Used Coffee Grounds as a Plant Fertilizer?

I just came across an article (accidentally, mind you lol) that stated you could re-use used coffee grounds as a plant fertilizer, as well as liquid coffee that has gone cold (that y ou'd typically dump down the sink drain) as a liquid plant fertilizer. As a beginner gardener, has anyone here ever heard of this, or done this before? If so, does it work well for you?

As a mom of a 5 year old child who has type 1 diabetes, needing round the clock blood sugar checks, I drink a LOT LOT LOT of coffee (literally up to 2 pots a day. yes, I know its bad for me, but it keeps me from "passing out" in the middle of the night when we are battling dangerous low blood sugars or extreme high blood sugars lol). So, this article has kind of peaked my interest for a couple of reasons... 1) it would help me save some money in the longrun by using my old coffee grounds as fertilizer instead of spending $8+ on a small container of Miracle Grow fertilizer... and 2) its ALWAYS good to be able to re-use something instead of sending it to some landfill! Less waste = happier planet, right?!

So, have any of you ever heard of doing this, tried it? If so, please share y our experiences with it, and what, if any, types of plants benefit the most from using this as a fertilizer.

Here's the article that I read about this from: http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/151/1/Recycling-coffee-grounds.html

Inquisitive minds want to know! HEHE!

Coffee and tea are great for plants, along with banana peels and egg shells


http://www.ehow.com/list_7670239_differences-between-compost-fertilizer.html

http://www.rd.com/home/moneysaving-ideas-for-plant-and-flower-food/

http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

Great articles! Thanks!

I am a little confused though. Ya see, at the bottom of the ehow.com link you posted, under "warning", it says "never add pig, dog or cat manure or meat products to compost. These can be harmful to your compost and garden."

But, in the plantea.com link, where it gives a list of 162 things you "can add to your compost pile", it lists things like "freezer-burned fish" (which i would think would have the same effects to your compost as meat? though I know fish isnt technically a "meat").

Also, how in the world does Kleenex tissues help the garden? I mean, I'm assuming they are talking about "clean" tissues, not "used" ones, right? LOL! And what does it mean when it says you can add "tobacco wastes" to your compost pile? I'm a smoker, but I didnt think it was exactly a good thing to throw, even put out, cold, cigarette butts in the garden.

Also, according to the ehow.com link you posted, it states that elmers glue is not recommended to put in your compost pile, but the plantea.com list states that you can. LOL Sorry for seeming "nit picky" about all this, but I have been kind of considering learning how to start a compost for my garden soon, and seeing great differences in information from two different websites kind of makes me nervous. I just wanna make sure if I dive into a project like this, that i don't make a silly mistake that could really mess up the pH of the current soil in my garden lol. If that makes sense :)

All good questions...pig, dog and cat manure can contain pathogens harmful to humans and take a while to break down, Don't use them. I don't know about tobacco products....I wouldn't use them.

Meat and meat by products would draw all kinds of pests and add little or no value as opposed to the hassle it causes. If ya think back to grade school, the Indians put fish heads in with each corn seed. Fish emulsion is an organic fertilizer and plants seem to thrive on it. Fish parts seem to break down faster than muscle meat. You can also add shrimp and crawfish peels. For those, you should always put a layer of soil over them...keeps down the smell and starts the breakdown process sooner..

The Kleenex (used), paper towels, shredded newspaper, coffee filters all add cellulose (organic matter). We shred all the (non slick) junk mail, old bills, etc. and add them to the compost....helps the garden and keeps that stuff out of landfills.

The basic rules we have followed for years is No animal by products(flesh, bones fat) except for fish, No fats or oils, No dairy products and no animal feces from carnivores. No plastics. we do add grass clippings, leaves, (green and brown stuff) but no woody stuff as it takes too long to break down.

You can add manure from the ruminants,( cows, sheep, goats, horses) and also rabbits, guinea pigs and fowl.

A good rule of thumb...if you aren't comfortable with an item listed...don't use it. There are enough good things that the other stuff won't be missed.

Mrs. L, as themoonhowl said, no manure from carnivores. Ruminants eat hay and grasses, corn, etc. Fish, too. We put water from cleaning our fish pond on our plants, indoors and outdoors.

Coffee grounds help to condition and extend the soil as well as fertilize. When conditioning our soil in the fall, we go to the local market and take whatever they cannot sell. If it is rotted, it is even better, because it is one its way to breaking down.

