Why coffee grounds in garden
Coffee grounds and composting | OSU Extension Service
Coffee grounds are a great addition to the garden and compost pile. Help to recycle this great organic resource and reduce the amount of organics going to the landfill!
Some information about coffee grounds
- Coffee grounds are about 2% nitrogen by volume.
- Grounds are not acidic; the acid in coffee is water-soluble so the acid is mostly in the coffee.
- Coffee grounds are close to pH neutral (between 6.5 to 6.8 pH).
- Coffee grounds improve soil tilth or structure.
- Coffee grounds are an excellent nitrogen source for composting. They have a C/N ratio of 20-to-1. In informal trials with OSU/Lane County Extension Service, Compost Specialists recorded sustained temperatures of 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit for up to two weeks when coffee grounds were 25% of the material in the compost pile by volume.
- Anecdotal evidence suggests coffee grounds repel slugs and snails in the garden.
How do I use coffee grounds?
- Spread the coffee grounds directly on the soil. Cultivate into the soil. If left to dry out, they can repel water in much the same way as peat moss that becomes dry.
- Spread on the soil and cover with leaves or compost or bark mulch.
- Add to the compost pile by layering the ingredients using 1/3 leaves, 1/3 fresh grass clippings, and 1/3 coffee grounds.
- Add coffee grounds as part of a static compost pile, being sure to always add an equivalent amount of a carbon source such as shredded paper or dry leaves. Mix together well.
Coffee grounds are not a nitrogen fertilizer. In a germination test at the GrassRoots Garden in Eugene, OR, coffee grounds were mixed with potting soil at a ratio of 25% by volume. Lettuce seeds showed poor rates of germination and stunted growth compared to lettuce seeds planted in potting mix without coffee grounds.
Add paper coffee filters to the compost pile as a carbon source. Tear them into small pieces to speed decomposition.
If you are incorporating coffee grounds directly into the soil, add a nitrogen fertilizer at the same time. Coffee grounds encourage the growth of microorganisms in the soil, which use nitrogen for their growth and reproduction. While the coffee grounds are being broken down by the microorganisms, the additional nitrogen in the fertilizer will provide a source of nutrients for your plants. Add paper coffee filters to the compost pile as a carbon source. Tear them into small pieces to speed decomposition. Coffee grounds do not “go bad." For future use, store in a 32-gallon trash container near the compost bin or pile.
General composting tips
- Composting with worms
- Can I put barbecue ash in my compost or worm bin?
- Answers to 3 common compost problems
Want to learn more about this topic? Explore more resources from OSU Extension: Garden Soil and Compost
Compost with coffee grounds
Photo: Pete Petryszak
ShareWas this page helpful?
Extra feedback
Related Content from OSU Extension
How to Use Compost in Gardens and Landscapes
Compost is a soil amendment consisting of partially broken-down organic material. Use compost to improve soil for vegetable gardens, landscape areas and lawns. Learn how to apply the correct amount of compost and how to avoid common compost mistakes.
Weston Miller | Feb 2021 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)
A Guide to Collecting Soil Samples for Farms and Gardens
Laboratory soil tests help you develop your soil and increase crop production by providing information on available nutrient content. Soil testing helps you select the correct kind and amount of fertilizer and liming material. ...
Melissa Fery, Jeff Choate | Oct 2018 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)
How can I protect my flowers from freezing?
My husband and I planted flowers this past summer. Our hydrangeas have done really well and have still been blooming. We have temps dropping below freezing this coming week. How should I care for them? I’m also new to ...
Rhonda Frick-Wright, Mary Desisto | Nov 2022 | Featured question
Herbicide-Contaminated Compost and Soil Mix: What You Should Know — and What You Can Do About It
Compost and soil mix products sometimes contain herbicide residue. This residue can damage certain vegetable, fruit and flower crops. The residue likely comes from contaminated hay, grass clippings or manure. Watch for stunted growth...
Weston Miller | Feb 2021 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)
Growing Your Own
About this publication Growing Your Own is now available as a bilingual publication in Spanish and English! It provides basic advice on a wide range of gardening topics, including composting, container gardens, fall/winter gardens, . ..
Spanish: Su Propio Cultivo
Gail Langellotto | Aug 2022 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)
Soil Test Interpretation Guide
This publication provides an overview of soil testing and general guidelines for interpreting soil test results for nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron, zinc, copper, manganese, iron, molybdenum, chloride, ...
Dan M. Sullivan | Jul 2011 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)
Willamette Valley Soil Quality Card Guide
Designed to supplement the Willamette Valley Soil Quality Card (EM 8711) by providing additional information on soil quality indicators. For each soil quality indicator, the guide contains a description, explanation of why the . ..
Jun 1998 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)
Willamette Valley Soil Quality Card
Use in conjunction with the Willamette Valley Soil Quality Card Guide (EM 8710), which includes detailed information about each indicator listed on the Soil Quality Card. Designed to assess current soil quality conditions, record ...
Jun 1998 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)
Let soil temperature guide you when planting vegetables
It's time to plant cool-weather vegetables like greens and peas; wait for the soil to warm before planting tomatoes, squash and peppers.
