Using coffee grounds as a garden fertilizer?

[FLBound11]

I've been gardening for years now, but you learn something new every day The lady in this video says to reuse your old coffee grounds and tea bags by putting them in your garden!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUy1OmWvpT0

I'm about to try it out this weekend on my tiny balcony garden, but has anyone actually done it before?

[mdezot]

I have been feeding my roses coffee for years. They love it. Someone told me that any acid loving plant will like coffee grounds. My mother has been dumping her daily grounds in her front beds for years. Her daffodils come up much earlier than mine. Also I read that Starbucks saves its grounds to give to gardeners that ask for them. Great compost!

[tnkr mom]

I use our daily grinds on our azela bushes for years now, they are beautiful every spring! Also have thrown some on the holly!!)

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I use it around my roses (when I remember), not everyday but once or twice a week.

[FLBound11]

update: I just tried it out last weekend on my tomato plants, and they're doing great! It's an odd feeling at first, just tossing coffee grounds into the plants, but hey - it's good for the planet in so many ways I'm glad that you all confirmed that this works -- you should comment on that video so that everyone else watching knows that it works for you

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Originally Posted by FLBound11

update: I just tried it out last weekend on my tomato plants, and they're doing great! It's an odd feeling at first, just tossing coffee grounds into the plants, but hey - it's good for the planet in so many ways I'm glad that you all confirmed that this works -- you should comment on that video so that everyone else watching knows that it works for you

Glad it worked out for you!

[FLBound11]

Thanks! Me too--my plants are going to be quite happy And I've always hated throwing coffee grounds into the trash.

After seeing that video, does anyone else have other eco-conscious gardening tips?

[Disneyjamie]

Do you think flavored coffee grounds would also work? Or just regular coffee?

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Originally Posted by Disneyjamie

Do you think flavored coffee grounds would also work? Or just regular coffee?

I have used them.....I haven't found a difference.

[FLBound11]

Originally Posted by NEVERENOUGHWDW

I have used them.....I haven't found a difference.

I asked a friend who has a bit more gardening experience and she said that any flavor (or unflavored) coffee/tea grounds should work.

One other thing to keep in mind--if you watch that video closely, you're actually supposed to break open the tea bags *before* putting them in the garden. I know it might seem obvious, but not necessarily to a gardening newbie

[DebºoºS]

Dittos, been doing it for years. Learned it from my grandmother who had prize winning roses. I don't know if it makes a difference. Another thing my Mom used to do is bury fish bones in her roses.

[FLBound11]

Originally Posted by DebºoºS

Dittos, been doing it for years. Learned it from my grandmother who had prize winning roses. I don't know if it makes a difference. Another thing my Mom used to do is bury fish bones in her roses.

Wow! If we can find out if the fish bones thing works, that would be the ultimate gardening tip to submit.

And even if we're not sure of how much of a difference the coffee grounds make on the growth of the plants...we do at least know that we're doing the right thing by composting those coffee grounds instead of putting them in a landfill!

[DisneyFirefly]

Originally Posted by mdezot

Also I read that Starbucks saves its grounds to give to gardeners that ask for them.

I just wanted to confirm that, at least for the store I used to work at. I worked at a Starbucks licensed store for a while and we had people who'd ask us to save the grounds. They'd bring in a bucket and pick it up every couple of days. If you need that many grounds, it's worth it, since Starbucks goes through so much coffee in a day.

[bobbiwoz]

I've put coffee grounds in my compost for years, and the resulting mix has been very good medium for the garden. They do sell something stinky (the one I bought one time...years ago was awful!) called "fish emulsion" so I think the fish bone idea has merit!

Bobbi

[DebºoºS]

When I put the coffee grounds in the soil I just scratch them in as a top layer. They're rich in nitrogen and break down quickly. Since I'm using K-cups more often now there's less of the grounds going into the ground.

Fish Meal fertilizer is nitrogen & phosphorus rich 10-5-0 and contains important trace elements and as Bobbi attests smells PU Good for tomato plants. Here's more info than you probably care to know about fishmeal fertilizer http://www.rainyside.com/resources/fishfert.html

Bone Meal on the other hand is made from bones of slaughtered animals. Not as high in nitrogen only 4, but higher in phosphorus @ 12, potassium 0, also contains trace elements. This is the stuff you put in the hole with your bulbs. It's a basic slow release fertilizer.

As I mentioned my Mom showed me how to bury fish under crops, bushes and plants but it's been done in my family (both sides) for generations. I remember reading somewhere that the Indians would put one small whole fish in the hole for each corn plant. I bet if you asked around in your family they probably have a few fish buried in their gardens too.