Free coffee grounds.

[SueA]

Went to Starbucks last night & got a bag of free used coffee grounds. I know this isn't much use to those of you who live in the countryside but for us townies it's a bonus for missing out on all that fresh air you have! They are giving away bags of used grounds for use as garden mulch, slug deterrent, compost component etc. You don't have to buy anything ( I didn't!), it's just generating good P.R. for them & saving landfill, not all branches are doing it but it's worth looking in if you pass one.

[jaybex]

sorry to sound stupid, but does this really work as a slug deterrent? We've just lost all our summer cabbages, not sure if it's slugs or birds but need something to stop them.

[SueA]

I've read that it is supposed to put slugs off but this is the first time I've tried it Jaybex. I'm trying all sorts of different methods, one which seems to be helping a bit is sprinkling garlic granule barrier around each plant, I think the smell is maybe supposed to put them off, probably the same with the coffee but I don't know. I haven't had that many slugs on the veg. bed where I have used it but don't know if this is a coincidence, I bought a large tub of the garlic barrier for about £4 from Robinsons nursery & it is also supposed to act as a plant food.I also use slug pubs & hand pick at night with a torch-try anything to get on top of the devils!

[GardenFan]

I am a complete and utter fan of coffee grounds, I source mine from a local coffee shop by the carrier bag load every couple of days. I find it's best mixed with compost when potting on or adding new plants to your border as it really encourages root growth (if you top dress with it as I have before now you can actually see the roots coming up through it :O). It's also great for plants that love nitrogen like Cabbage as its very rich in it. For the slugs the more course the better but I have found that the top dressed plants have not been effected by the slugs.

[Alice]

Thanks for that Gardenfan, I usually put my coffee grounds in the compost heap but will try putting them around my seedlings. Will let you know how I get on. Will also save them up over the winter to mix with compost for potting next spring. Oh! have just thought! I have a neighbour who runs a cafe/restaurant. Will ask her to keep all the coffee grounds for me. Brilliant idea !

[jaybex]

thats great, thanx, will try using it now. Going to go out tomorrow and try and chat up my local coffee shops! still dont have a compost bin, should go and sort that out as well. only just started any sort of gardening (much to my parents disgust, they've been trying to encourage it for years!) so I'm really new to all this. Suprisingly, the plot is growing really well!

[SueA]

I've just come back from a week in Wales & everything in the garden has shot up. I top dressed the veggies with coffee grounds & garlic barrier the day before I left & it seems to have done the trick. Only a few nibbled leaves on one or two things & lots of lush growth. Of course it could be a coincidence that the weather has been so hot that the slugs/snails have been too hot to come out & eat but I would say that the coffee has been of some help.

[2910fredw]

Of course all these coffe grounds must be "Fairly traded" or it just wont work!!
will it!!

[sooz]

Does anyone know if the grounds store well? Or is it best to use them fresh, or pop em in compost?

Sooz

[Birdie Wife]

The grounds in my cafetiere go mouldy within a few days (only when we're having 'discussions' over who's turn it is to do the washing-up!) so I would say it's best to use them fresh or compost them.

[SueA]

The Starbucks ones say to use them within 2 to 3 weeks of the coffee being brewed to get the best out of them, they give them to you in a large sealed foil bag so I guess once you've opened them you should use them as soon as possible. I've used some as a mulch just over a week ago & am going to use some again this week then add what's left to the compost bin.

[iainhawk]

Hi

it really does not matter if the coffee grounds are covered in mould or not- the mould soon dies off on exposure to moving air- it has to be moist for it to live. the same mould will not infect local plants either.

i am running 4 controlled trials on my allotment with coffee grounds- i have planted the same things in each plot- for one i have used just a raised bed- with no coffee, for the second a coffee ground border around the trial- 6 inches wide and 2inches deep. For the third trial i have used coffee grounds as a light dressing over the area--about 1/4 inch thinck-and the last is a plain plot with nothing added.

The results are very clear. i planted rocket, early carrots, maincrop carrots, beetroot, lettuce and spring onions in the same order and the same position (relative to the sun etc) in each plot. The rocket and beetroot grew the same- no differences between plots. but there were big differences in the other veg. I only got one lettuce in the non-coffee plots (raised bed)and 16 and 12 in the dressed and border plots respectively. Last year i only managed to get one lettuce from un-cloched areas of my allotment- the slugs are a nightmare!

This is only a small trial but i controlled for everything i could- giving the same watering, the same number of seeds from the same packet etc. Just by looking at the plots you can see the difference- the coffee works- on some crops at least.

I have not got to the pulling up of the root crops yet but i will record the yield and damage and flavour of all 4 plots and let you know.

The carrots are about the same with the plots where no coffee was used having just 6% of the carrots of the coffee plots- that is pretty good..

[SueA]

Nice to know someone out there has a scientific, methodical mind Iainhawk, I just threw coffee grounds & garlic barrier around everywhere & hoped for the best so don't know which was most effective. Looks like coffee grounds are worth a try judging by your results.

[GardenFan]

Another tip is to mix it with compost when planting out new plants into your borders or potting up. You can also throw a few handfuls neat into the planting hole as well, your plants will really appreicate it. Gosh it really is your best friend in the garden