Give Your Garden a Coffee Break

March 24th, 2010 - Barbara Feiner

While a cup of coffee can get you moving each morning, a java jolt is also a great pick-me-up for your organic garden. 

You can use coffee and tea byproducts as a slow-release fertilizer and key compost ingredient. Thinly dispersed coffee grounds serve as a soil amendment that puts nutrients back into the ground. 

Here are some tips for getting “grounded”: 

  1. Add coffee grounds (including filters) and tea bags to compost piles to create a rich, all-natural source of energy for plants.
  2. Dilute with water to make a fast-acting fertilizer.
  3. Use in soil for houseplants or in vegetable beds.
  4. Some gardeners believe coffee grounds can help repel pests, such as snails and slugs.
  5. If your garden needs more nitrogen, turn to coffee. Nitrogen is essential for leaf development.
  6. Plants that thrive in acidic soil—think pines, evergreens, blueberries, raspberries, roses, azaleas, gardenias, ferns, rhododendrons, lily-of-the-valley and marigolds—can benefit from coffee grounds, which slightly lower soil pH.
  7. Feed coffee grounds to garden worms. Worm excrement and the aeration provided by tunneling worms work wonders in the garden.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 7:13 am and is filed under Organic Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

8 Responses to “Give Your Garden a Coffee Break”

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    March 24, 2010 at 12:03 pm

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    March 24, 2010 at 8:53 pm

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  4. Elena says:
    March 26, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    Just wondering…do you think ground “espresso” coffee would work just as well? Also, if you are using organic seeds, organic soil, etc. and then add non-organic coffee would that mess things up? Thanks:)

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    March 28, 2010 at 5:31 pm

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  7. Organic Gardening says:
    May 30, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    I used tea and coffee for my rose garden. now I’m going to try this for marigold and rhododendron too. I also have the same question like Helena, do I need organic tea or coffee for this?

  8. Barbara Feiner says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:45 am

    All coffee grounds will work, but we recommend drinking organic coffee (and using the grounds) to reduce your exposure to pesticides and other chemicals.
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