Coffee Grounds

[janetsjunk1972]

Does anyone use old coffee grounds to fertilize their gardens? If so, do you use your own or get them from somewhere else? Did you know that you can get free coffee grounds even if you don't drink coffee (like me)? My husband goes to Starbucks every day, and yes I know it's expensive, but they will give you bags of old coffee grinds for free. I love the smell, I just can't stand the taste of coffee. And if it's free, it's for me!

 

[ChanellG]

I use them for strawberries, tomatoes, and acid loving flowers. I don't drink coffee at home on even an irregular basis so I get them from other people. Combined with eggshells they are supposed to prevent blossom end rot. As well, the calcium prevents blossom drop. I love the smell of fresh ground coffee beans as well!

I've been thinking of calling the local coffee shops to get a bag of grinds. In the photos online when people talk about places like Starbucks as a source, they've shown these huge-normous sacs that I just have no room for, but now I'm tending to another garden where I'll need both grinds and shells so maybe I'll call Starbucks.

 

[DancingLady]

Yes, they are a great slug repellent too. They slugs don't like to crawl over a layer of coffee ground, I guess because of the acid.

 

[Shimus]

Like Chanell said, they're good particularly for tomatoes and the like. They do help prevent rot, but the main reason you use them is influx some nutrients into an otherwise drained planting location. Along with some mulch, egg shells, and the occasional nutrient bath to include steady progression, the dirts (soils) probably not efficient to grow everything we want at one spot, as it would drain the earth. Like farmers planting a corn field, they cycle the field the year after to something else. No different with homemade gardens.

 

[Trellum]

I can get free coffee grounds very easily My family drinks a lot coffee, so i know that will never be an issue, hehehe! I read a while ago about the benefits of using coffee grounds for certain crops, like for example tomatoes. My dad use coffee grounds for his tomatoes all the time. I'm not a crop grower tho, but I might become one in the future, so its good to know.

 

[Claire]

Not every day, but about three days a week I throw my coffee grounds, filter and all, into the compost pile. I probably COULD do it daily, because our compost is just a spot in the back of the garden, I just don't.

I've worried about making my soil TOO acidic from it. I've been composting for less than a year in a new residence, so I have yet to actually use the good stuff in my garden. We will see how well it sets up and gets things going.

Like others mentioned, I did take scoops of coffee grounds last summer and put them in my tomato pots. Not sure if it helped anything, but my tomatoes were great last year.

 

[deepestblues]

I have a deal with Mcdonalds for their coffee grounds. I'd pick it up every 2 or 3 days. They sell alot of coffee and it just about overwhelmed my compost pile. So now I have about 3 compost piles and I know some people in a gardening club who sort of help me out when it becomes unbearable. (the coffee grounds) Coffee grounds are acidic but I chunk lots of it on my roses and I've had no complaints.

 

[kevinkimers]

We have two people here that drink coffee every morning. We are saving the grounds for when we start planting. We also save the tea grounds when the others drink their tea. I heard that it also helps. Makes sense seeing as both coffee and tea are basically plant matter.

 

[deepestblues]

About those tea bags. There's this stuff in there called tannin. I don't think a little of it will hurt anything but if you really load it up. I guess a trash can of it or something. It really monkey's up the soil. Makes it break down slower, gets all crusty and stuff. But if you really mix it in there it should be fine.

 

[Pat]

I got a bag of grinds from Starbucks once, it was so large I never got to use all of the grinds. I use the coffee grinds, egg shells and bananas ground up around my roses. When I add tea to the mix I have removed the tea leaves from the bags, I just let the bags dry and dump the leaves from the dried bags.

 

[IcyBC]

Yes, I save all my used coffee ground and just dump it in my garden for few years now and I found that the smell is strong enough to keep stray cats from using my garden area as their littler box too. People in my neighborhood just let their cats roam wherever so the coffee ground helped naturally.

 

[blueeyes]

I used to use my coffee grounds in my tomato plants but I now use a Keurig and there are no coffee grounds to use.However my daughter works at Starbucks , mind you in another city. I will have to check and see if I can get some grounds from her store or perhaps she can contact a local one for me and I can make a deal

 

[kevinkimers]

Ok, got it.... tea is not so good except in very small doses. Coffee grounds mixed with egg shells and banana peels is good. Looks like I got a lot of work ahead of me. "HONEY! GO MAKE ME A POT OF COFFEE AND KEEP 'EM COMING!"

 

[claudine]

Both my boyfriend and I drink gallons of coffee, so we have a lot of of coffee grounds. I plan to use them to fertilize my miniature roses

 

[deepestblues]

Ok, got it.... tea is not so good except in very small doses. Coffee grounds mixed with egg shells and banana peels is good. Looks like I got a lot of work ahead of me. "HONEY! GO MAKE ME A POT OF COFFEE AND KEEP 'EM COMING!"

It's all good. It's just that it gets sort of clumpy.(if that's the word for it) So you might want to keep it stirred up.As an iconic genius once said "a little dab will do ya" Fred Flintstone I think