Coffee Grounds and You! (and your plants)

Deadly Sushi

Formerly The Giant Mojito
Coffee grounds and gardening might not seem like a match made in heaven but there’s some evidence to show that we should be using this very abundant waste product in our gardening efforts.

And most of us have lots of this product so here’s how to work both ends against the middle and use this product.

The first thing to be aware of is there’s a lot of misinformation and unproven data out there about coffee grounds and gardening.


Coffee Grounds & Slugs

The research on slugs and caffeine shows that concentrations of caffeine as low as .01 % reduces feeding by slugs (they avoid caffeine treated leaves) but that it doesn’t kill them at that rate.

A 1% solution can be expected to kill 60% of slugs while a 2% caffeine solution will knock out 95% of all slugs. This 2% solution is more effective than the chemical normally used in slug control. (metaldehyde)

The 2% solution also damaged some foliage on the tropical plants being used to feed the slugs. This calls into caution the use of caffeine on more tender leaved plants.

So where does this leave you with your morning coffee grounds and gardening?

Fresh coffee contains approximately .05% caffeine. This means that coffee grounds and fresh coffee will not kill slugs but may act as a mild deterrent. Slugs will go elsewhere to eat if given the choice.


Coffee Grounds And Garden

Absolutely!

Used coffee grounds make an excellent mulch. Note that they are acidic with a pH of between 3.0 and 5.0 making them superb for mulching rhododendrons, azalea and other acid loving plants.

They can be used thinly all over the regular garden as organic matter so you can simply toss your used coffee grounds onto the garden if you like. Unless you’re adding inches of this stuff (in commercial quantities) to the garden, you’re not going to see a difference in your soil pH.

If you do add a large quantity, you may want to dig them into the garden as there are reports that they will “go bad” and develop a fungal layer if left exposed to the air.


Coffee Grounds & Worms

Coffee grounds are beloved by worms. I have a worm bin and you can almost hear the cheer when I toss in the morning’s makings of used coffee grounds. So if you have a vermiculture setup, use old coffee grounds as a food source. If not, simply toss them onto the garden and the worms will find them.

I note that I take my grounds to the office each day after making (and drinking) the coffee. This seems to stop any negative odors or fruit fly problems with saving up the coffee grounds for a week. I’d do the same in the garden. Toss them out daily into the garden or into the compost bin.

And they should go into your regular compost bin because they compost very well in the compost bin. They have a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 20:1, roughly the same as grass clippings. After making the morning wakeup, coffee grounds contain up to 2% nitrogen. So for composting purposes, consider coffee grounds "green" material similar to grass clippings.

And one of the interesting things about composting coffee grounds is that the microbes that do the composting will turn the coffee from acidic to a neutral pH. So coffee does not make compost acidic.

So that’s all the real news about coffee grounds and gardening.

http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/coffee-grounds-and-gardening.html
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
i use to sell bait years ago. in all my compost piles, i use to put lots of coffee grounds in...the nightcrawlers loved them...
 

GoNativegal

New member
I dump the grounds into my outdoor pots and also the garden usually every morning. It mixes up real well with potting soil - one less thing going into the landfill.
 

lifesaver91958

Queen of the Jungle
Gold Site Supporter
My late grandfather used to have an old fashioned bath tub filled with dirt, in the shed where he housed and raised night crawlers for fishing... that is where he dumped his used coffer grounds... To feed the worms!
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
what keeps ants away? for some reason i am over run with tiny ants this year.
 

chowhound

New member
Peppermint is it?
There's an informercial on the tube for a book that gives away some of it's "secrets". I seem to remember peppermint oil put around the house or something like that.
But if I had ants in my house I'd whip out the terra stuff in my junk drawer (lol)
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Peppermint is it?
There's an informercial on the tube for a book that gives away some of it's "secrets". I seem to remember peppermint oil put around the house or something like that.
But if I had ants in my house I'd whip out the terra stuff in my junk drawer (lol)
terra stuff?
 

chowhound

New member
I don't remember what it's called, but it has the word terra in it. You put a few drops on a small piece of cardboard and toss it somewhere out of the way. The ants find it, eat it, take it back to their colony and no more ants.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
I don't remember what it's called, but it has the word terra in it. You put a few drops on a small piece of cardboard and toss it somewhere out of the way. The ants find it, eat it, take it back to their colony and no more ants.
ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i just found a recipe for boric acid ant poison. i will call the drug store tomorrow to see if they sell it.
 

lifesaver91958

Queen of the Jungle
Gold Site Supporter
I don't remember ever hearing of him complaining about any ants, although he kept the tub covered with a sheet of tin.
 

abi_csi

New member
Excellent tip with the coffee grounds, I seem to be the only person not to know about this, but now I do, so thanks!
 
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