Sick of
throwing out cup after cup of grounds after your morning caffeine fixes? With
their high nutrient content, coffee grounds can be used to make your garden
thrive. They are naturally acidic and high in nutrients like nitrogen and
potassium, making them a great choice for alkaline soils or nutrient-poor
gardens. With a little creativity, coffee grounds can be used to help in a
variety of other garden tasks as well!
Did You
Know?
Coffee
Grounds can be used as:
-Compost:
One of the
simplest ways to use leftover grounds is to add them to the rest of your
compost. Here in our showroom, we use a Breville Knockbox
to hold all
our Coffee Grounds. In addition to
providing extra organic matter, coffee grounds are able to speed up the
decomposing process in compost. Getting this benefit is as easy as pouring the
leftover grounds into the compost pile and mixing to incorporate them.
-
Fertilizer & Mulch for Plants:
On their
own, coffee grounds have a pH of about 5.1 — fairly acidic compared to the soil
in most gardens. Though this can be too acidic for some plants, it's perfect
for some that require extra-high acidity. Just sprinkle a handful of grounds
near the roots of the plants at the start of the growing season to get the
acidifying effect. Blueberries, cranberries, and citrus fruits like coffee
added to their soil. Other coffee-loving plants include camellias, gardenias,
rhododendrons, and vireyas.
- It can
help keep insects such as slugs and snails out of your plants and garden:
Slugs and
snails can chew up your most prized plants, but they are not fond of coffee
grounds. Sprinkle a handful of grounds around the bases of plants you want to
protect. If you're worried about increasing the acidity of the soil, make a
solid ring of grounds farther away from the base.
- It can
double as a Cat Repellent:
Coffee
grounds aren't just good for tiny pests. They can also be used to keep feline
friends from playing in your delicate plants. In this case, use the grounds
just as you'd use them to repel snails — sprinkle them around the plants you
want to protect. The acidifying effect on the soil may be unavoidable here due
to how much you'll need to use.
- It can be
used as worm food:
If you
participate in vermiculture (raising worms), you have a great opportunity to
use up your coffee grounds. Worms love to eat coffee grounds, so feel free to
add plenty to your worm bin or a worm-containing compost pile. Note, however,
that coffee grounds should be part of a balanced diet: fruit and vegetable
scraps, newspaper, leaves, and so on should accompany any coffee grounds you
add.
Visit the
link below for more information on all the benefits Coffee Grounds have to offer:
Have a
Beautiful day, and an Espresso Bella!
