It is the most consumed drink on earth: coffee. That means that a lot of coffee grounds are thrown away every day. And that is a shame, because coffee grounds are a versatile product and can be used as food for your plants, among other things. It is packed with nutrients that plants love!
There are many ways to reuse coffee grounds from your own machine at home: think of it as a deterrent for snails and rats, to neutralize bad smells or even as a scrub for your skin. However, gardening is perhaps the most effective method of recycling coffee grounds. This is because it contains many useful nutrients and trace elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper. These promote the growth, moisture balance and photosynthesis of your garden and house plants.
Mildly acidic soil
Especially in the garden, the use of coffee grounds is very useful. The sludge makes the soil mildly acidic and many garden plants do well in a (mildly) acidic soil. Think of the hydrangea, magnolia, rhododendron, blueberry, conifer, rose, lily of the valley and the Cape violet. The advantage with these plants is that you can apply the coffee grounds directly to the soil.
Everyone loves coffee
In general, the vegetables in your vegetable garden also like a bit of sourness! In the Dutch soil, there is often insufficient copper, which leads to weak growth and a less rich harvest. Copper is an important trace element for a vegetable garden and coffee grounds are the perfect solution for this. Vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, rhubarb, rocket, celery and endive certainly like an extra boost from it. Corn, peppers, tomatoes and pumpkin also like a spoonful of coffee grounds.
But not only plants love it: worms also love it. They run off with coffee grounds and mix it through the soil. This is again super good for the airiness of the soil. And to top it all off, coffee also helps against unwanted animals and insects such as ants, cats and snails. Enough reasons to save your coffee grounds.
A small addition: for a vegetable garden it is safer to add coffee grounds to compost bins or worm bins before applying them. This way you can be sure that the soil does not become too acidic. You could also mix coffee grounds with potting soil and spread it over the soil.
Houseplants also benefit from this
Don’t have a (vegetable) garden? Then you can also use coffee grounds for the plants in your house. Houseplants that crave some coffee are the aloe vera, pancake plant, orchid, Venus flytrap and the Asian peace lily. These are still somewhat more sensitive to acidity than your garden plants. There are therefore a few things you should pay attention to.
First of all, it is important that you only use the coffee grounds from regular coffee or decaffeinated coffee. So not of flavored or artificial coffee. In addition, you can better use the coffee grounds not directly on the potting soil as this is too strong for most houseplants. It is best to make a ‘compost tea’ by simply making another cup of coffee with the same batch coffee grounds. This tea is packed with nutrients and is completely safe for your beloved plants.
Use in moderation
If you decide to recycle your coffee grounds for your plants, use them no more than once a week and apply a thin layer. The fine particles of coffee grounds can clump together when applied in large quantities. If you notice the coffee grounds piling up, rake or mix them into the soil to distribute the grounds more evenly.
Finally, do not store coffee grounds for too long. Especially if you store them in a closed and damp container, they can quickly become moldy. Preferably reuse them immediately or store them for only a few days.
