April showers bring May flowers, the perfect time to learn how to boost your garden with coffee grounds. Our favorite pick-me-up drink can increase the growth of outdoor gardens and indoor plants. Discover easy ways your coffee promotes better blooms with the added benefit of recycling.
The Benefits of Using Coffee Grounds for Plants
After enjoying your morning cup of java, save the spent grounds to benefit your plants. When used as mulch, these grounds can fertilize the soil and minimize weeds. They also help acidify and aerate the soil.
Many gardeners use the grounds in outdoor gardens to help deter cats. They can also reduce slugs, snails, and ants in your plants. An added benefit is that earthworms seem to like coffee as much as people, inviting them to enrich your garden further.
Using Coffee Grounds in Gardens
Coffee naturally contains nitrogen fertilizer, making it perfect for adding to compost piles for faster decomposition. The grounds can also be used as a slow-release fertilizer by sprinkling them lightly on the garden and raking them gently into the soil. Make a liquid fertilizer by mixing two cups of brewed grounds with five gallons of water and letting it sit for a few hours.
Spent grounds are ideal for adding to compost piles as nitrogen quickens decomposition. Coffee grounds mixed with other organic elements make great mulch. Sprinkle various sizes of grounds into compost, manure, leaf mold, and bark to create the ultimate mulch.
Improve Indoor Plants with Coffee Grounds
Coffee benefits indoor plants similarly to outdoor ones. The grounds should be lightly mixed into the soil rather than laid on top of it. Putting grounds on top of the soil creates a barrier that may reduce water and nutrients from reaching the plant.
Liquid coffee ground fertilizer is also beneficial for indoor plants. Dilute a teaspoon of coffee grounds in a gallon of water and let it steep for a couple of days, stirring a few times. Strain the liquid using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and use it to water your houseplants.
What Plants Benefit from Coffee Grounds?
The grounds contain nitrogen, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus minerals. These minerals help promote growth and improve yields. Coffee benefits plants like roses, azaleas, carrots, and cabbage. However, coffee beans are primarily acidic. As a result, they should be avoided on alkaline-loving plants, such as asparagus, rosemary, lavender, and geranium.
Final Thoughts:
According to Melvin Cubian, a gardening expert at Plantlin, “Ground coffee is excellent for both house and garden plants.” Used coffee grounds benefit many plants and support recycling efforts. Incorporate coffee into your gardening routine, as well as your morning one, for impressive results.
