How to use coffee grounds for plants and around your garden

Most of the world’s population drinks coffee. This delicious beverage wakes us up and give us energy to support us throughout the day. With its incredible aroma, it is the favorite hot drink of millions of people. However, coffee can be used for so many other things. For example, you can use it in DIY face masks, because it is a good exfoliator. Another place where you can use it, is the garden. In this article we are going to examine and discuss how to use coffee grounds for plants both in your garden and in your pots. So, keep reading to find out how to extract all the best qualities from this natural product.

Coffee is everyone’s favorite hot beverage

What is coffee?

Coffee is a brewed beverage. It is prepared by steeping roasted coffee beans in extremely hot water. Coffee beans come from the seeds of berries from the Coffea species. The drink is famous for its dark, black color, strong smell and bitter flavor. Because of that flavor, most people add sugar or honey to the beverage. Throughout the years, baristas have also developed the art of making coffee. Nowadays, you can have coffee in many different ways – as an espresso, latte, cappuccino, etc. Coffee is usually served hot, although lately iced coffees have been quite popular, especially in the summer.

One cup of coffee a day is set to have good effects on a person’s overall health

How to use coffee grounds for plants?

So, here is a question: What do you do with your coffee grounds every morning after preparing your coffee? We bet that for most people the answer would be: I throw them away! That, however, is a big mistake. Coffee grounds can be used in a lot of different ways around the house. As we’ve already mentioned they can be good exfoliants for both your face and your body. What’s more, they can be used to scrub away dirt from pots and pans, for example. However, the biggest area where they can be used is in your garden. Furthermore, there is a variety of ways, in which you can use them. So, keep reading to find out what they are exactly.

Ussed coffee grounds can have a lot of applications around the house

Coffee grounds in the compost bin

Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen. They also contain potassium, magnesium and calcium – just to name a few. All of these natural minerals make them a great addition to your compost bin. Coffee grounds are considered a green material, which means that your compost bin will need to have a balance. Balance out the green material with food scraps or grass clippings for example. They are considered brown materials and will balance out the coffee grounds. Also, balancing out the contents of your compost bin will help neutralize any bad smells that may appear.

Adding coffee grounds to your compost bin is a great idea

A great natural and organic fertilizer

As we have already mentioned, coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen. Therefore, they make for an amazing fertilzer. Just sprinkle the soil with coffee grounds and let them do their magic. Just make sure that the layer isn’t very thick, because it can prevent water from seeping into the soil. You can add coffee grounds to both the soil in your garden, as well as the soil in your pots. What’s more, you can create a liquid coffee fertilizer. Add 2 cups of used coffee grounds to 5 gallons of water and let it “brew” overnight. Then, you can use this concoction to water your plants or even spray their leaves and stems.

Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, which makes them a great fertilizer

How to use coffee grounds for your plants to keep the pests away

Coffee is abrasive and has a strong smell. Therefore, you can create a barrier around your plants, which is going to keep slugs and snails away. As we all know, snails love eating the green leaves from our plants and can be quite difficult to get rid of. So, using coffee grounds is one natural and organic way to do just that. What’s more, if you have house cats and they love to use your garden as a litter box, the coffee is also going to keep them away, because they don’t like its smell.

Keep pests (and pets) away from your garden

Use fresh coffee for acid-loving plants

Now this may not be something you are willing to try, because it means that you have to buy the coffee specifically for your garden. Another option is to use old coffee that you don’t like. If you have acid-loving plants in your garden, however, they will definitely be thankful. Use fresh, unbrewed coffee grounds into the soil and let the coffee’s natural acid work its magic. There are a few acid-loving plants, which are common and can easily be found in any garden:

• Hydrangeas
• Carrots
• Azaleas
• Lilly of The Valley
• Blueberries
• Radishes
• Rhododendrons

This is just to name a few. However, keep coffee away from your tomatoes and any young plants, because the caffeine will stunt their growth,

Help your acid-loving plants with some fresh coffee grounds

You can also use coffee in your potted plants’ soil

Don’t be quick to discard your coffee grounds