used coffee grounds

[bimble]

Do you save them & if so how and what for?
I've just stuck a load in the oven, to attempt to dry them out before storing (how?) to use in the garden as slug scarer/ fertiliser / mulch, or something. Am a bit confused. I make a lot of coffee though.

 

[JimW]

Bury them to compost, on assumption will be good for soil structure.
Our right on football club played a game recently in shirts made from coffee grounds fabric!

 

[maomao]

Mine go in the compost bin with everything else. I think they're a bit acidic to use as a fertilizer on their own unless you have ericacious plants (er, blueberries, rhododododendrons etc.)

 

[bimble]

my soil is extreme chalk, so am hoping that coffee might be good, as a balancer, maybe.

 

[bimble]

Smells great though! two baking trays full of coffee grounds roasting

 

[maomao]

Smells great though! two baking trays full of coffee grounds roasting

Why are you drying them out?

 

[bimble]

Why are you drying them out?

Cos otherwise they go mouldy?

 

[maomao]

Cos otherwise they go mouldy?

That's how compost happens. Get a compost bin and stick all your peelings etc. in there. Or just use them where you were going to use them.

 

[bimble]

But i'm not ready to use them yet, around plants that are still not ready to go in the ground cos they're too small and its still really cold out. So plan is to get them stored for later use, separate from the compost ,which is another thing that i don't know what i'm doing but is being attempted for the first time.

 

[maomao]

But i'm not ready to use them yet, around plants that are still not ready to go in the ground cos they're too small and its still really cold out. So plan is to get them stored for later use, separate from the compost ,which is another thing that i don't know what i'm doing but is being attempted for the first time.

They're brilliant for compost, they give it structure, and that's where I'd stick them unless you know you have plants that need acid soil (and now I've googled it I'll be keeping some separate for my blueberries).

 

[iona]

I kept meaning to try growing mushrooms on them when I worked in a coffee shop and had access to loads of fresh grounds.

 

[Cid]

I kept meaning to try growing mushrooms on them when I worked in a coffee shop and had access to loads of fresh grounds.

Yeah I've been thinking of doing this, but probably only get through 70g of coffee/day (not just me obviously, have an espresso machine at the workshop). Mind you there's a local coffee shop that might help.

 

[tony.c]

I used to put them under bushes in front garden as there used to be loads of slugs and snails there. It may have deterred them as there are less now, but that might be because I clear the leaf litter too.
Now I put them in the garden waste bin, or food compost caddy.

 

[andysays]

Mine go in the compost bin with everything else. I think they're a bit acidic to use as a fertilizer on their own unless you have ericacious plants (er, blueberries, rhododododendrons etc.)

I also add mine to the compost; they are high in nitrogen and a good activator.

I believe the thing about them being acidic is a bit of an old gardeners' tale.

 

[StoneRoad]

Ditto with tea leaves, btw.

Not that I drink tea, but almost everything organic goes on our compost heap. Which reminds me, it needs turning soon and I need to rebuild the frameworks.

Although, that is excluding cat litter & dog poo - they get buried under grass, where I need to build up an area that is a bit of a dip. Thanks to past trees, rabbits and moles etc.

E2A - I'll be glad when all teabags are properly plastic-free and biodegradable !

 

[bimble]

I've got a nice big airtight bag of the well dried grounds now, will try it in circles for a slug repellant though am not overly hopeful, slugs here seem to just not give a shit.

 

[andysays]

This video is worth a watch

 

[moose]

Rather than sticking it on the garden, you could make something like this lovely-smelling exfoliating face mask, Cup O' Coffee

 

[purves grundy]

Does it retain a function a la AVB?

 

[komodo]

We put coffee grounds and tea bags - mostly Yorkshire tea - in the compost. Tea bags always seem to rot down OK.

 

[campanula]

In the compost with mine. I seem to remember doing all sorts of garden-related meddling with teas, potions, experiments and generally mucking about. I have become very idle in recent years...although I have revived my dye garden so there should be some witchy spells and brewing.

 

[David Clapson]

After a few days in the kitchen compost bin I find they smell just like earth! It's very heartening. The council takes them away every week...I do hope they're put to good use. Would it be better if I just gave them to an actual gardener locally?

 

[yield]

‘A forest on caffeine’? How coffee can help forests grow faster
nationalgeographic. March 30, 2021

A recent experiment tested whether coffee pulp, a leftover of the coffee growing process, could help bring Costa Rica’s rainforests back to life. Researchers from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa tested two plots to see how the coffee waste would affect deforested land, covering one parcel of grass with about 20 inches of the pulp and leaving the other untouched.

At each site, land had been exploited for years, either to grow coffee or raise cattle, and was eventually abandoned. It was dominated by invasive grasses, primarily an African species called palisade grass, used to feed grazing livestock. The grass can reach 16 feet tall when not trimmed by grazing animals, preventing native rainforests from easily regrowing.

After two years, the plot of land given a boost from coffee showed a dramatic improvement. Eighty percent of the plot was covered by young tree canopy, some trees already 15 feet—including tropical species that can grow as tall as 60 feet—versus just 20 percent in the untreated plot. In the coffee-fueled plot, trees were also four times taller on average, soil samples were more nutrient-rich, and invasive grasses had been eliminated.

The results were published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

Thought this was interesting.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I throw mine into the garden. I used to save them and pasteurise them for growing 'shrooms, but they're a proper cunt for going moldy, so I don't bother now, and just make my own substrate, although if you wanna grow some oysters...

 

[seeformiles]

Another vote for slug control. I successfully stopped the slimy little sods from eating my runner beans last year by surrounding them with used grounds. Did a control pot as well with no grounds and they all got eaten.

 

[bimble]

Another vote for slug control. I successfully stopped the slimy little sods from eating my runner beans last year by surrounding them with used grounds. Did a control pot as well with no grounds and they all got eaten.

ooh encouraging. Did you build a fortress of coffee grounds or just spread them flat?

 

[seeformiles]

ooh encouraging. Did you build a fortress of coffee grounds or just spread them flat?

I just encircled each plant - covered wagon style

I read that too much could make the soil excessively acidic so thought it would be better than mixing it in.

 

[maomao]

Another vote for slug control. I successfully stopped the slimy little sods from eating my runner beans last year by surrounding them with used grounds. Did a control pot as well with no grounds and they all got eaten.

I have never trusted people who don't drink coffee and this rather proves my point. Slugs, the lot of 'em.

 

[bmd]

I kept meaning to try growing mushrooms on them when I worked in a coffee shop and had access to loads of fresh grounds.

THHHHHE CIIIIRCLE OVVVVV LYYYYYY HYYYYY FFFFFFE!

 

[seeformiles]

I have never trusted people who don't drink coffee and this rather proves my point. Slugs, the lot of 'em.

If the same people also have a strong fear of salt, I reckon that’s all the proof you need.