Do all plants like coffee grounds
26 Plants That Like Coffee Grounds And a Few That Don’t
by Erin Marissa Russell
You may have heard the gardening tip about putting coffee grounds in your garden, but this technique should only be used in a specific situation. Coffee grounds are acidic, and if you put them on plants that like neutral or alkaline soil, they won’t be good for your plants at all. Use coffee grounds with plants that crave acidity to change the pH level of your soil.
In this article, we’ve listed commonly grown plants that like coffee grounds along with a few that don’t. This is not a comprehensive list, of course, so if you’re curious about whether a plant in your garden likes coffee grounds, just do a bit of research to see whether the plant craves acidity. It’s a good bet to use coffee grounds with acid-loving plants. If you aren’t sure about a particular plant, it’s best to err on the side of caution and save your coffee grounds for plants that will really thrive with them.
Plants That Like Coffee Grounds
African Violet
Azaleas
Blueberries
Cabbage
Camellia
Carrots
Christmas Cactus
Cranberries
Cyclamen
Ghost Man
Gooseberries
Hollies
Hydrangeas
Jade
Lilies
Maidenhair Fern
Norfolk Island Pine
Parsley
Peppers
Philodendron
Potatoes
Radishes
Rhododendrons
Roses
Snake Plant
Wild Strawberries
A Few Plants That Don’t Like Coffee Grounds
Alfalfa
Black-Eyed Susan
Century Plant
Clovers
Lavender
Madagascar Periwinkle
Orchids
Pothos
Rosemary
Sago Palm
Tomatoes
Yucca
Tips for Gardening with Coffee Grounds
- Surrounding your acid-loving plants with coffee grounds is one way to keep them safe from slugs or snails.
The mollusks won’t be inclined to crawl over the abrasive grounds, so they work as a barrier around your plants.
- Some gardeners report that using coffee grounds in the garden is one way to keep the neighborhood cats from digging in your carefully tended flower beds or using them as a litter box.
- Only use cooked coffee grounds that have already been used in your garden. Uncooked coffee grounds won’t give you the same benefits.
- Dilute coffee grounds with water before using them as a liquid fertilizer. The undiluted coffee grounds contain lots of caffeine (unless they’re decaf), and caffeine can be harmful for plants.
- Coffee grounds contain lots of nitrogen, making them a great ingredient for compost. By composting your coffee grounds, you can use them all throughout your garden. Just make sure that the coffee grounds make up no more than 20 percent of your compost.
- If you’re using too much coffee in the garden, you’ll see some of these negative effects: fungus growth, too much moisture in the soil, or stunted plant growth.
Stop using coffee on plants that are showing these signs, and reduce your usage on other plants.
- Daily or even weekly treatments with coffee grounds will be too much for even the most acid-loving plants. A safer schedule is to use coffee grounds on your plants about once every six weeks or so. If you’re using liquid coffee on your plants, keep treatments to once every two or three weeks, and make sure the coffee you use is diluted enough not to harm your plants.
- Don’t use too much when you give coffee grounds to your plant. About a tablespoon spread in a thin layer on the soil around the plant is plenty. You want just enough so that the soil around the plant is covered with a thin layer of coffee.
- Your plants will absorb nutrition better from the coffee grounds if you water the plants right after giving them a coffee treatment.
- Don’t use coffee on young plants or seedlings, even if they’re acid-loving. Instead, wait until the plants are mature and established before starting them on coffee treatments.
- You can mix coffee grounds with mulch to make a nutritious mixture for your plants. But you’ll need to make sure you don’t use too much coffee. One part coffee to three parts mulch is a good ratio to use.
- When you’re making coffee that will eventually be used in your garden, it’s important that you use unbleached coffee filters. After all, you don’t want the bleach to make it to your plants and garden soil.
- Coffee grounds work especially well in gardens where the soil texture needs improvement. Even if your soil is heavy clay or chalky, coffee grounds will help to aerate the soil and make it a more hospitable home for plants. Coffee grounds work similarly to sand in this way, except they’re packed with nutritious nitrogen for your plants.
- People aren’t the only ones who love coffee. Worms will be attracted to your garden if you start using coffee on your plants, and as you probably know, worms are a blessing for a garden.
