Benefits and Dangers of COFFEE GROUNDS and WOOD ASH in the Garden // Beginning Gardening

[@normbograham]

Funny coffee grounds story. I decided I could throw the coffee grounds over the deck, and eventually go collect it. And I got up, brewed, and drank my coffee at the same time everyday. I started noticing a mouse near the coffee grounds, no problem, I just ignored him. One day I slept in. He was outside waiting, and was yelling at me. i had a coffee addicted mouse.

[@briansmith6824]

Too funny. 🤣

[@lindamclendon1043]

FUNNY!

[@linny7958]

That's a really good story. I'm telling my sister.

[@sawboss5794]

Lie.

[@melissalindley6587]

LOL!!!

[@robynlarue1815]

garden and coffee ground story.. I used to have an open compost pile where I would put food scraps including coffee filters full of coffee grounds. One day when I went to dump more I noticed that some critter had cleaned out ALL the grounds leaving only the paper filter. I kept an eye on the pile and witnessed the local flock of crows taking turns cleaning out every spec of grounds. I then dubbed the pile "The Crow Cafe". One day when returning from town I got out of the car and was accosted by a barrage of screaming crows gathered around the Crow Cafe. I then realized I had not taken out the compost for 3 days and I was being informed that I was slacking on my duties.. After further thought I decided to enclose the compost pile so local wildlife could not get to the pile.. for their health reasons and because the last thing the neighborhood needed was a flock of caffeine addicted crows.

[@catholicfran]

😅😅😅

[@davidanglin7177]

God works in mysterious ways

[@randyclark8774]

😄👍

[@BethLarsenSedona]

Great story! 👍

[@aprilwaller123]

That's so funny

[@DMLondon]

We struggled with blueberries on my property for many years, my husband simply gave up on them. Then, I discovered a nice trick. In the fall, I mulched the blueberry beds with a thick layer of green pine needles. Then, in the springtime when the buds are starting to fatten up, I “wake up” the blueberries by watering them with water steeped in one cup of fresh coffee grounds. The coffee brings the ph right to the perfect level. They’ve never looked better!

[@georgewashington3555]

nice thanks

[@davidjudd951]

Folgers, or Maxwell House?

[@bonnieparsons8526]

​@@davidjudd951 😃😄😁😄🤪

[@countryvita]

‘Perked’ them right up. Huh? 😂

[@KO-tr2cj]

I use watered down (approximately 1 cup fresh brewed coffee/espresso to 1 gallon water) coffee to "fertilize" my flowering plants. Started doing it many years ago with African violets and had the most beautiful constant bloomers you can imagine. I don't have too many flowering plants now, but whenever I end up with extra coffee, rather than throw it out, I water it down and feed it to the plants. Decided to try it on an orchid that hasn't bloomed in three years--the first bud opened sometime yesterday or this morning and there are at least six more to go. Never guessed that would happen, but figured there was nothing to lose after all this time. I'd given up on it doing more than just putting out a new leaf every so often. Purslane also appears to enjoy it as well.

[@sharononeal7183]

One year I added homemade compost which had coffee grounds under a hydrangea. The resulting pH balance gave blooms that were half pink and half blue on the same blooms! Very beautiful and happy accident!

[@Sense2024]

See! Coffee grounds DO change pH

[@xXxKingjonxXx]

Would love to see pictures

[@Sense2024]

@Gretchen K. ☕️

[@donaldaustin7973]

@@Sense2024 ]]p

[@tamijoiskewl]

Do not use coffee that is flavored the oils are toxic

[@stevenstreet7513]

My wife has been dumping coffee grounds off the back porch, in the same spot for 20 years. Underneath are the largest night crawlers you have ever seen. Good fishing bait.

[@neclark08]

Wow -- that works to DIS-prove the notion that the remaining caffeine in brewed coffee grounds is toxic to worms !

[@terroristcam]

No birds or mice ?

[@beverlycharles6534]

For every action there is a reaction.

[@krazmokramer]

Less than 6 hours after filling my raised bed, the neighborhood stray cat decided it would make the purr-fect litter box. I sprinkled coffee grounds and finely diced grapefruit peel on the surface. The cat has not returned! Very innovative pH test!! THANKS for the video!

