Two months ago, Felix Laughlin, President of the National Bonsai Foundation, requested tips for how to fill a tea bag with fertilizer quickly. The process does seem to take a while, but I’ve found I can fill about 9 bags per minute with the following approach.
The most important thing is setting up everything within easy reach – tea bags (flap side up), fertilizer and scoop. From there there’s not too much to it.
The basic setup – the fertilizer here is E.B. Stone’s Starter Food, 4-6-2
I start by picking up a bag by the flap.
Picking up the bag
Gently folding the bag opens it.
Open bag
Next the fertilizer goes in.
Filling the bag about 2/3 – 3/4 full
Under filling the bag can work when only a little is needed; over-filling the bag makes it difficult to close the flap.
Tea bag filled with fertilizer
I close the bag by tucking my thumbs into the flap.
Starting with the thumbs
Next I pinch the top of the flap with my index fingers.
Pinching the flap
From there I can quickly close the bag.
Bag ready for use
I usually keep a second container nearby so I don’t have to move around much between bags.
One down, many to go.
Here’s the process in real-life action.
Hope this helps!
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Rusty says
Jonas, here is the apparatus I built https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDeNe1ityU8. it is not the fastest method, but it does cut down on dust.
Rusty
Jonas Dupuich says
That’s awesome Rusty – thanks for sharing!
Felix Laughlin says
Jonas, many thanks for your helpful post. I also like Rusty’s apparatus, and need a helper like his daughter!
Felix
Jim Hughes says
Why not just sprinkle the fertilizer equally throughout the pot? No ugly tea bags to look at…..equal distribution of nutrients…..less effort….less cost….
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Jim – good question. I sometimes use tea bags and sometimes don’t. What’s nice about using them is that it’s easy to see how much fertilizer a tree is getting at any point in time, it’s easy to gauge when the fertilizer’s spent, it’s easy to remove the fertilizer (say, at decandling time or in fall), and the fertilizer doesn’t impede the drainage when it’s contained in a bag.
On the other hand, if there is very good drainage and the soil is filled to the top of the pot, tea bags can prevent water from getting to the soil beneath the bag. This isn’t a problem when the water can pool a bit before soaking in, but I have noticed dry spots under bags in some cases. I’ve also seen fertilizer outside of bags form a crust through which water can have trouble penetrating. For these reasons I really like liquid fertilizers, though applying them can be time-consuming without an automatic system and the approach is susceptible to uneven application over time when one is busy, out of town, or forgets.
Thanks again for the note!
Andrew says
Hi Jonas, could you make a post about the recipe that you fill your bags with! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful information!
Andrew
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Andrew – this year I’m using either straight cottonseed meal or the E.B. Stone Starter Food in the bags. I’m using at least 1 bag of the starter food in each pot and the rest of the bags are cottonseed meal. I supplement the dry food by watering with fish emulsion every 1-2 weeks, and sometimes add chelated iron to the fish emulsion.
Great job with the Bonsai Herald btw – I really appreciate it!
africanbirding says
Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.
Thomdec says
I just made 100 of these. It takes a little time, but it is well worth it!
Lyons Bonsai says
Reblogged this on Lyons Bonsai.
Dirk says
Hi Jonas, I’d like to add that we also put some spagnum moss in the teabags, so the fertilizer stays damp. I’ve been told this works even better.
Patrik DeCicco says
Hi Jonas,
Patrik from Boulder Colorado here. When Matt Reel was here earlier this year, he worked on an Engelmann I have and it turned out great. I really like him and his work. He mentioned using a locally sourced rose feed as a good organic fertilizer. I did have some of the issues you mentioned (clumping, crusting, etc) in a response to an above comment, so I looked into getting some tea bags. Obviously, there are an overwhelming amount of options. Is there a particular brand that is proven to be better for this application. Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance and great blog.
Patrik
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Patrick – thanks for the note! Low price is typically the top criteria for tea bags. The most important thing is for water to easily flow through the bag – beyond that, whatever is cheap and easy to fill should do the job.
Rick Trumm says
Jonas, I noticed this fertilizer has manure and guano. Boon said these ingredients should not be used because it could cause burning. Have you had any problems with this? Rick
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Rick – good question, I generally avoid these too. I started by using only a little bit and have so far found no bad effects from using it. I’m also not using it straight and am now adding a bit of it to a cottonseed meal mix as water doesn’t easily drain through pure starter fertilizer. Will keep tweaking the approach to see what works best.