Tobacco leaves or tobacco ash is probably ok. Do not put in filters or things like that. They take too long to break down. Plain vegetable food scraps are good, too. It takes a while to get into the habit. Then it will become automatic. Guessing your child was recently diagnosed. Hope it won't be too long before s/he is stable enough to forego midnight testing.

Over in composting forum, you will find that the worms LOVE coffee grounds in the compost and worm beds. I drive around in early spring and again in the fall to collect grounds from breakfast shops, fast food places and at our church.

I keep a pretty bowl by the stove, we put anything in it that can be dug into the garden. The person who cleans up dinner takes the bowl out, scoops a hole and dumps it in, then puts the dirt back over. We compost right into the vegetable bed. Takes all of a minute or 2 a day and none of that goes out into the trash can.

I have a LOT of trash mail and periodicals that I remove the staples from , then run through the shredder .Includes all old statements and cancelled checks . I save up a coupla garbage bags , spread it out , wet it down , then cover with old compost . At the end of the year (each spring ) ,it has disappeared into good compost .We also have a sawmill that will give me all the sawdust I want . I try to get the old stuff and it makes good compost that breaks down fast . After planting tomatoes and veggies in haybales , I have the prettiest compost left when they break down that I prefer it for potting soil over the commercial stuff .
Oh, and by the way , if Moonhowl says it , it must be true .That is one sharp lady .I met her for about thirty minutes and could talk to her all day .

Why Thank You Sally. That is very kind of you. I feel the same about you. GRIN

Girlfriend , you know I don't give out kindness , only truth . lol
We just got home to Ga yesterday .

Wow. I'll bet you are happy to be home. I know you have a ton of stuff to catch up on. Hope to see ya here more now too. Don't overdo it though...it will all still be there tomorrow. Grin

Oh wow! Thank you all so much for all the great insight and information!

Cathy, he was diagnosed almost 2 1/2 years ago. Hes just so young right now and little things affect his body in such a major way, I'm not comfortable enough yet to let him go all night without a blood sugar check. Honestly, I know many T1 adults who still do atleast one night check every night. It helps us to catch lows and/or ketones early enough before they become a life threatening issue, as well as catch patterns to make accurate and precise changes to his diet and/or insulin increments. I wont lie, people think it looks easy, but its actually quite hard, never-ending, tiresome... but well worth all the effort and sleepless nights to know that my baby boy will still be here in the morning to argue with me HEHE! Type 1 Diabetes kinda makes me think of living with a newborn.... but one that never "grows up". All the sleepless nights, constant worries, etc etc... only difference.... this baby never grows up and if ya dont pay close attention, majorly bad things can happen. (Dont mean to sound overly dramatic, but, its the truth.) Ive started using gardening as my way to releive stress... as well as I blog a lot about diabetes to help spread awareness, and the truth about what its really like living with type 1. Surprisingly enough, since his diagnosis, I've realized that not many people really know WHAT diabetes is or how its really managed on the day to day level. I'm forever hearing celebrities and such state misconceptions about type 1 diabetes on national TV, so, my little blog is my little way of getting the word out about the truth on it all. lol.

Oh, and by the way.... GREAT idea on putting it right in your garden! I'll have to snag that suggestion I think! LOL!

Ive fallen in love so much with gardening since last year that, even though I'm still making TONS of mistakes and killing several plants lol, I cant give it up! I've even started a second blog about my little adventures with gardening (more like a journal than a blog since I only have like 2 followers, but, thats ok! Helps me keep track of everything too HAHA!)

I'll have to see if I can get into the composting forum. Im not a paid member yet, so theres lots of forums here that id love to read up, but cant until I get enough money to become a paid member lol.

I know there was a time when you could get a three month subscription to DG for $5. Possibly that would be of use to you.

this is such a great thread! love the info. i've composted when i was a kid, and just started up a new coffee can for this years garden! :) we drink a ton of coffee and eat a lot of eggs too, so there is a lot of waste. this type of compost, is acidic though. which works great for me since i'm planting Hydrangeas! but i'm curious about putting it right in the dirt with growing garden, particularly a vegetable plot, i've heard it's best to age the compost at least a year or so before putting it on your plants?

Put it between the rows, not right on the plants, or around the edges of the garden.

