Did you Know Coffee Grounds Stunts Plant Growth?

[@bigrich6750]

I save all my coffee grounds (about a gallon of grounds a week) and put them in my compost pile, which is mostly grass clippings and leaves. They help to heat up the pile due to their nitrogen content. Many years ago, when I was working in the corporate office of my company, we had a vending machine in the break room that brewed fresh coffee. Every week, an employee would come and empty the used grounds from the machine. It was about 10-20 lbs of coffee grounds. I asked him if I could have them. Sure he said, but if I come back and they’re still here, I’ll have to go back to taking them with me. I faithfully retrieved the plastic bag with 10-20 lbs of coffee grounds, put them in my vehicle and took them home. I put them in my compost and my raised garden beds with great results. I’m a true believer in coffee grounds.

[@readtruth6670]

Same here. We go thru A LOT of coffee, and it’s a waste if you don’t at least throw them in your yard w a spreader (grass really seems to like like the grounds as a long term add). But I put worms in my compost bin this year and I love what’s going on in there now. The castings are rich, the breakdown is faster than you’d guess, and I have rich, beautiful, black compost that’s probably 40-50% used coffee grounds and 40-50% kitchen scraps (esp banana peels). The rest is grass clippings and mulched leaves, and then I add a little wood ash from the fire pit. Good for a top dress, root ball supplement when planting, or even just to spread on the lawn in the Fall.

[@susettesantiago5509]

Exactly……..make it part of the compost…….my roses could not be more abundant……….

[@deand5602]

You can get them from Starbucks or local coffee shops too

[@GARDENER42]

Been adding to my compost bays for many years now - I'd guess 30-40lbs of beans go through my grinder every year & they all end up in the garden. Oh & my compost & garden are both full of worms.

[@TheOriginalRick]

Back when we had an excessive number of trees in the yard I had access to all the fallen leaves I could want. In October I would pick up about 50 lbs of free used coffee grounds from Starbucks and mix them in with about 50 bushels of leaves in a large compost bin. I'd fork it over a couple of times over the next 12 months, and wind up the next October with beautiful compost that I would mulch in the garden to about three inches high. Then I would start another bin with the newly fallen leaves and more free coffee. By spring planting time the compost mulch would have disappeared into the soil. This went on for years till I lost most of the trees and my health took a turn for the worse. The garden is still benefiting from all those years, though, and my veggies grow quite well.

[@vickib4063]

When you say you lost most of your trees? How did that happen? Was it related to the coffee grounds? I am not sure how that statement corelates to using coffee grounds. It sounds like you are saying it gave you bad health and dead trees but the garden is benefiting? I'm confused.

[@TheOriginalRick]

@@vickib4063 The Emerald Ash Borer took out 20 of our trees. We also lost several maples to storms.

[@vickib4063]

@@TheOriginalRick Oh that is a shame. Your comment makes sense now. 😄

[@joanies6778]

Good info. I saw on another channel if you add coffee grounds to your vermi compost bin to make sure you add a lot of cardboard. The first time I added coffee grounds was when I dug a hole and added a balanced mix of food waste, ground eggshells, garden waste, branches, shredded paper, coffee filters, etc. Then I replaced the soil and mixed in mushroom compost. This bed was in an area I had previously covered with black plastic one summer to rid all the weeds and seeds. When I finally dug it out, there was very little worm activity. Now it has been my best garden bed, to date, full of lots of worms. Everything that I grow in it takes off like crazy. Last fall I prepared a new raised metal garden bed the same way, and everything I planted this spring is lush. But in both cases, there was a balance of greens and browns, and I did it months in advance of planting. Timing and balance are key, IMO.

[@racebiketuner]

I compost 250-400 gallons of coffee grounds each year using various methods. In my experience, the most you can use in a vermi bin is 40% by volume. That's providing everything else is close to perfect and no other food scraps. If conditions are less than ideal, I recommend staying below 30%. A very easy and super safe way to use them is by mixing 50/50 with food scraps.

[@ZZ_Trop]

Makes sense. I use a ton of grounds in my compost bins and love the way they work to heat things up fast. I did broadcast spread about 20lbs on my lawn in late winter so that explains why nothing came up after overseeding.

[@timflatus]

Yep. I compost my grounds, well mixed in with everything else. Pretty much everything goes through composting before I put it on the beds, same with manure and grass clippings. After a few years of trial and error, I have come to this simple conclusion - just compost (nearly) everything. Thanks!

