Advice on coffee grounds

[headburro]

Hi all,

The local Starbucks is offering free bags of coffee grounds for the garden - my question is how do I use them and what will they do to the soil?

Head Burro
www.wildburro.co.uk

[mazel-bee]

Hello. I use loads of coffee grounds in my compost and garden. Apparently it slowly realeases nitrogen, it composts well and slugs and snails don't like it either.
Although I'm not too keen on starbucks ethics, or lack of.

[Alice]

Hello Headburro, you can put the bags of coffee grounds on your compost heap or just dump them anywhere around plants where you want to improve the structure of the soil. It's all organic material (that's with a small O).

[poultrychat]

I put it in my wormery

[SueA]

Hi Headburro, I've been popping into my local Starbucks recently & have picked up the free coffee grounds. I've put some around my veg. plants in pots & sprinkled some around the veg. plot & added some to the compost heap. They're supposed to deter slugs & snails a bit & seem to have done so on the mini veg. bed I have but I did catch a huge snail crawling across some around my pumpkin- must be a caffeine addict! They give the plants a feed & can be used to improve the structure of the soil. You can either sprinkle some around the plant (about quarter to a half an inch thick) or dig it into the soil. It's best used within a couple of weeks of getting it & may go a bit mouldy looking but is still O.K. to use. Anything free from a huge company is a bonus- you don't even have to buy a coffee to get it!

[headburro]

Hi Mazel-Bee - I'm not too keen either, but you don't have to shop there to get them - bonus! I'm thinking of asking my local, family owned coffee shop if I can have their grounds as it should help cut down their waste bill.

[headburro]

Hi all - thanks for the advice. I had heard that the coffee grounds increase the acidity of the soil you add them to. Is this true?

[SueA]

Hi Headburro, yes coffee grounds are good for acid loving plants & also release nitrogen into the soil.I don't think you're supposed to use too much too often though as they also contain salts which can be harmful to some plants but I've not had any problems so far.

[headburro]

Cheers Sue - I'll dig them into my new beds this wweekend (if the bl**ding rain stops )

HB

[Two_Sheds]

I've got my local cafe to donate their coffee grounds to me. Use as a slug-repellant and also cat-repellant - its working so far!

[greenlung]

I only compost half my coffee grounds - I've heard that the acidity isn't very helpful (& I drink quite a bit of coffee: ) Same goes for citrus peel.

[running_muttley]

Hate to disappoint you but they don't work as a slug repellent I'm afraid. I've got 2 or 3 inches of coffee mulching my blueberries and the slugs basked at the base of the plants all summer.

[Hazel at the Hill]

....they don't work as a slug repellent I'm afraid. I've got 2 or 3 inches of coffee mulching my blueberries and the slugs basked at the base of the plants all summer.

...and they don't even sleep now!