Coffee

What PNW discussion would be complete without coffee!

Other than attracting worms, does anyone know of anything else that coffee grounds are supposed to do to / for your yard?

Adds organic matter to the soil improving its tilth. I also heard that grounds and the old coffee in the bottom of the pot that's two days old and not worth nuking anymore (or rather the microbial critters that break it down) help supress the growth of some fungal diseases.

Since I tend to have left-over coffee I'll have to remember to throw it in the yard somewhere rather than down the drain. I can get buckets full of grounds through my mom so maybe I'll just start digging them into my beds all around.

Thanks Herpst. :-)

Put coffee grounds around the acid loving plants, like phlox, rhodies, az., lilacs, rasp., blueberries, etc.

Coffee grounds are a source of nitrogen. Also a good acidifier just ask my stomach.

great for your compost pile!

Now that's what I do with them-- filters and all! They seem to bring the worms in pretty quick. Are used coffee grounds really all that acidic? Seems like after brewing most of the acid goes to our tummies. I'm going to run a releach test and check the pH...

pardenlinum beat me to my comment: there are oodles of worms in my compost. I have tons of heavy, compacted barn bedding to compost each year. I get a couple hundred lbs of coffee grounds to layer in with the straw/hay/poop along with grass, leaves and the usual kitchen stuff. Worms abound where the coffee grounds are! They really are mandatory to help break down the straw, aerate etc. I love the stuff: either fresh brewed with a splash of cream, or recycled in the compost.

I particularily like the Kentucky Coffee Tree and find it an invalueable addition to any landscape.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1669/index.html

MzWeazelle:
I decided to do a little non-scientific science experiment last year with coffee grounds.
I grow blueberries, and decided to dig in the spent coffee grounds (out to the drip line) to half of the plants of each variety, so I could see if there was any effect on growth & berry production.
Results are in: the plants that received grounds grew taller (about 8-12"), had larger berries than their counterparts sans grounds, and the berries had a stronger flavor. I had several friends do taste testing & the results were the same. And the worms were quite happy/prolific also...
I have put grounds in my compost for the last 18 years, and basically it's worm world!

Thanks to all!

I've been dumping extra grounds in my compost for years and I'm well aware of the good they do there.

Katye:
I'm especially glad to hear about your results. I haven't planted any yet, but I do hope to add blueberries to my garden. I'll remember to keep them supplied with all the Starbucks they want! Do you add grounds just once a year, or more frequently than that?

Growin:
Nice tree! I don't know if I'll have a use for one, but it's got interesting form.

Soferdig:
Sounds like your tummy and mine must be related. I love coffee, but I'm about maxxed out on my ranitidine so I have to go light most of the time. lol

Pardalinum:
I'd love to hear the results of your test. I can't imagine there's any acid left in the hummers considering what's in the stuff I drink!

Ms W- May I recommend Blue Crop as an easy and tasty, prolific producer? We are right now enjoying the best berry crop in years ( blueberry pancakes for lunch LOL) from a few of those bushes.

I think there's some debate about the acidity of used coffee grounds, so I am also interested in Pardalinum's tests.

Well OKAAAAAAY! Here are the results. Slightly sloppy science...didn't weigh the used grounds (just took a couple heaping spoons)... didn't measure the added water exactly (just slopped in about 100 ml to each)... hot leached for about 10 minutes... you get my drift here...

I did 4 tests: one each on the original brews (1 regular and made very STRONG and 1 decaf fairly weak) and one each on the grounds as described above. In all 4 cases the pH fell in between 5 and 6!!

Both were originally brewed in drip type pots, ie, once the reservoir is emptied the leach comes to an end (coffee is ready!) and the grounds go to the garden or compost. So there is indeed plenty of oomph left in those grounds for the acid loving plants. My understanding of compost (which to me is really mysterious stuff) is that over time the pH trends back to neutral.

Poochella:
How big are the Blue Crop bushes? I'd like to have something that's happy at a managable size, ie: I'd rather not have to use a ladder to pick my breakfast. :-)

Pardalinum:
Sounds like grounds are grounds are grounds. Thanks for the info.

I had a niece who worked for Starbucks and she Believed that Folgers was the coffee swep up from the floor. Where I don't know which floor. I used to work at a vet clinic that was next to a roaster house for a local Montana coffee and I loved working there. Ahhhhh

Weazelle, The Blue Crops grew to about 4 ft the first year and have since gone on to be more like 6. You can prune them to your liking. Very good bloomers, berry producers and so plump and tasty if kept watered well. They have remained disease-free, although I don't know if blueberries get diseases much.

Soferdig:
Hey, I don't think my dirt is going to care whether the grounds started out costing $3/lb or $13/lb, and I certainly don't re-use the stuff for anything else! lol

Poochella:
Thanks, they sound like a good bet for my growing "gotta get" list. I'll just have to make sure they are high up on the watering priority list. We get all our water from a couple wells on our property and since this is our first year here we aren't too sure how much we can sustain.

MZWEAZELLE,
I hear from others out there that they have lottsa water. Specially if you are near the lake.

I use coffee ground a lot, my plants all just love them. One time I decided. since I had lots and lots of grounds, to just put a thick layer of grounds as a mulch. It looked really nice, very black and the green foliage looked beautiful. Well after a week or so the grounds got a crust then a mold that was really nasty looking. It did no harm to the plants but my pretty look was gone and the crust was preventing water from soaking in. Now I mix it with the dirt or use bagged mushroom compost about 50/50. That looks very nice and does not get the mold. I have not used any fertilizer for about 3 years, just the mushroom compost and lots of coffee.
Rebecca
Am going to use a lot when I put in my blueberries, good idea. I have Duke and Blue Ray, still small and in pots but the few berries on them are nice and big.

The mere mention of another blueberry makes my mouth water!

Use lots of compost when you plant and more as mulch Ms Weazelle and you'll be in good shape for happy berries with reasonable water consumption. I used to take my coffee grounds down to the berries, or the rhodies, but now I just put tons in the compost and they are equally happy.

Ever since I read Pardalinum's acid test results I've been thinking of Tums and feeling a bit ill at ease LOL. How long can a stomach hold up to such an abusive pH?

Poochella:
Actually since one's tummy is full of acid anyway I really doubt the pH of the grounds is the problem. I highly suspect it's the oil in the coffee that's causing the most trouble. Of course, since coffee makes me burp and that probably lets all the acid up where it's not supposed to be, the whole thing is obnoxious -- but tasty the first time. lol.

Gee, so much good advice, especially about blueberries. I have to get some for next season!!!

Coffee grounds in your flower beds will also keep cats away. I had a big problem with my neighbor's cats using my beds as a potty box. I started putting the used grounds wherever I knew they were going.......problem solved.

Maybe you got lucky with your cat problem? My mom puts coffee grounds just about everywhere, I think, and she can't even keep her own cat out of the places it wants to go!

Hmmm....maybe I did get lucky. Maybe it's like people.....some like coffee and some don't? LOL

MGH,
So, you are saying you have a mind like a cat?? LOLROF re: wherever I KNEW they were going.

LOL, skidivur! No actually I "knew" where they were going only after I found it with my knee or my hand!

ewww knee or hand MGH! I know where my two indoor/outdoor cats usually go too. One spot, end of raised garden right behind Crazy Legs, Brightstar and "Unknown" Dahlias. And they better not hurt Crazy Legs with their foul little elimination habits LOL.