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Tea Leaves for ballast do they ROT?


Andrew P
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Hi all, I am currently drying out the contents of some used Tea Bags and they dry a wonderful brown colour, BUT my Question is this, Would they rot, go mouldy, or anything else NASTY over a period of time.

 

I had intended to use this as ballast on my new Scottish N Gauge project Glenfinick but I need some answers first please.

 

Andy

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If you add milk to your tea with the tea bag still in the cup... give the bag a rinse in cold water first before storing.

 

I compost all mine at the moment (they 'test' neutral by the way) but if all goes well, Andrew, let us know and I'll divert a few bags towards the oven!

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Back in the early 1970's, when I was a new father and money was tight I ballasted my, then, OO layout with tea bag contents. Just emptied a quantity of used tea leaves onto the grill pan gave them 5 mins under a low grill, stirring occasionally (this is begining to sound like Delia Smith), when dry emptied them into a margarine container. No mould- nothing. Glued into place with watered down PVA: note they do shrink slightly, so be generous when ballasting. 

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I have used the contents of Tea Bags as undergrowth leaf litter, but I don't use used ones I just arf-inch a few new ones out of swmbo's jar.

 

Not had any problems with mould, but then they are stuck down and sealed from the air by dilute pva.

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We (that is myself and my wife) collected a quantity of used tea leaves and then dried them out in the Aga for a couple of days.  When cool they were stored in air tight jars.  Some time later I mixed them with my favourite adhesive - wall paper paste and used them as a scenic material - a bit like a brown 'paper mache'.  They dried with some small shrinkage cracks.  However two years on in a dry and partially heated environment there has been no mould, no deterioration and the whole area is as solid as the week it was first laid.  I don't think that it much looks like ballast!

 

http://flic.kr/p/a9NMry

 

Regards

 

Ray

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I've only just come across this thread.

 

I've no experience of using tea leaves as ballast but I recently came across some trees made by Dad in the late 1950s using tea leaves to represent both foliage and ivy covering a dead tree.  When I removed them from the box in my loft a few months ago (and binned them as useless compared to modern models) they showed no sign of mould.   I'm not sure what he treated them with to preserve them - probably glue size in those days.

 

David

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  • 6 years later...
On 12/02/2013 at 14:02, Andrew P said:

Hi all, I am currently drying out the contents of some used Tea Bags and they dry a wonderful brown colour, BUT my Question is this, Would they rot, go mouldy, or anything else NASTY over a period of time.

 

I had intended to use this as ballast on my new Scottish N Gauge project Glenfinick but I need some answers first please.

 

Andy

Hi Andy

This is going back six years so if you did use dry teabag tea, you should know by now :rolleyes: Any thoughts? 

I'm not looking at it as ballast but as soil for my latest French H0m effort for which the colour looks very suitable

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2 minutes ago, Pacific231G said:

Hi Andy

This is going back six years so if you did use dry teabag tea, you should know by now :rolleyes: Any thoughts? 

I'm not looking at it as ballast but as soil for my latest French H0m effort for which the colour looks very suitable

Cor blimey, I've been asleep since then, haha:) I think from memory I used a fine Woodlands Scenics for the Ballast in the  end, but I sold the Layout at the first Show, and it's now in the hands of a member of The Gresley Club and will be shown next weekend at their Open Weekend.

Here's some pics of it finished.

998035655_GlenfinickJune2013020.JPG.49bcf0c23ffffd2682d4552955a5f45b.JPG

 

268795851_GlenfinickJune2013142.JPG.b4efef7ffc3bdec48f75f565fae476d6.JPG

 

2141510415_GlenfinickJune2013015.JPG.67ce16d8bbd009e3ff9a7b5b4006bd9e.JPG

 

1580709280_GlenfinickJune2013010.JPG.8647f4f7181576a106baea815ced8799.JPG

 

 

 

 

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