Coffee Grounds in the Garden

The Coffee Lover's Prayer

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.

It maketh me to wake in green pastures:

It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.

It restoreth my buzz:

It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,

I will fear no Equal(tm)

For thou art with me;

Thy cream and thy sugar, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks;

Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.

Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the House of Mocha forever.

Hey you!  Gardeners with a coffee addiction!  You know who you are.  This one’s for you.

Coffee grounds are good for the garden.  Collect the grounds from your coffee filter into a container and sprinkle them on your garden; although, wrestling the goodly grounds from your Keurig® pods may be more effort than its worth.

  

Coffee grounds provide an unlimited source of nutrients for your garden . . .

Ø       They hold moisture

Ø       They are free

Ø       They smell good

Ø       They contain Nitrogen-Phosphate-Potassium (N-P-K) and other trace minerals

Ø       They help keep slugs away from plants

Ø       They repel ants

Ø       Earthworms LOVE them

Ø       They add acidity to the soil

Coffee grounds contain nutrients that can aid your soil. Besides having a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 20 parts to 1, the grounds contain an of 2 (nitrogen), 0.3 (phosphorus), and 2 (potassium). Other nutrients include calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. Nitrogen is essential to a plant for leaf development.

Reused grounds have a pH of 6.9, slightly less than a neutral 7. Plants that love acidic soils will thrive with coffee grounds worked into the soil.

Probably the most lauded of the reasons for reusing coffee grounds in gardening is that worms seem to love the grounds as a food source. Worm excrement enriches soil, and the soil is aerated by their movement through it.

Some gardeners say they have had success with the use of coffee grounds to repel ants.

Controversy exists over claims that slugs and snails are somewhat poisoned by the caffeine level in the grounds.

Cats find their toilet areas by smell, and in my garden I have successfully used coffee grounds to persuade them to go' elsewhere.

If that hasn't persuaded you, then how about free liquid fertilizer? Half a pound of coffee grounds, allowed to steep in 5 gallons of water at room temperature, makes a nitrogen-rich liquid feed that can be used anywhere the garden needs a quick boost or even on your houseplants.

Fresh coffee grounds may be applied in a thin layer around the base of plants that prefer more acidic soils and worked in with your fingers or with a fork. Do this before watering or before rain falls so that the nitrogen seeps into the surrounding soil in a time-released fashion.

Some coffee houses or Starbucks will gladly give away their used grounds for FREE!

 Reused coffee grounds are a great gardening tool!  So have another cup of coffee!

One morning, a grandmother was surprised to find that her 7-year-old grandson had made her coffee! Smiling, she choked down the worst cup of her life. When she finished, she found three little green Army men at the bottom. Puzzled, she asked, "Honey, what are these Army men doing in my coffee?" Her grandson answered, "Like it says on TV, Grandma. 'The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup.'