As the warmer weather is now starting to break through, gardens are slowly starting to come back to life after the long winter period.

Now that spring is here there are plenty of tasks to be getting on with in the garden to welcome the new season and lawn care is one of the most important. Lawns will start to grow faster in the sunnier weather which means it requires a lot more upkeep to ensure it stays looking green and healthy. Gardening experts recommend lightly mowing your lawn every couple of weeks in spring, but to keep the blades fairly long to allow the grass to lock in moisture.

Alongside mowing, lawns require fertilising to promote strong and healthy growth. While you can turn to store-bought garden fertilisers for this, there is a much cheaper, natural alternative you can use that will only set you back around 45p.

Experts suggest sprinkling used tea leaves on your lawn to help promote strong and healthy growth. Tea leaves act as an effective natural fertiliser as they contain essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are all vital for healthy plant growth - including grass.

Not only that, they can also help to improve the structure of your soil and water retention, creating better growing conditions for your grass which will help to improve its overall appearance.

Lawn Love explains: “Compost tea isn’t a warm drink to savour by the crackling fire. But your lawn (and your garden plants) would love to glug some down. According to the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, applying compost tea to the lawn helps spread beneficial microbes onto soil and plants. 

“Compost tea also helps protect your turf from disease. The organisms in compost tea will consume available food sources and help outcompete disease organisms. The homemade fertiliser increases soil water retention, too.”

If you have patches of brown on your lawn that need repairing, experts suggest covering this patch with used tea leaves and planting the grass seed within this. The nutrients from the tea will seep into the soil so when your grass grows back it will be healthier and greener.

As an added bonus, tea bags can also inhibit the growth of weeds, particularly if steeped in black tea, so if you have any pesky weeds in your lawn, this could be a great natural solution to banishing them.

You can buy a pack of 40 tea bags from Asda for just 45p, whereas garden lawn fertilisers can cost around £10, so it’ll save you a decent amount of money if you try this option instead.