Happiness is a bottomless cup of coffee
It’s the spark that gets my engine running every morning and imparts seemingly supernatural physical and mental abilities. Half way through a pot, the transformation begins to take place. Once finished a full 32oz carafe of that magical brew, I’m unstoppable! Well, more like possible to deal with.
And as sad as it is seeing the bottom of the coffee press after the last drop has been poured, those spent grounds are there to provide one final treat…for my garden!
I had been throwing the coffee grounds into the compost bin for years before learning that this organic matter can be added directly to the soil without having to go through the composting process.
What are some other beneficial properties of these spent coffee grounds I’ve been missing out on? As my researched turned up, quite a bit…
Has a Carbon-to-Nitrogen Ratio (or C:N) of 20:1 making it slightly green on the brown:green composting scale
Spent grounds have a pH of 6.5-6.8 – the sweet spot most plants love because it’s the pH level that makes most nutrients in the soil available to the plant
Attracts and promotes beneficial fungi, including Trichoderma. These guys take up soil real estate and push out the bad fungi that damage plants
Has been reported to repel slugs
The list would not be complete without mentioning some of the minerals it can add to your soil:
| Nutrient | g/kg coffee (processed) |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen | 17.8 |
| Phosphorous | 1.4 |
| Potassium | 37.5 |
| Calcium | 4.1 |
| Magnesium | 1.3 |
| Sulfur | 1.5 |
| Boron | 0.034 |
| Copper | 0.018 |
| Iron | 0.15 |
| Manganese | 0.03 |
| Molybdenum | 0.00007 |
| Zinc | 0.07 |
Now, how is that for something most people just toss in the waste basket? So after that first pot of coffee does the job perking you up, perk up your garden soil with the spent grounds!
Sources:
CoffeeResearch
University of Illinois Extension
DirtDoctor
Content is original and photos have been sourced or are open source.