Used Coffee Grounds as Plant Fertilizer
My mom and grandma both dumped used coffee grounds into our rose garden. I never really thought much of it. I figured it was a natural product and it had the same consistency as the soil, so it can't be bad. But the fact is, used coffee grounds are quite beneficial as a garden fertilizer, to add to compost and as a household plant fertilizer. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Recycle coffee grounds by dumping them around your garden plants and mixing in with your compost as a garden fertilizer. You can also put used coffee grounds in your potted plants as a plant fertilizer.
I use a reusable nylon filter in my coffee maker, because the bleached coffee filters (and other bleached paper products) contain dioxins which contaminate the environment. Using the nylon filter also makes dumping out the used coffee grounds much easier to handle.
If you can't get the used coffee grounds to your plants, garden or compost immediately, save the coffee grounds in an old coffee can or other large container for storing. You Store the used coffee grounds in the freezer or in a cloth bag (such as cheesecloth) in order to reduce moisture from building up and creating mold.
2. Recycle coffee grounds by adding it to the garden mulch, potting soil, or the compost pile, to supply it with rich Nitrogen. Used coffee grounds are a great garden fertilizer that contains Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and Sulfur. Coffee grounds also have the added advantage of deterring garden pests, such as slugs and snails, yet supplies nutrition to ground worms which are vital to enriching the soil for your plants. I live in an area where the soil has clay in it, and coffee grounds also help my gardens over time by lowering the pH levels in the soil.
3. Used coffee grounds can be diluted with water and made into a liquid plant fertilizer. Use about a half-pound can of wet used coffee grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water and let sit outdoors for a few days before applying to your plants when watering or as a foliar spray.
You can make smaller batches of liquid plant fertilizer for your plants by adding water to the used coffee grounds and setting it aside for a day or two and then draining off the liquid to water your plants with.
4. If you don't drink coffee at home or would like to get a hold of larger amounts of used coffee grounds to use as a plant or garden fertilizer, Starbucks Coffee Company saves their used coffee grounds precisely for this purpose. All you need to do is go in and ask them for used coffee grounds and it's yours for the taking. Other coffee houses may also do the same thing; especially if you make a request for it. You could even get others you know to contribute their used coffee grounds, or have a container available at the office near the coffee maker to recycle coffee grounds.
Tags: coffee grounds, used coffee, coffee grounds, used coffee grounds, used coffee grounds, your plants, garden fertilizer