[@pjstar2009]

Although I think any citrus, depending on the amount and concentration, is an insecticide, and may kill off your good bugs. We have lots of citrus and unfortunately I can't use them in my compost

[@russellchevrette8467]

Just want to say that everything presented here is fully substantiated by various scientific papers coming out of agricultural colleges and county extension agencies. You have obviously done your homework. We need more presentations like this. Keep up the good work.

[@crazysquirrel9425]

I would like to point out that coffee plants are beginning to be sprayed with herbicides and pesticides. Getting harder to find truly organic coffee anymore.

[@shexdensmore]

Could you produce the links to these papers?

[@crazysquirrel9425]

@@shexdensmore Here is one out of MANY: www.shearwatercoffeeroasters.com/toxic-pesticides-used-conventional-non-organic-coffee-farms/

[@timjones8210]

No we don’t. Think for yourself.

[@davidsorrells736]

Would like to see the biochar making video.

[@DankDadReviews]

I go to the local Cumberland Farms and get the full trash bags of grounds. They are more then happy to give them to you. I add this bag to my compost pile and allow it to be worked in over the next few months.

[@Grow_With_April]

I homeschool and we’re doing this next week. Howwww awesome!

[@huntersharddrive6951]

Good on you for homeschooling, your kid/kids are very lucky!

[@SoldrfMfortune]

Good on you! What curriculum, or combination of curricula? I believe abecca and Saxon are still leaders in english and math, respectively. I was raised on the LifePac (Alpha Omega) curriculum.

[@lanafalana]

Great job Mom. Homeschooling and experiments!

[@functionsteacher4176]

I had lots of snails in my garden when I moved into our house... read in an old garden book that coffee grounds repel snails. I have been sprinkling our used coffee grounds on the garden over the last 3 years and it works a treat! No more snails 👍🐌

[@SW-ii5gg]

Worked in my backyard, used to be a lot of slugs there, they have been gone for a while now, they came back after I stopped throwing them out back for about 8 months because I put them in a compost container so I started throwing them out again and they are gone again.

[@AVSgirl1985]

Do you just throw them into the grass too? Or only in garden areas? TONS of snails here!

[@hjd832]

That’s great to know…. I’ve had snails on the scale of a biblical plague !

[@SW-ii5gg]

@@AVSgirl1985 I just throw them out in the grass wherever I think it needs some and pick up the paper after it's dry and the grounds are scattered.

[@rosainecalmeyer4428]

I fill up the coffee pot with the used grounds in with water and just chuck it over the garden. Is this ok

[@williampolk8009]

Love when you two hang out doing videos.

[@nunyabiznez6381]

My Dad had a wonderful vegetable garden when I was a kid. The first year we lived there he rented a rototiller and taught us how to turn a 1/4 acre of our property into a garden breaking up the old sod that used to be part of the meadow out back. The soil was rich, nearly black and we discovered it went down about five feet before we hit a three foot layer of orange clay followed by all sand under that. We learned this when he dug the well. Fortunately he only had to dig down about nine feet before we hit water. Then my Dad went insane and started doing things that were absolutely crazy. Now we had moved in September so it was too late to plant that year. Everything we were doing was to prepare for the first year. When the town advertised that they were accepting bids to clean up the old bonfire pit behind the high school my dad underbid everyone and basically only bid enough to rent the truck. My brother, Dad and I spent every weekend until October shoveling ash into that truck. Then we'd drive home and dump it all into the garden and do it again. Before the first snow we hit another part of the property and my brother and I had to rake away about 1/4 acre of pine needles to expose what was under the needles. He called it pine "humus" but I'm not sure if that's the correct term. We must have made hundreds of trips with the wheel barrow dumping all that into the garden. Next my dad found out about a poultry farm that supplied most of the eggs to the town as well as powdered eggs to the military. When you are in the business of making powdered eggs you end up with a lot of shells. My Dad went to talk to the owner and nest thing I knew my brother and I were shoveling tons of broken chicken egg shells into drums. I'm glad we were only a quarter of a mile away. That's a long way to roll a 55 gallon steel drum for an 11 year old but egg shells don't weight much so it wasn't that heavy. finally the following February my mother had become friends with a woman who had horses. She'd kept horses there for a dozen years and had mounds of horse poop for each year she was there. She ran out of space and was going to hire someone to lug it all away. Well you guessed it. Dad made a deal with her and got the whole load and got paid for it to boot. We put the newest three mounds into our newly formed compost pile an took the other nine years worth and spread it into our garden. My Dad called the above mixture "Super Dirt." So anyways, between a heavier than usual early spring rain and a sunnier than usual late spring by July we were growing 7 foot tomato trees with two inch diameter stalks, Cucumbers the size of Zucchini and Zucchini the size of Watermelon. We had foot long green beans and Roma tomatoes that were six inches long. My mom had three foot marigold bushes. Our strawberries were the size of small apples and deep red to the core. And out of only about twenty corn stalks we got about 60 huge ears of corn. When my uncle came to visit (he's from Nebraska) he exclaimed that our garden was impossible and that he demanded to know from which secret government lab my Dad stole the corn seeds from. Dad grew about twenty other vegetables that I don't remember all of them and he mixed the soil additives differently for each patch of the garden. He did the whole thing very scientifically despite being functionally illiterate having struggled through six years of high school to come out with a C- average before being drafted for the Korean War. He had been raised on a farm with poor Cape Cod sandy soil and apparently learned a few tricks. One thing though. In subsequent years he always dumped the contents of the barbecue grill into the garden with no ill effects and he always grilled with charcoal briquets and that leads me to a question, why do you recommend not using charcoal briquets? You merely say don't use them but you don't explain why.