With coffee grounds, tea leaves/bags, egg shells and banana peels and fish heads, you can bury them right in the garden as none of them are nitrogen robbing nor do they "burn" plants. grass clippings, veggie peels and the like, the green and brown detritus, need time to break down before using in the garden.

I just kinda scanned these posts, so this may be 'old news', but 2 things:
- Starbucks advertises that they give away their coffee grounds , you just walk in and ask for "Grounds For Gardeners"
- second, this may no longer be valid, but a few years ago at a tour of a botanical garden. they asked anyone who smoked to please wash their hands before entering the propagation area, as they were worried about Tobacco Mosaic Virus, which (according to them) could exist even in processed cigarette tobacco. Don't know, but I'd probably keep tobacco products out of my compost pile for that reason.

-Well, okay, 3 things. A friend of mine brought me her (very) sick plant, saying she had been watering it with her cold coffee, and wanted to know what was wrong. I touched the soil- it was ROCK hard! I said 'hmm, how do you drink your coffee?', and she replied, 'oh, with lots of cream and sugar... is that bad?' So, nix on the cream & sugar, if you use it..

Absolutely. You can use leftover black coffee from the pot, but never from your cup if you drink it any way but black.

Funny story, thanks for sharing

lol! yeah, usually there is no coffee left over, just grounds, but i'll keep that in mind. since my mix is so random each week i'll probably just make a pile then let it break down. maybe i'll treat my Hydrangea to a little sip of black coffee when we hang out in the morning though! :)

Years ago a cafe watered all the indoor plants with left over coffee . Pretty as I ever saw .

i just got great news! my friend is giving me horse poop! :) I DON'T think normal people get this excited about their friends giving them s*** ;)

That is a friend . I've got to look some up too .

Bravo for you. I guess the excitement level depends on the KIND of crap a friend gives Ya. GRIN

Moon , you're toooo funny . Love to see you again . We just didn't have enough time to visit .

Sorry we couldn't get together on your way home....maybe your next trip we can. I agree....at least an afternoon or more is necessary to catch up...Grin

Hopefully

Hi. I am fairly new to gardening & love to learn. :) I have used coffee grounds in my gardens in the past. I was wondering why mine go moldy and stunk? My BF & I used that & egg shells & not only was it moldy, but stunk to high heaven.

If you are keeping them in a closed container for a long period of time, they will get moldy...especially with egg shells. Unless you have a open area where you can compost them, then I would suggest adding a bit of soil and a few worms to the bucket and storing it with a loose fitting cover outside. The worms will process the organic matter and add castings to the mix. Otherwise, only store what can be used in just a few days.

On the tobacco question, all of the nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes) are susceptible to tobacco mosaic virus and I wash my hands before working around these.

yeah, i've heard that too, about washing your hands. especially if you roll your own tobacco, and always sanitize any shears you may use to cut house plants, and outdoor plants. i try to keep my yard butt free, but alas... we just moved in and you would not believe the amount i've found in the front lawn.... :( it's gonna be a lot of clean up.

Pay a kid a dime for every fifteen . Or a penny apiece . A whole dollar is a lot for a six year old . If you don't have a kid , grandkid that age , borrow a neighbors . Worked for me .

lol! i have a nephew across the street! he'll be 8 on the 1st of may! and he loves making money, and he saves it like scrooge! :) i also plan to have what i'm calling a "fetch party" where everyone collects branches out of our woods and we have a bonfire! :) i'll cook they'll clean. works for me.

Pretty smart , aren't we ?

And the ideas just keep on coming. I used to pay my kids a penny a piece for every camphor tree seedling or oak seedling they collected. That started getting a bit pricey...LOL

my nephew already piled up a TON of pinecones of his own free will and told me there were 186 of them... i'll take his word for it! can i compost those? or should i start a separate pile for mulch?

If you can grind them , they make good mulch . Try a lawn mower

It takes pine cones a long time to break down, whether for compost or mulch. we even tried running them through the chipper and still got poked and pricked by the spines. We use the ones from the yard for starting fires...they burn quite well. grin

Moon , thats why they make good mulch when ground , lasts awhile .You're right ,but wear gloves .

I agree, Digger....they do last. I am just notorious for forgetting the gloves.... and am such a wimp....grin

I ran into a deal at 2.00 store and bought six pair of doeskin for 12.00. I have them front , back , side of the house and same in Tex also the ones I already had are all around at my sons . No more running to find a pair . LOL