As you’ve learned here, using coffee in the garden can be a real benefit. However, you need to know just how to use coffee: how much to give plants, which plants like coffee, and how often to use it. All those questions were answered here, so you should be prepared to give the acid-loving plants in your garden coffee treatments that will help them thrive and grow healthy and strong.
Learn More About Gardening With Coffee Grounds
https://balconygardenweb.com/houseplants-that-love-coffee-grounds-for-plant-growth/
What Plants Like Coffee Grounds?
https://farmingmethod.com/list-of-plants-that-like-coffee-grounds/
House Plants That Like Coffee Grounds : Here’s A Complete List
https://www.homesandgardens.com/advice/are-coffee-grounds-good-for-plants
Your Starter Guide to What Plants Like Coffee Grounds—And the Best Ways To Use Them
What Plants Like Coffee Grounds?
Coffee grounds are a popular compost material and they can do wonders for your garden — if you use them well.
Not all plants will thrive on a coffee diet, so it’s important to avoid throwing those beans around.
What plants like coffee grounds, and which parts of your garden should you avoid? We’ll show you how to use coffee in your garden — the right way. Using coffee grounds for plants can be a great gardening trick, but only if you do it the right way.
First of all… what’s in a coffee ground?
We don’t mean this metaphorically. What are coffee grounds made of, chemically speaking? Coffee grounds are full of nitrogen, a crucial plant nutrient. They also contain caffeine. Surprisingly, coffee grounds are neutral on the pH scale, instead of acidic as you might expect. This is because the acid is water-soluble and ends up in your cup rather than the grounds.
And what about caffeine? Though humans enjoy the effects of a caffeinated cup of joe, plants like coffee and chocolate developed caffeine to cut down on the competition. Caffeine prevents other plants from growing — allowing the caffeinated plant to make use of all of the available water and nutrients in the soil.
What does that mean for your garden? Adding caffeinated coffee grounds may impede the growth of your plants.
What are the benefits of gardening with coffee grounds?
Coffee grounds provide nitrogen, a classic ingredient in most fertilizers. Plants need nitrogen to grow. Coffee grounds are also popular with worms, so if you’re vermicomposting or trying to encourage worms, they can be a great addition. And according to one study, coffee grounds can help your soil retain water, meaning you won’t have to water as often, and can diminish weed growth. Keep in mind that the same study also showed decreased plant growth overall.
Keeping Away Pests
Coffee grounds may also protect your plants from pests like slugs and snails. The grounds are abrasive, meaning these pests won’t like crawling over them to get to your tasty plants.
Some gardeners swear by coffee grounds as a cat repellent. If you often have cats digging around in your plants or using your garden as a litter box, you may want to consider adding coffee grounds to the soil.
Keep in mind that coffee’s ability to protect your garden from pests hasn’t been fully studied, so it may not work for you.
What plants like coffee grounds?
The plants that like coffee grounds include roses, blueberries, azaleas, carrots, radishes, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, cabbage, lilies, and hollies.
You’ll want to avoid using coffee grounds on plants like tomatoes, clovers, and alfalfa. When in doubt, it’s probably safer to put your used coffee grounds in the compost bin — or check out our list of other uses for them!
Coffee Grounds in Your Garden: The Bottom Line
Using coffee grounds in your garden has its share of pros and cons, and we hope this article has answered your questions. Coffee can impede plant growth, but it may also keep away certain pests. Plants like carrots, roses, cabbage, and hydrangeas like coffee grounds — but avoid using them on tomatoes and clovers. If you’re not sure, the compost bin is always a good place for spent coffee grounds! The bottom line? Coffee grounds for plants can supercharge your garden — but this trick will only work on certain plants.
More great reads:
- Are Coffee Filters Compostable? How to Tell
- 14 Smart Uses for Coffee Filters: Recycle & Save Money
- What Country Does the Word Espresso Come From?
Table of Contents
- First of all… what’s in a coffee ground?
- What are the benefits of gardening with coffee grounds?
- Keeping Away Pests
- What plants like coffee grounds?
- Coffee Grounds in Your Garden: The Bottom Line
Content:
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- For which plants are
- Methods of use
- Watering
- Mulching
- Supplement
- compost
- for soil seedlings
- Pest protection
- Where not to use
- Helpful tips
thick as a fertilizer for indoor plants, flowers and gardens. nine0033
The answer to the question of whether coffee grounds can be used as fertilizer is obvious: of course you can! But let's take a closer look at what benefits this brings to plants.
