How to Use Coffee Grounds in the Garden

You can use your leftover coffee grounds in the garden. Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients and offer beneficial growing conditions for several popular species of ornamental plants, like azaleas and rhododendrons. Start saving the grounds from your morning coffee and learn how to use them in the garden today. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Add coffee grounds to your compost. The acidity of the coffee improves the soil and aids in breakdown. Additionally, the texture of the ground coffee is a great addition to any gardening soil, lightweight and grainy, the coffee grounds make for nice drainage. You can even compost the filters, too.

2

Sprinkle coffee grounds near plants that are subject to slug or snail infestations. Rumor has it that snails and slugs don't like ground coffee, and that they won't crawl on soil that has been caffeinated. Some organic gardeners even water their plants with cold coffee, to ward off the slimy predators.

3

Dump large amounts of coffee grounds around plants before the first freeze. As the ground rewarms and is watered, the acidity will seep into the soil giving plants a nutritive boost that will prevent mildew and promote growth.

4

Feed coffee grounds to acid loving plants like rhododendrons and azaleas. Ground coffee has an acidity that increases blooms and promotes healthy growth in these and other plants in the garden. You can dump your grounds at the base of these plants on a daily basis. The dark, consistent color of the coffee grounds makes an attractive mulch that is also good for the plants.

5

Compost your coffee grounds in your backyard mulch pile. Ground coffee has the same percentage of nitrogen as grass clippings, and worms love it. Just dump each day's brew on the compost pile, it neutralizes as it decomposes, so if you're using your compost on acid-sensitive plants in the garden, you don't need to worry that they'll be damaged.

6

Ask your local coffee shop if they'll save grounds for you. You might be surprised by how much they go through. Some coffee shops already have a system in place for using coffee grounds in the garden and you might be given a pick-up day, or be asked to bring in a plastic bin. Call ahead, and ask your local coffee shop how they dispose of their grounds and if they'd be willing to give them to you for use in the garden. Coffee shops often grind beans finer than those used at home, and these finer ground beans will decompose faster than a coarser grind.