Hydrangeas and tomato plants can both benefit greatly when given fertiliser, but tomato plants certainly require more nutrition.
Hydrangeas can still grow well without fertiliser, it’s just gardeners may see a lack of blooms from their plants.
When it comes to tomato plants they are hungry crops that nutrient-rich potting soil is not usually enough to sustain them. Regular fertilisation ensures that they remain healthy and produce a high yield.
While there are so many hydrangea and tomato-specific fertilisers in shops, gardeners can also make their own.
Having found one that proves effective for both these plants, gardening enthusiast Grace Alexander took to the Gardening UK Facebook page to share what she uses.
Posting a picture of the concoction, she said: “Good Morning all. This is my homemade fertiliser (used tea leaves and crushed eggshells).
“It works amazingly on my hydrangeas and tomato plants. I swear they have better flowers and fruit because of it. It’s ready to be spread later in the garden.”
Eggshells are a wonderful way to add slow-release calcium to your hydrangeas and tomatoes and can reduce blossom end rot for the fruit.
Used tea bags have a similar effect as coffee grounds – they are a great fertiliser and mulch around your tomatoes and hydrangeas.
Plant fertilisers typically contain, among other ingredients, nitrogen, which encourages healthy leaf growth.
Tea leaves also contain nitrogen, much more than you’ll find in plant fertilisers. There is also potassium and phosphorus in tea.
Make sure to remove the tea grounds from the bags, and dry them out before using them on the plants.
However, some gardeners like to use paper (compostable) tea bags, as a mulch or drainage layer.
Grace added that she even puts potato peels in it sometimes and that also works.