- By adding coffee grounds to the soil, especially clay and loam soil, its structure becomes looser, drainage capacity and air exchange improve. In addition, coffee attracts earthworms, which also contribute to loosening the soil.
- The smell of coffee can repel harmful insects. He doesn't like cats either. If you sprinkle your garden beds with coffee grounds, you don't have to worry that uninvited visits from your pet will damage tender plantings. nine0008
- It is believed that fresh coffee has an increased level of acidity, and top dressing with such characteristics is not suitable for every plant. However, to avoid acidification of the soil, it is enough to shed thick water and then apply in the garden or vegetable garden.
- Coffee grounds as a fertilizer are rich in minerals and trace elements. Potassium and phosphorus contribute to good flowering and abundant fruiting. Nitrogen activates the rapid growth of plants. Copper helps to resist a number of diseases.
And although the total amount of useful substances in coffee cake is about 2–3%, which means that it can hardly be considered a full-fledged fertilizer, the use of grounds as an organic plant food is fully justified. nine0008
What kind of plants is coffee fertilizer suitable for? Therefore, before you widely use it in your garden, you need to study for which plants it is most effective to use coffee grounds as a fertilizer. It is most useful for flowers that prefer a low pH level - azaleas, hydrangeas, heathers and rhododendrons. Due to the large amount of potassium in the composition, coffee grounds can be used as a fertilizer when growing vegetable crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Feeding fruit trees with sleeping coffee will also help to significantly increase their fruiting. Magnesium, which is part of coffee, is useful for berry bushes. Magnesium and potassium will help to get a high yield of root crops, while nitrogen is indispensable for green crops.
nine0033 Roses, palms, ficuses and ferns, as well as violets and asparagus, respond best to coffee fertilization. When using coffee grounds as a fertilizer for houseplants, it is recommended to shed and dry it first. If you simply pour the rest of the coffee from the cup into the pot, most likely there will be no benefit, but on the contrary, the soil may become covered with a crust and begin to mold. To prevent this, you need to mix the prepared thick with soil suitable for this type of plant. nine0033
Coffee with sugar or milk should not be used for horticultural, horticultural and flower crops, as sugar attracts ants, and milk provokes the development of putrefactive processes in the soil, which can harm the root system of plants.
Methods of use
Watering
Used coffee must be diluted with a sufficient amount of liquid before it can be used as a fertilizer for watering plants. To prepare a solution for 10 liters of water, 1 cup of grounds is required.
Cake is poured with a small amount of water and left to swell for about a day. After swelling, the amount of liquid is adjusted to the calculated amount and used for watering plants. nine0033
After feeding the plants with coffee grounds, it is advisable to water the soil again, but with clean water. This technique will allow the minerals to be slowly released, nourishing the plants. When planting bushes, you should spill the ground with coffee solution at the rate of 1 liter under the bush.
Mulching
Coffee grounds can also be used for mulching crops to protect soil from drying out, repel pests and improve soil structure. However, it must be remembered that when using the grounds as mulch, as in the case of using coffee cake as a fertilizer in the garden in the country, it should be thoroughly dried to prevent the development of mold. nine0033
Soil supplement
Dormant ground coffee as a fertilizer can be added to the planting hole or hole before planting to improve soil structure.
This technique makes the land more drained and loose, which ultimately has a positive effect on plant health and yield. When used on light soils, the thick acts as a binder. In this case, top dressing is applied to the upper soil layer at the rate of 200 ml per 1 m².
Compost
To speed up the maturation of the compost, it is enough to spill each layer no more than 10 cm thick with coffee infusion. Coffee grounds perform the function of nitrogen components that trigger an exothermic reaction inside the compost heap, in other words, heating it up, due to which the compost matures much faster. This method is so effective that some summer residents specifically purchase inexpensive varieties of ground coffee and sprinkle layers of compost on them.
For seedlings
Recently, the method of growing vegetable seedlings on a coffee substrate has become popular. But in order to prevent depletion of the soil, it is necessary from time to time to feed the seedlings with complex fertilizers.
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Protection against pests
Coffee pomace as a fertilizer in the garden is also very effective for protecting plants from sexually mature individuals of harmful insects - ants, snails, aphids, slugs. According to the experience of some gardeners, coffee can also destroy pest larvae, in particular mosquitoes and garden bugs. This remedy is not as effective as insecticides, but also much safer.