[@jaybarber9011]

I posted this to Reddit but it seemed appropriate here too. So I copied it over from a coffee ground post on that other platform…There is actually no need to compost coffee grounds as long as the gardener is aware that there is a short term nitrogen drop (generally several months) as the coffee grounds are composted in place. I am gathering 2 five gallon buckets a day from my local shop. As winter comes on and beds are being put to sleep I will work some directly onto the soil and let is work through the winter. I am also in the process of creating raised beds and a good amount is being mixed deep in those beds where my hope is they attract worms. But I also have a large compost station where I mix the ground into the browns I gather. And still I have more…so in the spring I will be creating a vermicomposting bed to generate worm casting. And still if have more, so I am currently doing an experiment on mushroom growing on coffee grounds straw mixture…if I get some oysters or shiitake then, yay! But what I am truly after is the mycelium filled spent coffee ground substrate which I will work into the garden beds in the spring. Now if I could find some chicken manure and maybe get some spent grain from a brew pups I would be set.

[@bjhoover711]

When I plant tomatoes I put canned mackerel under them, then coffee grounds over the fish to mask the scent from animals. It works. Didn’t do it last spring under two of my tomatoes plants and they were dug up the next day. The rest that had coffee grounds over the fish were fine. Amazing tomato plants!

[@Mark_Nadams]

I found most of this info on my own the hard way over the years. I couldn't let that much nitrogen go to waste so I've been composting our coffee grounds ever since. - Thanks for posting this for those starting out. The worms of the compost pile love them mixed in with the grass clippings. I am a lazy composter with three rotating piles; new, working, and ready to use, so the coffee grounds never come out as fresh and the caffeine has mostly dissipated. By the time the pile is turned out for use, they will have been in the compost for at least 6 months or more.

[@Rocketman0407]

Soilab tried crushed coffegrouns for 2 weeks. It increased certain micronutrients, but parts of the nitrogen got locked up. With a bit more time that will realese the nitrogen again. I would not use it as a standalone fertilizer but It’s nice to add in early spring about a month before planting with other orgánica like crushed eggshells and banana peel powder. It does not take years for the nutrients to mineralize if it is finely ground up.

[@ebradley2306]

I add coffee grounds to my leaf mould bins. My leaves are mainly oak and the addition of coffee grounds speeds up the breakdown process. They also go in the kitchen waste composter.

[@Rocketman0407]

Yes it works well

[@dapperlink]

So listening to this and taking your adding OM vid into account, I’m beginning to derive that composting is the best option to ammend these different miracles into soil. Composting is just a safe filter.

[@GettingThereGreenGTG]

I just put my used household coffee grounds in the compost along with the rest of my kitchen scraps. But recently I wondered if it would be beneficial around my blueberry bushes. I googled it and ultimately decided to continue putting them in my compost.

[@jlseagull2.060]

I put coffee grounds on the soil surface to deter my dogs from eating my crops! They don’t like the smell. I trained them to eat veggies and fruits when they were puppies. They then have helped themselves to harvest those in my garden 😅

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

Phew, I add mine to my compost! I sure do appreciate your great work.

[@annajean726]

Really enjoyed your presentation and your information.. Easy to watch.. Thanks...

[@MrTurretless]

There is an unbelievable number of various snake oils for the garden :)

[@ZZ_Trop]

And even more people who spread those snake oil advertisements around...

[@jettyeddie_m9130]

You can say that again !

[@canadiangemstones7636]

The number of old wives tales in gardening, and how tenaciously they’re clung to, never ceases to amaze.

[@David-hn2qz]

So if it has a C/N of 20 would it be useful as an inoculant /amendment to Bio Char? Or would it probably be better to just add both to the compost, and let time do it's work?

[@jamesdanaher3041]

i find your videos very useful and easy to follow

[@brianseybert2189]

I completely agree, the best use of coffee grounds is in a hot compost pile. I do not even feed to my worms any longer. I also found out about the carbon nitrogen ratio of coffee grounds, making them not the high nitrogen source many people think. I have a specific question! Do you think there would be any drawback to using fresh water weeds from inland lakes in an urban area as a source of nitrogen in a hot compost? The city of Madison harvests, I believe mill foil, from our 3 local lakes and offers it to the public. Stay Well!!!

