Some coffee-loving gardeners may not realize that the used coffee grounds leave behind in the pot could be used in the garden with incredible benefits!

Coffee has some remarkable properties for use in the garden to help grow, protect from many potential dangers and etc…

1.     Compost – Coffee makes for a wonderful addition to the compost pile or as a soil amendment. soil lab tests showed that the grounds provide generous amounts of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and copper.
2.     Coffee As Fertilizer – First and foremost, the most important property of coffee when it comes to helping the garden is the plentiful supply of nitrogen retained from the bean. This is a must-have plant nutrient for leafy greens and vegetables. Coffee grounds can contain as much as 2% nitrogen by volume and sometimes have a carbon:nitrogen ratio of 11:1, which is ideal for any home-made fertilizer.
3.     Mulch – Coffee grounds can be used a fine organic mulch, as long as you don’t pile it on too thick, because this can encourage the wrong kind of mold. As mulch it can help controlling weeds, provide moisture protection and guard against heavy erosion. It is worth adding a helping hand in your kitchen garden
4.     Acid Loving Plants – The high acid content of leftover coffee grounds makes them the ideal supplement for tomato plants as well as other acid-loving flowers.The secret formula are: leave the grounds to soak in a decent amount of water overnight, pour the solution into the soil or pot and that’s it! From there the nutrients and goodness of the coffee is free to do its work. Some gardeners also do this with tea but the acid content of coffee is much higher.
5.     Roses Love Coffee – Coffee grounds have been a “secret weapon” contributing to many beautiful roses bushes and blooms. It contains small amounts of nitrogen, pH is neutral to acidic, lighten the soil around, attract worms that aerate and loosen the soil, and help deter some common garden pests and bacteria.
6.     Pest Control – It seems that while the scent of coffee can get us humans out of bed in the morning and put a smile on our faces, it has the opposite effect on some of the creepy crawlies that we wish didn’t inhabit our gardens. Placing some leftover grounds around ant holes and plants that are troubled by slug and snails can work pretty well. Slugs simply do not like crawling over the scratchy surface so a nice, well-maintained ring of grounds around vulnerable plants can be ideal.
7.     Cat Repellent – Cats are not all that welcome because of the damage they can cause, the threat to local wildlife and the mess they leave behind. Coffee grounds on the soil can deter them from digging and can also be used near potentially dangerous plants for the cat’s safety.
8.     Prevent Fungal Disease – On the subject of protecting our plants, it seems that coffee can also be helpful in preventing fungal rots and wilts in some plants because the grounds create their own superior, helpful form of fungus. The science gets a little complicated but the important thing to remember is these particular fungal growth are a gardener’s friend and should be encouraged.

These simple actions and neat tricks can turn a mound of unwanted coffee waste into something incredibly useful and versatile to the point where you’ll wonder how your garden managed without it.

Published : 11-Aug-2020