Where not to use coffee grounds
Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, so if used in excess, you can burn the root system, which will lead to the death of the plant. nine0033
Poorly dried coffee waste can cause mold and fungal diseases and kill plants. In addition, coffee fertilizer is not suitable for tradescantia, asparagus, geraniums and other crops that prefer more alkaline soil. Top dressing from pomace can change the shade of rose flowers.
Helpful Hints
Dried coffee grounds are very light, so when used dry, even the slightest breeze can blow them off the garden.
To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to mix the cake with earth or sawdust and close it shallowly into the soil. nine0033
If the color of the leaves of the plants has changed after treatment with coffee grounds, the use of coffee grounds as a fertilizer should be discontinued. You can carefully strain the coffee infusion and use only liquid for irrigation, and use the thick, for example, to feed conifers.
It is recommended to prepare fertilizer from coffee grounds for summer cottages, using cake from the preparation of only natural coffee. Instant powder and granulated coffee is not advisable to use for this purpose, since their nutritional value is not great. nine0033
for which plants it is suitable and for which it is not, how to use it correctly in the garden and in the garden
A tool that can significantly improve the condition of outdoor and indoor crops can be found in almost every kitchen. Knowing how to use coffee grounds as a fertilizer and for which plants it is suitable, you can not only enrich them with useful substances, but also repel pests.
This product is also effective against cats that, out of curiosity, dig up beds and earth in pots or use them as a toilet. nine0033
Benefits of coffee for plants
Drinking coffee contains a lot of fiber, which can be an excellent substrate. In addition, there are many other useful substances in the thick:
- calcium;
- magnesium;
- copper;
- phosphorus;
- potassium;
- nitrogen etc.
These elements are necessary for plants for normal growth and photosynthesis. Of course, coffee grounds cannot completely replace high-quality complex fertilizers. However, according to summer residents who have been using this remedy for more than one year, it has a noticeable beneficial effect on the state of plantations. nine0033
There is an opinion that coffee can strongly acidify the soil. But this is true only in cases where a fresh product is used. Sleeping grounds have a neutral pH, and therefore are suitable as top dressing for a huge number of plants.
How to collect and store
Those who regularly consume the invigorating drink will find it quite easy to collect the right amount of raw materials for fertilizer. On average, a person drinks about 500 cups of coffee per year, therefore, during this time he can collect 4-5 kg of grounds. This is enough to provide top dressing not only for indoor flowers, but also to fertilize vegetables in the garden. nine0033
Keep and use the rest of the invigorating drink only in a dry form. Therefore, the thick must be immediately dried in the oven. And if we are talking about the cold season, you can use a battery for these purposes, leaving a saucer with coffee pomace on it until the moisture has completely evaporated.
Raw materials can be stored in glass jars or paper bags. It is better not to use plastic and fabric bags. The former do not allow air to pass through, and condensation may form inside, due to which the powder will become damp and clump together.
And the latter will simply “absorb” part of the thick, which will settle on the fibers of the material. nine0033
Which crops are suitable
Many varieties of "green pets" respond well to the fertilizer from the invigorating drink. But there are cultures for which this remedy is many times better than other natural top dressings.
Plants that like coffee grounds:
- vegetables - pepper, tomato, cucumber;
- root vegetables - turnips, radishes, radishes, carrots, potatoes;
- berries - cherries, plums, apricots, currants, gooseberries, blueberries;
- fruit trees - apple, pear;
- flowers - rose, azalea, peony, gladiolus, lily, hydrangea, fuchsia;
- shrubs - heather, honeysuckle;
- indoor crops - asparagus, ficus, palm, fern.
Also, coffee as a fertilizer is suitable for crops that love acidic soil. These are almost all representatives of the legume family, forest berries and ornamental grasses.
Ways to use grounds in the garden
Dried coffee is good for a variety of purposes. Experienced summer residents know many ways to benefit from the waste from the drink and actively use them. nine0033
Soil improvement
Most plants require loose, well-draining soil. But everything is good in moderation, and too light soil is also not the best environment for crop development. Coffee grounds will help to bring balance, so you can fertilize any type of land with it.
