How To Use Coffee Grounds For Plants

1. Make Coffee Grounds Into Slow-Release Fertilizer

Used coffee grounds in plants work as a terrific slow-release fertilizer. The grounds are rich in nutrients gradually released into the soil, improving its quality.

They improve drainage, water retention, and aeration, building an ideal environment for plant growth.

How To Use:

To apply coffee ground fertilizer, sprinkle it onto your soil and rake everything gently.

To make the liquid version, mix two cups of brewed coffee grounds in a bucket with five gallons of water and let the solution steep overnight. It can be used afterward to water your plants for an added boost in nutrition.

2. Feed Worms

Coffee grounds are just as useful for vermicomposting. Worms will consume the coffee grounds and excrete vermicasts rich in minerals and nitrogen. These excretions enhance soil quality and work as fertilizers.

Yet, with coffee grounds, moderation must be key. The acidity will have adverse effects on the worms if used excessively. Balance this, though, by mixing coffee grounds with other organic materials inside your worm bin.

How To Use:

Add coffee grounds to your worm composting with about one cup a week. You can also put in the paper coffee filters, as worms will eat these too. 

Do note that the ratio of coffee grounds to other materials in the compost should be 1:4. Anything more than this can kill the worms.

3. Repel Insects Naturally

Your garden will be naturally protected from pests with the help of coffee grounds. The coarse texture of the grounds works great against all types of slugs, snails, and ants.

It creates an uncomfortable barrier for such pests; they do not like crossing it. Besides, the pungent smell of coffee can deter insects because most have a developed sense of smell.

How To Use:

Sprinkle a thin layer of the grounds into the soil to barricade the plants from pests.

This is a very efficient and chemical-free way of saving your garden from unwanted guests.

4. Add Coffee Grounds To Compost

Adding coffee grounds to compost can enhance its richness. The grounds contain roughly 2% nitrogen, which balances out the heavy carbon elements in most compost.

They also contain magnesium and potassium, which help decompose other organic materials in the compost faster. As a result, the compost is ready for use sooner.

How To Use:

Add coffee grounds to your compost bin with the paper filters for a well-balanced compost.

5. Use As Mulch

Mulch is essential for all plants. It retains soil moisture, reduces weed growth, stabilizes soil temperature, and prevents frost heaving over winter.

Adding coffee grounds enhances all these properties of mulch made from manure, compost, or bark.

How To Use:

If used as mulch, for good results, mix coffee grounds with other organic matter, like leaf mold.

This helps prevent clumping, which could hinder water from seeping through the ground and affect plant growth.

Lightly dust the coffee ground mulch on the plants as some are sensitive to caffeine.

6. Improves soil structure and drainage

Sandy and heavy clay soils have poor structure and drainage. They are unsuitable for growing plants and need amendment. 

You can use the coffee grounds to amend them. The coarse texture of the grounds creates holes in the soil, allowing water and nutrients to reach plant roots.

How To Use:

Mix the grounds into the soil like you would with other organic material.

Coffee grounds can be used for more than just composting and soil amendment. They can be used in ways such as:

Avoid Pathogenic Fungi

Coffee grounds build a system of defense against malignant fungi in your garden.

As coffee grounds decompose, they harbor many beneficial microbes. These useful microorganisms maintain an unfavorable environment for pathogenic fungi to survive, thus keeping your plants resistant to disease.

This natural protection is valuable for gardeners who wish to limit their use of chemical fungicides. Mixing coffee grounds into the soil brings in a team of microscopic guardians who keep working tirelessly to keep your plants healthy.

To use coffee grounds for fungal prevention, you can:

• Mix them into your garden soil
• Sprinkle them around the base of plants
• Add them to your compost pile

Prevent Bugs And Pests

Coffee grounds are powerful on wasps, fleas, mosquitoes, slugs, and snails because of their potent aroma and rough texture. Non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and very cheap, this pest control method reuses what would otherwise go to trash.

The best part? No special preparation is needed. The grounds can be used as-is, fresh after brewing. However, one thing you should never do is burn the coffee grounds before using them in your garden. It is unnecessary and dangerous.

Advantages of using coffee grounds for pest control involve:

• Safety of pets and humans
• Environmental friendliness
• Cost-effectiveness
• Waste repurposing

Keep In Mind

However, keep in mind that even good things like coffee grounds should be used in moderation. Every garden is unique, and your plants will respond differently to such a treatment.