Kym Pokorny | Apr 12, 2019 | News story
Sweep wood ash from the fireplace to the garden
As you clean the fireplace, do your plants a favor and sprinkle the ashes in the garden instead of throwing them in the garbage.
Oct 22, 2021 | News story
Adding compost improves soil’s texture and adds nutrients
The best soil amendment is partially broken-down organic material, better known as compost
Kym Pokorny | Mar 13, 2021 | News story
Set seeds on the right path with homemade planting medium
Are the catalogs arriving? Get ahead of the game by making homemade seed mix.
Kym Pokorny | Jan 17, 2020 | News story
Don’t worry, maggots help break down compost pile
Soldier fly larvae are voracious consumers of high nitrogen materials such as kitchen food scraps and manures, as they decay.
Kym Pokorny | Aug 19, 2022 | News story
Answers to 3 common compost problems
If treated right, billions of microorganisms turn garden debris into black gold.
Kym Pokorny | Aug 27, 2018 | News story
Wiggle your way into worm composting
Worm castings -- AKA poop -- add valuable nutrients to the soil and is easy to make. The hardest part is making the bin and that's not difficult.
Jul 23, 2018 | News story
Sand, silt or clay? Texture says a lot about soil
Texture determines all kinds of things like drainage, aeration, the amount of water the soil can hold, erosion potential and even the amount of nutrients that can be stored.
Kym Pokorny | Sep 3, 2021 | News story
Five ways that home gardeners can improve soil
Soil is the foundation for all gardens. Home gardeners have several options to improve poor soil. Here's a look at five: adding organic matter, using fertilizer, tilling, changing the pH and creating raised beds.
Nicole Sanchez | Mar 2019 | Article Peer reviewed (Gray level)
Sheet mulching — aka lasagna composting — builds soil, saves time
Sheet composting, also referred to as lasagna composting or sheet mulching, is a cold composting method used by people around the world for generations. It is an excellent way to convert grass to vegetable beds, create new ...
Jan 2013 | Article
Have a question? Ask an Expert!
Ask an Expert is a way for you to get answers from the Oregon State University Extension Service. We have experts in family and health, community development, food and agriculture, coastal issues, forestry, programs for young people, and gardening.
Ask us a question
Using Coffee Grounds As Fertilizer
Home › Composting › Compost Ingredients
Compost Ingredients
By: Heather Rhoades
Image by ThamKC
Whether you make your cup of coffee daily or you have noticed your local coffee house has started to put out bags of used coffee, you may be wondering about composting with coffee grounds. Are coffee grounds as fertilizer a good idea? How do coffee grounds used for gardens help or hurt? Keep reading to learn more about coffee grounds and gardening.
Composting Coffee Grounds
Composting with coffee is a great way to make use of something that would otherwise end up taking up space in a landfill. Composting coffee grounds helps to add nitrogen to your compost pile.
Composting coffee grounds is as easy as throwing the used coffee grounds onto your compost pile. Used coffee filters can be composted as well.
If you will be adding used coffee grounds to your compost pile, keep in mind that they are considered green compost material and will need to be balanced with the addition of some brown compost material.
Coffee Grounds as Fertilizer
Used coffee grounds for gardening does not end with compost. Many people choose to place coffee grounds straight onto the soil and use it as a fertilizer. The thing to keep in mind is while coffee grounds add nitrogen to your compost, they will not immediately add nitrogen to your soil.
The benefit of using coffee grounds as a fertilizer is that it adds organic material to the soil, which improves drainage, water retention, and aeration in the soil. The used coffee grounds will also help microorganisms beneficial to plant growth thrive as well as attract earthworms.
Many people feel that coffee grounds lower the pH (or raise the acid level) of soil, which is good for acid loving plants. This is only true for unwashed coffee grounds though. Fresh coffee grounds are acidic. Used coffee grounds are neutral. If you rinse your used coffee grounds, they will have a near neutral pH of 6.5 and will not affect the acid levels of the soil.
To use coffee grounds as fertilizer, work the coffee grounds into the soil around your plants. Leftover diluted coffee works well like this too.
Other Uses for Used Coffee Grounds in Gardens
Coffee grounds can also be used in your garden for other things.
- Many gardeners like to use used coffee grounds as a mulch for their plants.
- Other uses for coffee grounds include using it to keep slugs and snails away from plants. The theory is that the caffeine in the coffee grounds negatively affects these pests and so they avoid soil where the coffee grounds are found.
- Some people also claim that coffee grounds on the soil is a cat repellent and will keep cats from using your flower and veggie beds as a litter box.
- You can use coffee grounds as worm food too if you do vermicomposting with a worm bin. Worms are very fond of coffee grounds.
Using Fresh Coffee Grounds
We get lots of questions about using fresh coffee grounds in the garden. While it’s not always recommended, it shouldn’t be a problem in some situations.
- For instance, you can sprinkle fresh coffee grounds around acid-loving plants like azaleas, hydrangeas, blueberries, and lilies. Many vegetables like slightly acidic soil, but tomatoes typically don’t respond well to the addition of coffee grounds. Root crops, like radishes and carrots, on the other hand, respond favorably — especially when mixed with the soil at planting time.
- The use of fresh coffee grounds are thought to suppress weeds too, having some allelopathic properties, of which adversely affects tomato plants. Another reason why it should be used with care. That being said, some fungal pathogens may be suppressed as well.
- Sprinkling dry, fresh grounds around plants (and on top of soil) helps deter some pests same as with used coffee grounds. While it doesn’t fully eliminate them, it does seem to help with keeping cats, rabbits, and slugs at bay, minimizing their damage in the garden. As previously mentioned, this is thought to be due to the caffeine content.
- In lieu of the caffeine found in fresh, unbrewed coffee grounds, which can have an adverse effect on plants, you may want to used decaffeinated coffee or only apply fresh grounds minimally to avoid any issues.
Coffee grounds and gardening go together naturally. Whether you are composting with coffee grounds or using used coffee grounds around the yard, you will find that coffee can give your garden as much of a pick me up as it does for you.
This article was last updated on
Read more about Compost Ingredients
Did you find this helpful? Share it with your friends!
You might also like…
the pros and cons of using coffee in the garden and in the garden - an article on the TCHK
The advice not to throw away the coffee pulp, but to take it under the tomato bush can be found in many collections of non-traditional uses of coffee. Compost, fertilizer, insecticide and soil acidifier - a variety of useful properties are attributed to this product. In fact, everything is not as simple as it seems at first glance. Below, we will look at a few of the main arguments for using coffee in the garden and see which ones should be treated with caution.
Is coffee a useful fertilizer?
There is a common belief that coffee grounds can act as an ideal natural way to feed the beds: they contain about 3% of useful micronutrients, including magnesium, potassium, calcium and phosphorus, as well as nitrogen. However, "natural" does not mean "safe" and "useful".
According to a 2016 study by Australian scientists, recommendations for using used coffee grounds either directly in the soil or as compost should be considered... anecdotal. Empirically, the Australians have found that this kind of "fertilizer" not only does not improve growth rates, but even reduces them.
Why? Looks like it's all about the caffeine. There is a lot of it even in the sleeping coffee grounds. Now raise your hand if you remember that caffeine is toxic to other non-caffeine plants. In addition, coffee grounds have antibacterial properties, which negatively affects the natural processes characteristic of composting.
However, one cannot fail to mention exceptions. According to the experience of experienced flower growers, azaleas, roses, hydrangeas and camellias respond well to such top dressing, increasing the number of buds. I like the coffee diet and evergreen shrubs, as well as ferns.
Coffee acidifies alkaline soil
One of the most common gardening tips about coffee grounds is to use them to acidify the soil. It seems to make sense: everyone knows that coffee is sour. The question is how sour the thick will be.
It turns out not very good.
Although the caffeine is still present in this product, the acid present in the grain is water soluble. Therefore, our drink becomes sour, and not the used grounds, which have a pH close to neutral (from 6.5 to 6.8 pH).
The conclusion is obvious. Coffee as an acidifier is pure myth. The used grounds practically do not have the acidic properties of the drink.
Coffee keeps pests away
Really, it does. After all, caffeine is toxic not only to plants, but also to insects. Scientists have already proven that coffee grounds are very effective against bugs and midges. There is a version that it also helps to drive away slugs and snails, but this hypothesis requires additional research.
Coffee is an effective soil conditioner
On the one hand, yes, the coffee grounds add some looseness. However, at the same time, its toxic properties continue to work, which means that the active use of such an additive will destroy the gardener's main friends - worms. Many Internet sources write that worms like coffee, but in reality, such a feast will have an extremely negative impact on their health. Well, then it’s easy to calculate: no worms - no natural “baking powder”.
Coffee against weeds
As we remember, caffeine inhibits plant growth. This property is very useful when it is necessary to destroy weeds. In order to achieve the desired effect, it is necessary to cover the soil with coffee grounds where harmful plants are completely unbound, but at the same time away from useful plantings.
Coffee is likely to really deal with weeds. But where is the line between the "garbage" in the garden and your favorite cucumbers?
As you can see, using coffee in the garden is not easy: there are not only pluses, but also minuses that must be taken into account when conducting experiments.
If you want to find a useful use for coffee grounds, make a scrub out of it. Or use for house cleaning. How exactly - we wrote in this article.
for which plants are suitable, how to use cake and ground coffee in the garden and garden
Content:
-
- For which plants are
- Methods of use
- Watering
- Mulching
- Supplement
- compost
- for seedlings
- Pest control
- Where not to use
- Helpful tips
thick as a fertilizer for indoor plants, flowers and gardens.
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.
- 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.
What kind of plants is coffee fertilizer suitable for
And yet, dormant coffee is a nutrient that is not suitable for every plant. 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.
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.
Coffee with sugar or milk should not be used for horticultural, horticultural and flower crops, since sugar attracts ants, and milk provokes the development of putrefactive processes in the soil, which can damage 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.