Are You A Coffee Drinker?

As a coffee drinker, I am delighted to find that the used coffee ground from my daily brew can be used to benefit my plants.

From online research, I found out that coffee grounds contain several substances that promote healthy plant growth. They contain nitrogen, tannic acids and other nutrients. Acid-loving plants especially respond to coffee grounds and coffee.

Why should you put used coffee grounds in your garden?

The high content of nitrogen in coffee grounds is a very good mulch for fast-growing vegetables. Nitrogen encourages foliage & general growth.

Coffee-ground mulch will help reduce the ravages of slugs and snails. Use coffee grounds to mulch plants that slugs love to feast on, such as hostas, ligularias and lilies. Coffee-ground mulch will help promote healthy growth in daffodils and other spring bulbs as well.

How do I use Coffee grounds?

Usually my morning brew is made from coffee grounds that comes in sachet form or freshly ground coffee beans. After drinking my coffee, I will leave the sachet or coffee grounds aside. When I see the sachets piled up, I will tear them up and collect the coffee grounds in a pail. Water will then be added. Let the coffee grounds soak in the water for about 10 minutes. Then water your plants with the water & the coffee grounds. This diluted coffee grounds acts as a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer.

Other ways you can use coffee grounds in your garden:

• Sprinkle used coffee grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen.
  
• Dry the coffee grounds and work into the soil around acid loving plants.
  
• Some types of acid loving plants are: azaleas, blueberries, butterfly weed, camellias, cardinal flowers, cranberries, ferns, gardenias, heathers, heaths lupines, mountain laurels, oaks, pecans, rhododendrons, spruces, yews.
  
• Add used coffee grounds to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.
  
• Mix used coffee grounds into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.