If they show any undesirable effects, cut back on or avoid using coffee grounds altogether in that area.

There are many uses for coffee grounds other than composting and soil amendment. These versatile leftovers can protect your garden in several ways:

Like, ground coffee, brewed coffee is also beneficial for plants. Freshly brewed coffee can improve soil quality and suppress weeds. This could potentially lead to brighter flowers or tastier harvests.

However, do not use coffee as a replacement for fertilizers. They should be used to supplement fertilizers.

Also, do not use it in high concentrations as it can have adverse effects on the plants. Dilute the coffee before pouring it on your plants.

Recommendations to Gardeners

If you are using coffee grounds in your garden and not seeing the positive results that you may read about, here's some experimenting you can do for yourself:

• Try growing the same species in conditions with and without coffee grounds.
• Observe the growth rates, general health of the plants, and yield if applicable.
• Keep everything else - sunlight, watering frequency, and type of consistent to capture what happens after using coffee grounds.
• Document these findings over time to make accurate conclusions.

Which plants will love the stuff, and how do you use it? The following is the list of plants on which composted coffee grounds may be applied, among others:

Vegetables

Every two to three months, you can apply coffee grounds to your vegetable patch every two to three months.

Leafy green plants benefit from the nitrogen in the coffee grounds, while root crops need potassium and magnesium to thrive. Some of these vegetables are:

• Carrots
• Eggplants
• Potatoes
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Beets 
• Cucumbers

Fruiting Plants

Similarly, a small amount of acidity from coffee grounds could go a long way for fruiting plants. These plants absorb the nitrogen and potassium in coffee grounds, which aid fruit production.

• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Avocado trees
• Citrus trees
• Pears
• Mango trees
• Pineapples

Indoor House Plants

Coffee grounds or brewed black coffee is a good nitrogen source for the growth of green leaves and stems of indoor house plants. For best results, give the plants liquid coffee or coffee grounds once a week only.

• African daisies
• African violets
• Christmas cactus
• Daffodils
• Hollies
• Jade plant
• Money tree
• Nasturtiums
• Peace lilies
• Snake plants
• Succulents

Word of Caution:

Raw, green coffee grounds tend to be too acidic to apply in the soil directly. Acid-loving plants that might still be burned by raw coffee grounds include:

• Blueberries
• Holly
• Azaleas
• Heathers

These would be better off without composted coffee grounds or by mixing a small volume of coffee grounds into a larger volume of compost before application.

Reading about the benefits of coffee grounds might confuse you into thinking that all plants benefit from them.

This is untrue. Some plants may have adverse reactions to it. It is important to understand which ones are better off without the addition of coffee grounds.

Alkaline-Loving Plants:

Pure coffee grounds are acidic and should not be used on plants that thrive in alkaline conditions.

Do not use on these plants that require alkaline soil. These plants might experience an acid surplus and be offended by too much addition of coffee grounds.

• Asparagus
• Campanula Bellflower
• Salvia
• Achillea Yarrow

Other plants that do not like acidic mixtures are the Mediterranean herbs, which include:

• Lavender
• Thyme
• Rosemary

Alkaline-Tolerant Trees:

Trees such as the following prefer alkaline soils and should not be combined with coffee grounds. The likely effects of adjusting the pH value could turn the soil unfriendly for them:

• Linden
• Ironwood
• Red Chestnut
• Arborvitae

Evidence has shown that some plants have stunted growth when exposed to coffee grounds, either in mulch or composted form. This is but not limited to the following:

• Geranium
• Roses
• Squash
• Chinese Mustard
• Italian Ryegrass

In the plants mentioned above, it is best not to use coffee grounds at all, as this will in one way or another cause stunted growth or some other detrimental effect to the plants.

Fresh Versus Composted: Remember that fresh grounds are more acidic and stronger than composted grounds. Composting will help neutralize some of the detrimental effects if you decide to incorporate coffee grounds.

Moderation: Even for plants that can tolerate the usage of coffee grounds, using them in excess will upset the balance of your soil.

How to Use Them: Observe your plants after an application of any new soil amendment, including coffee grounds. If you notice any negative changes in them, then stop using them.

Soil Testing: Consider testing your soil before heavily changing the makeup of your soil. This will give you a better idea of what your soil is currently like in pH and nutrient-wise.

Alternative Uses: If you find yourself having extra of this, from plants that do not enjoy the coffee grounds, alternative uses include worm bins or a natural scrubbing agent.