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The remains of coffee and breakfast in general are usually a real treasure to fertilize plants, whether ornamental or edible. If, on the one hand, fruit skins are ideal for composting, coffee is not far behind. In fact, in addition to being able to add it to the compost pile, they allow many other ways of becoming a compost.
We could say that the compost is ecological, and in a way it would be, since the use of coffee grounds for plants It involves recycling a food, although it would have to be organic to be considered truly ecological when fertilizing a garden that was organic. In this Green Ecologist article we show you different ways to use coffee grounds in the garden.
Take advantage of coffee grounds for plants
In this post we will see different ways to take advantage of coffee leftovers or grounds to feed our plants or to use it as a natural pesticide, among other uses that help us to practice more sustainable gardening.
As a first step, before reviewing the different ways to take advantage of coffee residues, it is advisable to take into account a practical advice that is key to its conservation. And it is that when it comes to storing the waste, whether we do it in a plastic bag or in a glass container, tupperware or similar, it is essential that these are dry, otherwise moisture can cause them to rot. Especially if we take time to use them.
Another different thing is to take advantage of them by throwing them into the compost pile, in which case we can add them as is, dry or wet, taking into account that they are usually formed by adding layers of fresh and wet materials that alternate with other layers of dry materials.
Thus, whether as organic fertilizer mixed with the earth, as food for the compost worms, to form traditional compost or as a repeller of garden bugs, coffee has different uses in the garden, including the following.
Coffee grounds to compost or compost
The coffee remains have mainly two functions when adding them to the compost for the soil of our garden, orchard or potted plants:
- Enrich the earth: Composting regularly by mixing the coffee with the soil and topsoil can reduce the need for conventional compost, or even make it unnecessary. It is also effective to directly pour coffee grounds around the plants, along with the mulch, both in pots and in gardens on larger surfaces. The result will be a fertilizer that works like any other organic fertilizer, which does not acidify the soil excessively, rather it is somewhat alkaline. To make liquid fertilizerYou just have to mix it with water and let it sit overnight. We will obtain a liquid fertilizer that we can apply by way of irrigation or by applying it directly to stems and leaves.
- Nitrogenize the earth: Although nitrogen fertilizer alludes to a chemical element, unless it is so if we look at its conventional definition, it is also true that the coffee we drink is derived from processed seeds, which means that the coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen. Its proportion of around ten percent is ideal for enriching the earth with nitrogen, which will be of great help for the growth of plants, their flowering and, if you have a garden, also for your fruits.
Thus, coffee can be added to compost, Coffee grounds They're a nitrogen source That is why they are brown in color and it is considered a green composting material and is ideal to add with plant debris and cut herbs. Active composting is necessary, most experts recommend this material with a little coffee. You should know that your coffee grounds should not understand never more than 20% compost because it could then have a negative impact.
If you want, you can also add ground coffee to your compost to check if it goes well or not for your plants. Although of course, this remedy could be too expensive since coffee is not cheap, so we do not recommend that you do this because it could be too expensive.
Drive away worms, snails and slugs
A thin layer of ground coffee or coffee grounds or leftovers can help improve the soil in your garden, but also the natural composition of coffee combines to make slug barrieras it will not be easy for a slug, worm or snail to move on a surface of ground coffee. It is effective to place it in a circle around the plant.
If you have slug problems in your garden, ground coffee as you can see will be your great ally because, in addition, caffeine is toxic to slugs so they will not try to get close to your plants or your home. You can use ground coffee to put around your plants. But we advise you do not use a thick layer of coffee grounds because it could compact and create a solid crust that would not allow air or water to enter the roots for the plant to live. Ideally, use a thin layer of ground coffee.
Feeding the compost worms
We will obtain a richer compost if we add worms and, among other nutrients, we feed them with coffee grounds. We all know that worms are welcome in gardens because they are really necessary to work the land. To the worms they like coffee But as long as there is little, if you go overboard the worms could die because they could not digest so much coffee acidity well. Do not put more than a small cup of coffee a week to the soil of your garden, so that the worms survive do not be tempted to add more coffee to the soil of your garden.
As you can see, coffee is a drink that everyone likes (or almost everyone) and that can also help you to make your garden in better condition. If you have coffee grounds you can now reuse them. From now on you will see the garden in a different way because in addition to being your favorite drink to face the day, it will also become your favorite and easy-to-find element to take care of your garden.
If you want to read more articles similar to Ways to use coffee grounds in the garden, we recommend that you enter our Recycling and waste management category.