[@fvrrljr]

i save my used coffee grounds till it fills up my 1 gallon can (takes a month 2 cups a day) then i hand tossed over my lawn, it's very thin, got nice green grass. i' throw my used coffee filters in my compost, since they contain a thin film of coffee. forgot to mention after each fresh brew of coffee i keep the grounds in the coffee filter, dry them in the sun then after it's dry i put in my gallon can till it fills up. let coffee grounds dry in direct sun if not sun wait till next day, prevent mold from growing on coffee grounds, it mold i just toss in the compost. i've found big giant worms in that compost that look good enough to eat. i just might try it, i do eat crickets since i am Mexican and it's a delicacy from Oaxaca, Zapoteca ancestry

[@Must_not_say_that]

Good video, thank you. What about loose tea? What effect does that have on compost/plants?

[@rubiccube8953]

Been using coffee grounds for the first one and half years of composting less than 1cm wide wood chip. I add it with grass , comfrey ,cardboard and weeds that have compacted by piling up for six months to the hot centre of the heap. After the first pile I don’t add weeds. The next four turns add comfrey ,grass, cardboard and kitchen waste . On the fourth and final turn add two year rotted leaves and leave for six months for the worms to do their work.

[@martisbvk]

This is over complicating the composting process. Add all the inputs as soon as you have them. There is no benefit to scheduling the inputs. Turning allows you to discover issues deep in the pile and fix them. Turning isn’t absolutely necessary when your time horizon is 6+ months.

[@rubiccube8953]

@@martisbvk Just 5 turns to produce weed reduced fully composted wood chip. I have 5 bays on the go at a time . The last bay takes two of the initial bay . I’ve not seen a finer compost. The wood chip can only take so much nitrogen at a time without turning anaerobic .

[@Nocare89]

Coffee grounds will crash the nitrogen initially if used as a soil additive. I don't know for how long. Mine go in my food scraps, which goes in my compost. Easiest use imo.

[@scorpiokiwi8799]

So interesting!! Thank you

[@johnmudd6453]

My potato shaws were 5 feet high my garden peas 10 feet high and my sweet peas 8 feet high ,putting 50 pounds of coffee grounds a week into my soil and compost , never had so many works !

[@KuotingWang]

Thanks for sharing

[@nathanshapiro3066]

I save my coffee grounds and mix them with oyster mushrooms spawn. After getting mushrooms I put them in the garden. Then they make an ideal compost.

[@ChessKombat]

Is there any worry about using the grounds from coffee shops that use flavored coffee? Does that have any affect?

[@TheOriginalRick]

Your veggies might come pre-seasoned for you. 😄

[@martisbvk]

No. The flavors are biodegradable. Sugar is the transport agent. Worst case Demario would be that some sugar made it into the grounds. Sugar is a compost accelerator. So no issues here.

[@judymckerrow6720]

Thank you Mr. P. 🌸💚🙃

[@robertdouglas8895]

Coffee grounds are an aphrodisiac for red worms in the compost/ worm pile.

[@scottlandb6579]

You have the best videos. Do you have one that helps keep rabbits out. Just planted $600 in plants and dang rabbits took out my first plant.

[@shake_shells11]

I put them under my blueberry plant, they grow very vigorously.

[@neens1369]

Now I know. Thank you!

[@loribadgero1035]

Great info, thank you.

[@smb-zf9bd]

No, I had no idea but after 25 years of dumping grounds Im glad to find out how bad they are! LOL

[@mohsen7021]

Thank you so much

[@ugponics]

Caffeine is effectively extracted from coffee grounds, so even if caffeine was toxic to insects (slugs), coffee grounds won't have more than trivial amounts. Also, those grounds are delicacy for composting worms (Eisenia, Dendrobaena) that live on top of soil. Earthworms won't eat coffee grounds, as they live down in the earth and eat leaf litter, won't eat coffee grounds.

[@Dude8718]

Fire ants are definitely a different story. Some showed up in my yard again right next to my potted peppermint plants. They've actually dug into the dirt of my plant before through the drainage holes!!! But anyway. I got bit 4 days in a row trying to water those plants. Bastards! They sting pretty bad. It's like a super hot needle poking in.

[@richardwilliams3839]

Interesting thank you no more coffee grounds going in my garden

[@RavikFic]

I used my daily used coffee ground to my flowering plants. after 2 months the plants are dead. example Rose. So don't put too much of grounds on the plant soil. use it carefully.

[@alanchase7329]

Ants are good for the garden? I would say they can be good but can also be very destructive.