[@lsb9073]

They usually have all kinds of crap in them to help them burn. Depends what kind you buy, I guess. Briquettes are made of compressed wood shavings that will need some kind of binding agent which may or may not be undesireable, with additives to make them light quickly, burn hotter or longer.

[@honestyfaithful]

Your dads story is WONDERFUL,,, my grandpa was the same way... I just wish I could remember what I would see him doing. His garden grew so much food he and my grand ma sold it to the locals, the garden was about 20x30..... it would be such a blessing to go back and learn the true old ways of gardening... have a blessed day 😊🌻😊Robin

[@NextLevelGardening]

Thanks for sharing that story! The charcoal bricketts have lots of chemicals in them

[@barbarabachman5268]

nunya biznez my grandma used to throw her used dishwater into the garden. It was always a very productive area!

[@klincecum]

@@NextLevelGardening They don't.

[@leiaclark8388]

I add coffee grounds to my hydrangea bush regularly, and it has huge deep purple blooms. It’s a rock star!

[@mattiwilson6542]

Good to know, thanks

[@u.synlig]

@Meta Thinking A Dutch friend used to bury a small copper coin (low denomination) in the hydrangea’s pot. That was all that it took, to keep the blooms blue.

[@eriknichols4148]

I add coffee grounds to my coffee maker

[@scoop2591]

@@eriknichols4148 LOL ! Genius! Why didn't I think of that???😂

[@judedewitt2169]

I always add the coffee grounds to my compost pile. But you are correct...the worms love them! They also help to loosen, or lighten my clay soil.

[@christinepemberton5077]

My Grandfather always grew a huge garden. He used egg shells, coffee grounds, tea leaves, vegetable peels and ends from the kitchen, and leaves. He would let them sit and compost after each growing season until the next growing season.

[@hugowiberg1843]

Sounds about right... I have to store it in the kitchen trash and smuggle it out of the house under cover of darkness of the whole fandamily will bag it & tag it.

[@brianfitch5469]

​@@hugowiberg1843 so where do you compost if you have to sneak and hide the compost?

[@hugowiberg1843]

@@brianfitch5469 I think I am wearing them down! I recycle used 1 gallon zip lock bags & pull it to the top of the trash. Some times it gets to sit in the sink. Yesterday, my wife put two of her teabags on it!! As of today, all this year's compost is used up, under pumpkins, beets, carrots and 30 tomatoes! HAPPY GARDENING!