The recommended dosage is 200 g of cake per 1 sq. m. of soil. The powder will need to be deepened a little, otherwise, with sharp gusts of wind, there will be no trace of top dressing. nine0033
The smell of coffee also attracts earthworms. They loosen the ground perfectly, and if the owner of the site is fond of fishing, after completing the main task, they can bring additional benefits as bait.
Germination of seeds
When growing seedlings, you can speed up the emergence of seedlings by adding a little dormant coffee to the soil. So the seeds will germinate faster, and the percentage of viable sprouts will be higher.
Seedlings of vegetable crops - tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers - react especially well to such top dressing. nine0033
Planting in the soil at planting
This method is suitable for both indoor plants and outdoor crops. In the first case, you can mix 1-2 tbsp. l. thick with soil, and in the second - put the same amount of funds in the prepared hole, and place a young bush on top.
Another option is to scatter dried coffee grounds around the seedlings, covering them with a layer of earth no thicker than 4 mm.
Drainage
Dried coffee retains moisture well and protects plant roots. When planting indoor crops, you can place the powder on the bottom of the pot in a dense layer, and pour earth on top.
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The grounds decompose rather slowly and will feed the plant with useful substances for a long time.
Watering and irrigation
Coffee can also be used in liquid form as a fertilizer for vegetable gardens, orchards and indoor crops. The solution is prepared at the rate of 200 g thick per 10 liters of water.
The product obtained can be both applied under the root and used for spraying plantations.
Add to compost
The content of coffee in the nutrient composition should not exceed 15-20%. The rest is filled with more "serious" components - straw, grass, wood waste, and so on. nine0033
After mixing the ingredients, the composition should be sprinkled with soil, poured with water and make several holes in the future compost. After a month, it can be used for its intended purpose.
Formation of the mulch layer
Coffee mulch has many advantages - it is environmentally friendly, nourishes the soil, attracts earthworms and also looks natural, almost merging in color with the ground.
A layer of 2-3 cm is enough for the fertilizer to show its best qualities.
Only the tendency to mold can be counted among the disadvantages. To prevent its occurrence, you need to rinse and dry the powder thoroughly before laying it in the ground. And if mold does appear, remove the mulch layer and replace it with a fresh one.
Pest control
The smell of coffee is unpleasant to many insects. If you scatter the thick around the plantations, snails, ants and fruit flies will not even dare to approach them. And this remedy can not only scare away mosquitoes and bedbugs, but also destroy them. nine0033
But still, you should not rely only on an invigorating drink. You need to regularly inspect the plants, and if coffee does not help get rid of all pests, resort to the help of stronger means.
Repelling cats
Naughty hunters can not only harm flowers and fruit crops for "hooligan motives" by digging the soil around them and biting the foliage.
Often snow leopards and murks mark bushes and trees, and the substances contained in cat feces are very aggressive and can destroy even the most healthy and viable plant. nine0033
Coffee will help in this case too. Cats really do not like this thick, enveloping smell, and will bypass plantings around which the thick is scattered. You can mix it with citrus peels, the aroma of which is no less hated by mustachioed robbers.
Growing herbs
The use of dormant coffee as soil for herbs is relatively recent. But this method has already managed to prove itself well. Plants develop quickly and do not get sick, delighting the owners with the brightness of colors and excellent taste. nine0033
Parsley, cilantro, lettuce and soy grow well in this substrate. But this does not mean that we should forget about complex top dressing - after all, spent coffee does not contain nutrients in the amount necessary for the normal development of plants.
Precautions
In order for coffee grounds to bring only benefit to the flower bed and garden, you need to follow a few simple rules:
- Use the leftovers of the drink that has been brewed.
Coffee grounds “straight into the cup” are not always suitable for plant fertilization. Such a composition has a high acidity and can harm crops that are contraindicated in such an environment. nine0008 - Fertilize plants exclusively with dormant powder. Fresh will not only acidify the soil, but also oversaturate it with nitrogen, which can damage the root system. Therefore, you can use only the waste of the drink.
- Always dry the powder before use. Raw grounds will quickly begin to mold, and can also become an excellent environment for the development of bacteria and fungi.
- Rinse the rest of the drink before drying, especially if it has been prepared with milk and sugar. The remains of "improvers" attract ants. nine0008
- Use coffee fertilizer with care for roses and azaleas. The fact is that the components contained in a natural drink can affect the color of the buds, giving the petals a turquoise or bluish tint.
It is better to introduce the coffee supplement gradually.