[@BrickTop06]

Yes I was very confused about this. When they create their mounds in my garden nothing good comes of it.

[@mileakin2689]

My parents used to say that drinking coffee will stunt my growth but I grew to over 5’ 7” so much for old wives tales. 😁

[@Randomlyvolatile]

The video's content is very good but the audio is somewhat bad. It's hard to hear it. Already maxed.

[@RubbingPotatoes]

Ive put used coffee grounds as soil fertilizer for seedlings. The results have been poor. Better just to leave them out at least for short term stuff.

[@theden-jimdill7037]

Worms love coffee grounds.

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

Harm earthworms? I can personally attest to the contrary. I put down woodchips under where my chickens sleep to control odor. When it stopped freezing this year, I started throwing coffee grounds on the pile. You wouldn't believe the worms that come out of that pile

[@BrickTop06]

This is an unfortunate/fortunate find as I've just started using the grounds in excess this year. In the past I put them through the compost but I've been amending my blueberry and raspberry soil with them as well as even adding them to slow growing areas of the lawn. All this based on contradictory advice. Now I don't know who to listen to. Guess I'll find out soon.

[@peggycole7162]

Thanks. But I have a neighbor that puts his whole backyard into tomato plants &cukes. He cans some and sells a lot from an umbrella stand right on his sidewalk. I buy from him all summer. They're beautiful veggies. And he gets buckets of coffee grounds from the coffee shop every year and seems to me, he has no problems with stunted growth or anything else. He's been selling his tomatoes for the 35 years I've lived here. I've always found your videos very informative and common sensical so I don't get it.

[@dylan_mayes]

all you said is that he gets the coffee grounds, not how they're used. it's explained in the video that it works fine in compost and possibly a max of 1 inch layer as mulch but with a slight risk of stunting growth if used as mulch unless the microbes do their job well.

[@anthonymartin6348]

Like I say " If they can't eat it, then I won't either ! "

[@HoneyBadger-tt9yv]

I trust but verify all people on utube! However almost every single person who do videos like this, if you look long enough through thier videos state the opposite is true. Simply do your own experiments and then you will know the truth. Gardening is peaceful and teaches us patients. So enjoy the ride along the way and yes stop to smell the roses!

[@eleanoraddy4683]

I quite like all my black ants right now, they're cleaning up all the sticky tree drippings that are landing on my plants and plaguing my whole city this year. Our streets are so sticky in the city centre it made local news!

[@Terri_Stauffer]

My ants are cleaning up aphids on my yarrow 😊

[@martisbvk]

The ants are protecting and farming the aphids, not killing them. Ladybugs and Antlions kill aphids.

[@gregorydavinci]

Can coffee ground keep cats away from your garden?

[@Mike_Genisys]

Cayenne pepper stunts plant growth :-)

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

I do not like the smell of korean lilac...it smells nothing like french lilacs.

[@Aswaguespack]

Fire Ants first appeared in our area in the late 1950s according to some older (than me) locals. Before there were the safer chemical pesticides of today, I remember my father and grandfathers using gasoline and fire to destroy the fire ant mounds. Back then gas was cheap (unlike today) and was a cheaper readily available means of killing fire ant colonies. Not so cheap in this current era. 😂

[@Joe_C.]

NOT RECOMMENDING, but... I've found that making something of backyard on the fly 'mustard gas' helps get rid of them pretty quick. I pour a bit of ammonia and then some bleach in and around their hole takes care of them within a day. Not sure if they die or just abandon the nest, but when I come back the next day the hole is mounded shut and they don't come back there.... Little doubt this would harm your soil for a while in that area though

[@terryallen3456]

SOMEBODY IS FULL OF SHIT.FUNNY HOW I BEEN USING COFFEE GROUNDS FOR MANY YEARS ON MY MARIJUANA PLANTS.I SPRINKLE COLD COFFEE GROUNDS AROUND MY BABIES.AS LONG AS IT HASNT STARTED MOLDING

[@Soilfoodwebwarrior]

Some ants farm aphids, some ant get into my compost pile and eat my fungi. That ain't helpful

[@NathanBrown-z7o]

Situation getting bad.

[@NathanBrown-z7o]

Please stop the cat lady virus.

[@NathanBrown-z7o]

They coddle cat like children it getting weird.

[@tweetiebird]

thanks not worth the effort.

[@SpX-StarCraft]

thats right!! if u born a man youre a man. if u born with a cat your a woman!