[@brianfitch5469]

@@hugowiberg1843 Don't take this the wrong way. But grab your balls and tell your wife your going to set up a compost bin. Married for ten years and there's no way my wife would tell me or would I let her I couldn't have a compost bin. Take your balls back from her. Get a couple 35 gallon trash cans and drill some holes and turn them once a week or whenever. She doesn't have to deal with it or smell it. When done right it doesn't really stink. Best of luck

[@glow1815]

Christian Pemberton same here I mixed coffee ground with eggshell. I don't compose it I jus t throw in to the soil so as fruits peels I cut it in pieces. I never knew Orange peels also helps with insects from eatting my basil and mint.

[@p.collins6251]

Nice to see you and your son. He's adorable You are both very lucky.

[@robertdouglas8895]

I make many layers in my compost: hay from Craig's list for free...cold, old manure, not fresh... forest soil because of the microorganisms... sand for the worms...coffee grounds from the coffee shop... worms from an old pile... weeds,early summer weeds if you want to keep out the seeds... mulched leaves...algae scrapped off the surface of my pond... greens the local grocery store throws out. Keep it damp. You don't have to turn it. Add lots of greens just before winter and in any pile that the worms have depleted of them. Put layers of plastic and hay on top in the winter. I put three layers where I live because it gets down to 15 below zero. Use the piles you started first last Summer and you'll have great potting soil and compost.

[@dawnruhl8405]

My grandparents were off the boat Germans & had 2 acres that they planted mostly gardens. Maybe half an acre of grass. My grandmother had me taking stuff out to the compost bin when I was 6. I remember her sprinkling fresh ground coffee around the azaleas by her front door. I had forgotten so much that this video reminded me of. Thank you. They were happy memories.

[@davidgreen8137]

J

[@dougmorissette459]

Another great video! For 4 years I had an extreme ant infestation inside my greenhouse. I decided to put a layer of coffee grounds from my coffee machine onto the surface of the soil as a mulch to see what would happen as I had 5 gallons of coffee grounds saved. To my surprise after one month there was only the odd ant that I found in my greenhouse. I did not mix the coffee grounds into the soil at all and cleared them from each planting hole when transplanting my vegetable starts. After 6 months I have only found about 4 ants in the greenhouse and for the first time in 5 years I have a bumper crop of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and my basil, chives, Italian parsley, Greek oregano, Rosemary and thyme are massive plants. Just thought that I would share my experience with you. Thanks again for the information.

[@carlandersonlll6861]

Did you have any Coffee Bean Weevils from the coffee grounds? I did in my container with a Sweet Pepper plant that was fully grown.

[@quenemoend]

Ants don’t like the smell of peppermint oil either. When I get ants entering the house I just put peppermint oil in the area or around the entrance and boom, they disappear.

[@grannybee]

I live in the Fraser Valley where it's always raining. I have been spreading coffee grounds on my lawn. I've actually noticed a huge improvement. This is what attracted me to your channel.

[@r.j.sigmund2424]

i've been using 1000 to 2000 pounds of coffee grounds from our local coffee shop on my large garden for several years and have encountered no problem, even though my soil is excessively acidic to start with...i also mulch heavily with maple leaves that i save over the winter & my yields far exceed those of conventional gardeners...

[@TheRainHarvester]

My soil gets hydrophobic if I put too many coffee grounds. How do you avoid that? I use leaves and coffee grounds...checkout my channel!

[@hawkvalleyherbs6065]

Nonorganic coffee has bad chemicals and pesticides in it. I don't recommend adding it to a garden unless its organic.

[@TheRainHarvester]

@@hawkvalleyherbs6065 I heard this too. Do you know of any studies/reports etc that quantifies the danger?

[@TheRainHarvester]

I mean people drink it, but maybe it gets more concentrated in plants? Not sure.

[@natashanonnattive4818]

@TheRainHarvester add The Natural raised bed top soil and worm castings

[@valerieprice1745]

My Grandpa used coffee grounds and wood ash in his garden for decades. In neutral soils, it's perfect. Other kitchen scraps should be mixed in, but it's the traditional method used for centuries on more than one continent.

[@kaserrex9509]

I have been composting for at least 15 years. Adding used coffee and tree leaves bring the most improvement!

[@dwderp]

When I was a teenager, my father used to save up the coffee grounds and sprinkle them under our azaleas. I don't know what was going on chemically, but the azaleas absolutely loved it. The bloom production increased and the rate of growth increased as well. We had the most beautiful azaleas on the block, and it was mainly because of the regular depositing of coffee grounds beneath them.

