Coffee grounds

[Nykied]

I keep seeing coffee grounds mentioned on here. I'm assuming that this is the stuff you get from a coffee filter machine thing?

What do you need to do to it and how do you use it/what do you use it for?

I seem to recall reading somewhere that it repels snails maybe?

[cathd66]

Coffee ground are a great all over fertiliser, though they are a bit acidic, so best avoided on brassicas. They also need a bit of time (and good healthy soil) to break down.
They are supposed to repel slugs, but either I have weak coffee grounds or my slugs are just like me- will travel for caffeine.

[Janek]

I'm with you Cath. My slugs will travel for the caffeine as well.

[Nykied]

Maybe I'll leave those alone then, don't want to be encouraging those slugs more than they invade my garden ;o)

[zazen999]

Nyk;

Coffee grounds are best used to add organic to clayey soils; they are top at adding extra nutrition to an onion bed. I swear by them

[Nykied]

My soil doesn't seem to be clayey, it seems more dry. 'Course, it's throwing it down out there, so I'm in here on th'laptop ;o)

[sweetiepea]

I beg to differ regarding their effectiveness re slugs etc. I put down (and topped up) thick lines of coffee grounds around the perimeter of my veg beds to deter the slimy foe and had great results. Slug trails along the timber recorded the proposed attack and, more importantly, the retreat. That, plus no damage, proved the effectiveness of coffee grounds to me. I also used them in flower patches on grassy banks where I'm always waging war against slugs and snails. Again, great results. You do have to top them up when it rains, but then you have to do the same with slug pellets.

[Janek]

G'Day Sweetiepea!

You are a sweetiepie! I must try that strategy next growing season. I start every single day with three cups of Turkish coffee and the 'mud' is very fine, and I have a regular supply! The blighters reeked havoc in my veggie patch this year, almost to the point of driving me crazy!

Any measures that bring good results are worth a try so I'll be ready for the blighters come next season!

Cheers.

Janek

[sweetiepea]

Good luck with it Janek! Personally I hate coffee but I have a regular supply of grounds from a small coffee shop. They think I'm mad but are quite happy to 'amuse' me!

[SlugLobber]

I did try coffee grounds as a natural fertiliser and slug repellent, but it was more a 'rinse the French Press and chuck the contents over the veg bed' strategy. Hmmm, must have a rethink. If nothing else, it improves the soil (I'm on clay).

[Nykied]

So Sweetiepea, a few questions )

Do I need to dry these coffee grounds (if that's what they use in the coffee machine at work - I hate the stuff) or just splodge them round the edge? And when you say 'a thick line' how wide and tall are we talking here?

It's my first time growing veg. Well, it's my first time growing anything to be honest, and I'm prepared to try anything that will give good results, so that my enthusiasm keeps up...