7 Surprising Benefits of Using Coffee Grounds for Your Small Vegetable Garden
Using Coffee Grounds for Small Vegetable Gardening
Coffee grounds are a versatile and readily available resource that can bring many benefits to your small vegetable garden. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting out, raised beds or small containers, incorporating coffee grounds into your gardening routine can help to improve soil fertility, reduce pest problems, conserve moisture, and more. In this post, we’ll explore seven surprising benefits of using coffee grounds in your garden and how you can get started today.
If you’re a coffee drinker, you probably wonder what you could do with all those used coffee grounds each morning: if you grow food at home, do NOT throw your used coffee grounds away every again! Your plants will thank (and reward) you!
7 Surprising Benefits of Using Coffee Grounds
There are multiple benefits to using coffee grounds in a small vegetable garden, including:
- Improving soil fertility: Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are essential nutrients for plant growth. Adding coffee grounds to the soil can help to improve soil fertility and support healthy plant growth.
- Reducing pest problems: Coffee grounds can help to reduce pest problems by deterring some common garden pests, such as snails and slugs.
- Improving soil structure: Coffee grounds can help to improve soil structure by increasing the organic matter content of the soil. This can help to improve soil aeration and water-holding capacity, leading to healthier plant roots.
- Improving soil pH: Coffee grounds have slightly acidic pH, which can help to balance soil pH. This can be especially beneficial for plants that prefer slightly acidic soil, such as tomatoes and blueberries.
- Conserving moisture: The organic matter in coffee in coffee grounds can help to conserve moisture in the soil, reducing the need for frequent watering.
- Suppressing weeds: Coffee grounds can help to suppress weeds by limiting the growth of weed seeds in the soil.
- Reducing waste: Using coffee grounds in a vegetable garden can help to reduce waste, as they are a readily available and free source of organic matter.
Note: It’s important to use coffee grounds in moderation. There is wide disagreement among experienced gardeners as to whether it’s important to properly compost used coffee grounds first before adding them to soil. Some say the caffeine in coffee grounds, because it contains caffeine, can be harmful to plants when adding directly to soil.
However, in moderation, most all gardeners agree that the benefits of adding coffee grounds directly to soil far outweighs the potential harm to plants if too much is used.
Visit the EPA for more information on composting at home: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
How long do Coffee Grounds Take to Decompose?
The time it takes for coffee grounds to decompose depends on several factors, including the size of the coffee grounds, the moisture content of the soil, and the temperature. On average, coffee grounds can take anywhere from several weeks to several months to decompose fully.
In summer months, in southern areas or where there is a hot and humid environment with sufficient moisture (ie greenhouse), coffee grounds can break down and decompose quickly. However, if the environment is dry and cool, the decomposition process is likely to take much longer (months vs. a few weeks).
It’s important to note that decomposition is a natural process and is essential for maintaining soil health and fertility. By regularly adding compost and other matter (like coffee grounds) to your soil, you’ll be helping to improve soil structure, fertility and moisture-holding capacity.
Recycle your Coffee Grounds into your Food Garden
Here are some specific best ways to use coffee grounds in small vegetable gardening, whether a small raised garden bed or container garden:
- Soil amendment:
Mix coffee grounds into the soil to improve fertility and soil structure - Compost accelerator:
Add coffee grounds to your compost pile to speed up the decomposition process - Natural fertilizer:
Brew coffee grounds in water to make a liquid fertilizer that can be used to water plants (every 2 weeks is usually a good timeframe to use for this) - Slug deterrent:
Sprinkle coffee grounds around plants to deter slugs and snails - Root booster:
Place coffee grounds at the bottom of the planting hole when transplanting seedlings to help stimulate root growth
Recycle your Coffee Grounds into your Food Garden!
What are other Common Kitchen Items that can Boost Your Small Vegetable Garden?
See how on my recent post that includes how to use cinnamon, baking soda, cumin, epsom salt and mustard seed here: 5 Common Kitchen Items to Boost Your Small Vegetable Garden