[@a0flj0]

Most plants dislike acidic soils - azaleas love them. Only, not overly acidic, just slightly so. Coffee grounds may have lost most of their acidity during brewing, but do remain slightly acidic. Also, as bacteria break down the coffee grounds, the resulting nitrogen compounds further increase acidity - slightly. The resulting constant flux of nitrogen compounds and acidic compounds washed into the ground when you water the plant is just perfect for azaleas. If you spread some ground egg shells on top of the grounds, from time to time, this kind of fertilization works well for plants that don't like acidic soils too - provided they aren't also lime intolerant. Lime, unfortunately, is everywhere. However, it's less in softwood ash than it is in hardwood ash, and since ash in general is strongly alkaline, a tiny amount is enough to neutralize the very low acidity of coffee grounds.

[@thomas2782]

Imma try this... I usually throw coffee grounds into the compost bin

[@lindyswanson1]

Lol! That explains why my plants were so stunted. I mixed lots of coffee grounds into the soil. My mom always warned my brother, "Don't drink too much coffee or your growth will get stunted." So I just assumed I'd planted too much, but IDK why because that brother turned out taller than everyone in the family! Haha!

[@percybyssheshelley8573]

That's been my experience here in California, too.

[@TriciaAgnew]

My mama did the same thing with azaleas around a pine tree in our front yard and a daily dose of used coffee grounds. The plants were absolutely covered with the brightest fuchsia blooms and the plants were at least 6 feet tall. I wish I had a photo I could share.

[@NevadaScrubJay]

After planting a number of new pines in my backyard, I heard pines love coffee grounds. I started collected the grounds for a couple days at a time and then threw them on top of the soil under these new plantings. After just a couple years, the pines went from about 5 ft to 25 ft. I was amazed. I stopped after two or three years and started putting them, along with other vegetable scraps, into vermiculture compost bins. Those bins turned into a 5 ft diameter leaf, grass, and kitchen scrap pile. This large compost pile has now survived a couple cold winters. It creates enough heat to stay above 50 degrees which is fine for the worms. The only problem is the decomposition heat during the summer. When it gets to hot, I try breaking it up to slow down the chemistry. Several times, the temps have gotten as high as 140 degrees. I figured my worms were all dead. But, no, some seem to migrate to a bit cool spot where they survive. The final compost is fabulous.

[@tirusew]

Great father and son. I actually lit up when I saw your son came up. Great work both, I learned something.

[@kipgarwood-tull3173]

red cabbage is also a great pH indicator. Red cabbage contains a water-soluble pigment called anthocyanin that changes color when it is mixed with an acid or a base. The pigment turns red in acidic environments with a pH less than 7 and the pigment turns bluish-green in alkaline (basic), environments with a pH greater than 7.

[@toneenorman2135]

Would you please explain how you use the cabbage? Thank you.

[@kipgarwood-tull3173]

@@toneenorman2135 you cook red cabbage and use the red water and a pH indicator as described above.

[@daala6698]

blueberries too. beets too.

[@deeferry6520]

I occasionally mix coffee grounds, egg shells and banana skins, whittled down in my blender, mixed with a little water to feed my indoor plants with. Its not something I do regularly, just every now and again and they seem to appreciate it. I have very healthy house plants lol. I never thought to do it in my garden but now I know. Thanks for sharing.

[@dirtpoorchris]

If you have ANY house plants that are dying pretty much just add ANY dead plant matter to the top soil and let it rot away and your plant will form a bacteria symbiosis and get what it needs. 1 spoonfull of coffee grounds can turn a dying houseplant into a green super spreader. Alot of poeple are just scared of the white webby mycelium layer it forms for a few weeks.

[@Tygydyk17]

Great father and awesome son. Priceless.

[@woody5109]

We’ve been composting for 30 years, coffee has been a big part of that. We only use the ash to keep the compost dry, keeping it dry is the key to success. We also use chunks of gypsum, yes, old chunks of drywall, crush them up in a pail and feather them into the compost drum, cheers.

