Coffee….magical effect of plants
What to do with coffee grounds? Put coffee grounds in the garden? Can adding morning coffee grounds to your garden soil help or hurt you?
Have you noticed used coffee bags in your favorite coffee shop (Starbucks has them)? Have you tried putting coffee grounds in the compost? Why not use coffee grounds as fertilizer…is that a good idea?
ground coffee in the garden
Don’t even think about throwing away those used java grounds! They’re just as valuable as the coffee you brewed from them. Below are 7 ways to use coffee grounds in the garden.
#1 – Ground Coffee as Mulch
Coffee grounds make an excellent ground mulch, especially for acid-loving plants.
What plants like coffee grounds? Plants like blueberries, huckleberries, hollies, azaleas, rhododendrons, Juneberries, gardenia scents, flowering camellias, trilliums, and begonias.
It’s a little ironic, but the dark brown leftovers from your morning coffee will turn your hydrangea flowers a vibrant blue!
Evergreen trees also like acidic soils, as do dogwoods, magnolias, willow oaks and beeches.
Garden vegetables that prefer slightly acidic soil include peppers (all types), radishes, sweet potatoes, eggplants, tomato plants, parsley, rhubarb, and potatoes (although Idaho soils are mostly alkaline).
When mulching with coffee, spread a layer about a half inch thick, otherwise your soils will mold too easily and could make your soil too acidic.
#2 – Add Used Coffee Beans to Plants and Your Compost Pile
Adding and mixing old coffee grounds into the soil is a great way to build soil structure. A great place to start is by adding coffee grounds and grass clippings to the compost pile.
Why are coffee grounds good for plants? Coffee is a good source of nitrogen (contains 1.5% by weight) and you can include it in the plant nutrition through composted coffee grounds.
Adding coffee grounds to the compost (also coffee filters) adds nitrogen fertilizer to the compost.
However, it’s also important to keep in mind the acidity of coffee grounds. Balance this with yard trimmings, kitchen scraps, and a good source of calcium carbonate, such as wood ashes or lime, to balance the pH and add phosphorus.
Keep in mind that the fungus growing on coffee tends to consume a lot of nitrogen. Again, it’s a good idea to have a good mix of organic matter and other materials in your compost pile or compost heap.
The video below shows how much coffee you can use in the garden.
#3 – Used herbal coffee grounds provide a ring of protection
Are slugs and snails attacking your strawberries? Are snails munching on your lettuce in the vegetable garden? Are ants eating your tomatoes?
Besides using coffee grounds for soil amendment, you can also use coffee grounds to protect plants, like a moat protects a castle.
Place a protective ring of used coffee grounds around these vulnerable plants. Or try adding diatomaceous earth to combat pests.
Slugs and snails, worms and other common garden pests don’t like the smell, acidity or texture of coffee grounds and are repelled by them. Better yet, using this simple, natural solution can help you avoid using toxic pesticides around your food!
#4 – Fertilizer Coffee – Free, Effective, Easy to Make Liquid Fertilizer
Coffee beans are loaded with nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, copper and magnesium.
Roses are one of the plants that love coffee grounds! Backyard florists like to use coffee grounds for roses, as the grounds still contain a high concentration of these nutrients.
It is very easy to use coffee grounds as an organic fertilizer by making an effective liquid food. Put about a half pound of ground coffee in a five-gallon bucket, fill it with water and mix.
Let it sit for a few days to allow the nutrients from the coffee to seep into the water. The resulting brew is your liquid fertilizer. This is a great alternative to storing purchased chemical fertilizers that contain harmful chemicals such as petrochemicals, arsenic, and cadmium.
Of course, unlike store-bought liquid fertilizers, your homemade liquid fertilizer is free!
#5 – Use Coffee in the Garden to Stain Garden Benches
After creating a beautiful organic edible garden, the last thing you need is a varnished or painted garden bench,
#5 – Use Coffee in the Garden to Stain Garden Benches
After creating a beautiful edible organic garden, the last thing you need is a varnished or painted garden bench that will leach toxic chemicals into your soil every time it rains or you water your garden!
A simple solution is to use natural coffee grounds to stain your garden benches. Use ground coffee to achieve a beautiful sepia color that won’t contaminate your garden.
#6 – Grow Your Own Oyster Mushrooms
Used coffee grounds make an excellent substrate for these gastronomic delights!
Oyster mushrooms are the easiest mushrooms to grow. However, most people grow them on pasteurized straw.
However, if you use coffee grounds to promote plant growth, when you brew your coffee you are automatically pasteurizing your mushroom substrate!
All you need is a container with soil to put your coffee grounds in and some mushrooms to get you started.
#7 – What can coffee be used for? – Keep neighboring cats away
Humans and cats don’t always think alike. While we relish the smell of freshly ground coffee beans and freshly brewed coffee, cats are repelled by the same coffee aroma!
So, if you have neighborhood kitties (or your own cats) digging up your garden, try spreading coffee grounds in the soil or around the edge of your garden!
Last advice
If you don’t drink coffee at home, or you don’t drink enough coffee to provide the soil and plants for your garden, many coffee shops like Starbucks will give away their land for free!
You can also ask any coffee shop or restaurant you frequent to save your ground coffee for you and they will probably oblige. You can thank them later by bringing them some beautiful fresh flowers or fresh vegetables from the garden.