions

[juvenal]

My local Waitrose in Poole keeps a bin of used coffee grounds for customers to help themselves. All my 'home' grounds go on the compost heap.

[AnneB]

We drink loose leaf tea here too but just add it to our kitchen waste for composting rather than applying to plants direct.  We get through a surprising quanity!