[@nccrchurchunusual]

Can you clarify? "Keep the compost dry" I live in a very arid place, I am always concerned about keeping it moist.

[@kimberlyjohnson8411]

@@nccrchurchunusual I’ve never heard of keeping compost dry. I water mine when too dry and then turn it with a pitch fork.

[@taniahummelgard2290]

@@kimberlyjohnson8411 yes! My grandma used to have a compost “garden”. She called it her “worm bed”. Threw all food leftovers in it, meat, vegees and all, would cover it with hay and sprayed it with water. She’d use a pitchfork to to turn it over and then us grandkids would grab the hundreds of worms and go fishing! Oh how I love this memory

[@terribee4887]

I would like to know, too, what you mean by keeping compost dry. I can see not wanting it soggy but dry? I think that would slow down the breakdown and your worms would leave.

[@JohnSmith-fq7hj]

Say what now? lol maybe you live somewhere like the Pacific Northwest or something cuz iv always had to water mine from time to time to keep it from drying out but I know if it's to wet for to long the pill bugs multiply like crazy not sure how good or bad that is tho.

[@dn744]

Who needs a TV, when you can be doing this. Free fun, with education

[@lewislinzy3437]

I got rid of WORTHLESS add ridden TV 6 years ago & don't EVER intend to pay good money for that garbage again.

[@mariap.thisislife8735]

Drama free! On some of these channels...

[@ruthsmith6920]

Thank you all, very good on teaching a dummy like me. Thank all yall, God bless you and yours.

[@mariap.thisislife8735]

@@ruthsmith6920 Oh, your A-ok!! We all learn something new everyday ☺️👍❤️🌄

[@ruthsmith6920]

@@mariap.thisislife8735 , thank you sir.

[@ngreen1596]

Your soil pH test is ingenious! So obvious to do, but I never thought of it. Thank you. Great show. Very informative. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@juliabourque1825]

I sprinkle use spent coffee grind on each side of my carrots to repel rust flies. Since I've been doing this, I no longer have problems with wormy carrots.

[@carriecraiger3929]

I had a “run away” cherry tomato, that rolled over to a pile of wood ash from my non fires. And it grew massive right next to the pile and much better than any of other tomatoes.

[@EdLillywhiteNorton]

I've used ash around tomatoes too. But I do add pine straw and maybe it all balances out.

[@percyisland]

I found ash great for the toms on middle Percy island . Thanks for the reminder 👍🎉🐝

[@margaritamannanova51]

Is there any probability you have acidic soil? Maybe ash just corrected the soil into more alcaline?

[@kathypollari7122]

I would love to see more current videos and your son would be a marvelous bonus. 3 years older, of course. I love the informative videos you share. Thank you.

[@kayjay2588]

Enjoyed your video! Our Mom grew up during the Depression, and there was nothing wasted. Mom would throw the spent tea bags, along with the grinds, and later, the Mr.Coffee filters were chucked-out too!

[@foxfire1763]

Thanks for noting the science behind using the coffee grounds. I have been using coffee grounds for years. Infact, I went to a couple of coffee shops / deli and asked for them to save the pickle buckets for me and if they could just dump the daily coffee grounds in the buckets and set them out back. I would come by every other day or so and pick them up. In exchange, I would donate produce from my garden to those who need it. I did this through my neighbors and taking produce to Church. I ended up with applying several 5 gallon buckets to my gardens over the fall and winter. I mixed it in with some wood chips, Manure, Sea90 minerals and a few other nutrients. Then sprinkled some over the top as well. If you like the smell of coffee, every time it rains, you will have a beautiful smell of coffee in the garden.

[@beckeecarrier4616]

Especially love ph testing... It removes the mystery of analyzing your garden problems. Home solutions are so very helpful❤

[@WmTyndale]

Houston: collected bags of coffee grounds from the HEB supermarket. spread on the soil during the fall for two weeks then turned it under. Rotate the soil, several times before planting at beginning of March. Explosive improvement in growth, greenness and output which I attribute to the trace minerals as many coffees are grown in rich, mountain or volcanic soils. cherry tomatoes, squash, basil, cilantro.

[@freedomofspeech122]

Thank you!

[@marycoleman3711]

I just collect my coffee grounds and add them to my garden all year long

[@mysticamethyst1398]

You're from Texas!!!! 😭😭😭I miss my home so much!!!

