Coffee grounds as mulch

      Coffee grounds are readily available and I've had good results spreading them around young trees as a mulch. They don't require any composting before application, they don't stink and I've had no problems with vermin. The worms seem to like them and they moved them throughout the soil. Most of my soil is a low grade of gravel/silt so the organic material is needed. The land was logged before I bought it. Areas which were mulched with coffee regenerated faster than where I let nature take its sweet time and the young alder leaves are a deeper shade of green.

Reviving this dormant thread after 15 months. I should have mentioned that I picked it up at coffee shops for free. Weed seeds are not a problem with coffee and nutrient values are higher than with most manures. Most stops produced over 100 1b of material, so it's quite an effficient thing to gather when you're out and about. Wear old clothes and don't put it on the seat of your car. The big plastic bags often leak.

In a compost heap, coffee is easy to mix in and provides a nitrogen boost which promotes heating. By far the best soil amendment I've used.

The problem with coffee grounds is that they are very acidic. OTOH, the great thing about coffee grounds is that they are very acidic. If you have blueberries, or other acid-loving plants, then feel free to mulch away.

Coffee grounds are acidic before you brew them. The acid is water soluble, and most of it ends up in your cup of coffee.

Used coffee grounds typically have a pH of about 6.7 to 7.0 - way too alkaline to do your blueberries any good.

They will attract every worm in the neighborhood.

You haven't seen coffee grounds, or waste, till you visit a coffee plantation, just saying. The custom here is to use red worms to turn them into lovely castings, which are then brought back to the coffee plants.

My husband drinks coffee and used to use only instant, but began brewing it in the past couple years. I have been putting his filters and coffee grounds on my garden since..it is probably too early to notice much but in the areas I have put them it seems to be healthier

Thanks for setting me straight, John. I love to learn new things before breakfast. It sets my whole day on a good note.

Fred Morgan wrote:You haven't seen coffee grounds, or waste, till you visit a coffee plantation, just saying. The custom here is to use red worms to turn them into lovely castings, which are then brought back to the coffee plants.

Am I correct in assuming that most coffee waste in the tropics would be the outer shells or pith or do many of the beans get roasted and ground for products such as freeze dried instant coffee in the place of origin ?

the grounds are a fairly 'hot' source of nitrogen. three inches of shredded leaves, one inch of coffee grounds. layer to desired height. That will compost down in a few weeks.