Coffee grinds

[lilmomma]

What can I do with my old coffee grinds? Can use them in the garden?

[BobbiBean]

My uncle Charlie owns a plumbing company, very successful and know one, and he always told the family to put the coffee grinds down the sink because it keeps the drain clear of grease....he did this when he saw my Mom putting them in something separate...her home is 50 years old and not a single problem...

[Gio]

Just know that coffee grounds are highly acidic. I live in the Northeast and our soil is very acidic to start with so I put the grounds into our compost bin along with raw garden and other kitchen produce waste. There's a very good article delineating just why using pounds and pounds of coffee grounds indiscriminately is unwise for many of us.

http://www.gardensalive.com/article.a...

[pine time]

Agree--depends on your natural pH--ours is super alkaline, so the acidity was needed. The camellias especially loved it.

[DMW]

You can also spread them out on the lawn. Just toss handfuls around - seriously.

[LATrapp]

I've been thinking about doing the same since I have plenty of grinds, but just worried about adding too much. Any tips on how often and quantities?

[Sue in Mt P]

I dump mine out in a different spot every day. The plants like it. If you're worried, put in a compost pile.

[pine time]

Not exaggerating, we've dumped well over 100 pounds of grounds, and no problems with the plants/soil. Like Sue said, dump in different places & work it in a bit.

[CocoTO]

For all of you in the know, does it matter if the grounds are decaf? Are caffeinated grounds better (we only drink decaf coffee now)

[Sue in Mt P]

I don't think it matters.

[pine time]

I think ours were a mix of caffeinated & non--don't think it made a whit of difference. Also added some to the compost. It actually became competitive at our Starbucks--we'd be sure to get there early to get the most grounds (some were still quite hot), plus the trunk of the car smelled like coffee for weeks!

[edwardspk]

I've used coffee grounds in my compost bin, but have never just taken pounds of the stuff and used directly on the ground. Do you work it in like compost, or just put it on top of the ground around the plants?

And thanks for the tip about Starbucks - never knew that!

[Novelli]

I personally like to work them into my compost and maybe a light 'dusting' around plant bases already in the garden, but will also sprinkle a handful or so around my potted citrus trees and blueberries as they thrive in lower PH soil with acidity. After a watering or twon, they make their way down into the roots.

As for the UCG at Starbucks...it's the one and only reason I will go into one of those places.

[pine time]

We mostly added them directly to the soil & just did a quick mix to get 'em underground (yard did smell heavenly for awhile!). The compost bin was full, but that's a good option too.

[tzurriz]

Just be careful if you don't mix them in well. We had an over-caffeinated dog for a bit. ;)

[pine time]

Yup, we've lugged home probably over 100 lbs of used coffee grounds from Starbucks. Our native "soil" (if you can call it that) is super akaline, so the acidity of the grounds is much needed, especially for acid loving plants like my camellias.

[Novelli]

Absolutely! It really helps out the soil and worms love it!

Not sure if you're aware of it or not, but you can go into just about any Starbucks and ask for UCG (used coffee grounds) and they will happily supply you with huge bags full of it for free!

[Val]

Yes, sure...I put mine out on the soil around my vegetables...my used loose green tea leaves also...and egg shells.