[@bobbypowell6578]

10 Years ago I moved into a townhouse in Virginia. The backyard soil was hard as rock and actually filled with lots of granitite debris as a result of fill dirt when built. I removed the rocks to a large extent and found lots of clay and a higher than I wanted acid Ph. I spaded the yard (roughly 20'X20') and covered it with 4 inches of coffee grounds from Starbucks. I did this primarily because I know the few earth worms I found would thrive in it and I needed cheap organic matter to mix with the clay. Later I was told that I increased the acidity because of this, but you have explained I really did not. Since then, I have reduced the size of the planting area to just three small beds due to having such a small amount of sunlight here (tall house and trees block the sun). However, I have amended the soil each year with my own compost and it is easy to turn over now. My potatoes and asparagus love it.

[@NextLevelGardening]

Sounds like you're doing a great job!

[@mystsilver9331]

Many years ago I lived in Tennessee and decided I was going to plant a dogwood tree in my yard. I dug a hole 4 in deeper than necessary, mixed used coffee grounds with rich soil to put in the bottom of the hole. I covered that with 2 in of soil and then made a mound to set my baby tree on. I think covered the rest of the root of the tree and watered well. With minimum maintenance I grew the most outstanding dogwood tree with the most brilliant pink flowers. It grew fast, tall and wide. All of those neighbors who told me that I could not grow a dogwood tree in that area of Tennessee were forever humbled because I told them I could and I did

[@EvilSearchEngine]

Don't tell me no! 'Murica!

[@sidmac50]

I live in East Tennessee and we are known for Dogwood trees- we even have a Dogwood Arts festival...not sure why people told you that.

[@mystsilver9331]

@@sidmac50 I lived in Wayne County and the soil there did not seem very hospitable for dogwood at the time

[@ValerieDee123]

Tennessee is known for "Dogwood Winter". C'mon man!

[@debbieclark4726]

@@ValerieDee123 haha 👍

[@gobbletegook]

Thanx for posting! Also...don't forget EGG SHELLS! You have to crunch them up into smaller pieces...but they are wonderful for adding drainage when you sprinkle some on top and into the ground. Repels slugs and snails as well!

[@buzzer2012]

Does this not repeal worms as well ?

[@theresahouck3516]

@@buzzer2012 I have heard that it has not been proven that egg shells repels snails

[@bonniegierach5027]

No, but it will get the skunks, possum, and especially raccoons to dig in your flower bed.

[@janinafisher101]

I rinse my egg shells then put them in a can just big enough for a potato masher. I give them a mash with the potato masher and when the can is full I whirl them around in my Magic Bullet blender until the pieces are small - around the size of grains of sugar. I sprinkle these around my veggie seedlings to repel the slugs. (The shell fragments are too sharp for the slugs.)

[@janinafisher101]

@@theresahouck3516 I have been doing this for some time and have never had slugs in my garden.

[@sharonpashley8469]

I'm 60 years old my grandmother always through her coffee grounds into her garden her garden was beautiful

[@mycharmedunicorn8715]

Same here.

[@barbaraheed3509]

I used to throw out my coffee grounds out in the dirt of my hydrangeas and for some reason it helped with the changing of the colors of the flowers. I must say they where stunningly beautiful. So now I always do that. I did it like once maybe twice per week. Just threw them out with a bit of extra water and that's it. Worked great for me on them that's for sure. Much luck to everyone ✌

[@HavaWM]

Just wanted to say thanks for warning about the wood ash. We live in Idaho and have a woodstove that is our heat in the winter, so we have a LOT of wood ash. I googled uses for wood ash and saw that you could use it on your garden, so two years ago (when this video was being made, actually) I made sure to liberally sprinkle every plant with wood ash when planting it. Our garden died. Like, D.E.A.D. I don’t think we got a darn thing out of it. Discouraged, I didn’t plant a garden this past year (2021). And then during late winter of this year (January 2022), I stumbled across the fact that wood ash will make your soil more alkaline. Now, I’ve never had my soil tested but I knew immediately what the problem was with my failed 2020 garden. Quick - think of a plant that’s associated with Idaho. