if you make your Cup of coffee daily, you may have already wondered about composting with sludge. Is coffee grounds as fertilizer a good idea? Keep reading to learn more about.
Coffee grounds composting
A compost with coffee it’s a great way to make use of something that would otherwise end up taking up space in a landfill or worse, a dump. Composting coffee grounds helps add nitrogen to your compost.
coffee grounds as fertilizer
Many people also choose to put coffee grounds directly into the soil and use it as a fertilizer. It’s important to keep in mind that while the stuff can add nitrogen to your compost, it doesn’t immediately add it to your soil.
The benefit of using coffee grounds as a fertilizer is that it increases soil organic matter, which improves drainage, water retention and soil aeration. Used coffee grounds will also help plant growth beneficial microorganisms to thrive, as well as attracting earthworms.
It is common to find that coffee grounds lower the pH of the soil, which is good for plants that like an acidic substrate. This is only true for fresh ground coffee, this is acidic. Coffee grounds are neutral. If you rinse the coffee grounds, it will have a near-neutral pH of 6.5 and will not affect soil acidity levels.
To use coffee grounds as fertilizer, place them around your plants. Diluted leftover coffee also works well.
Other uses for coffee grounds in gardens
- Soil cover;
- Keep slugs and snails away from plants. The theory is that caffeine negatively affects these pests;
- Some people also claim that coffee grounds in the soil are a cat repellent and will prevent cats from using your flower and vegetable beds as a litter box;
- You can also use coffee grounds as food for worms if you vermicompost.
using coffee powder
While not always recommended, there are uses in the garden for ground coffee beans as well.
- For example, you can sprinkle it around plants that love acidic soil, such as azaleas, hydrangeas, blueberries, and lilies. Many vegetables like slightly acidic soil, but tomatoes typically do not respond well to the addition of coffee grounds. Root crops such as radishes and carrots, on the other hand, respond favorably – especially when mixed with soil at planting time.
- It also suppresses some fungal weeds.
- While it doesn’t eliminate them entirely, it does seem to help keep cats, rabbits and slugs at bay, minimizing their damage to the garden. As mentioned earlier, this is believed to be due to the caffeine content.
*Via Gardening Know How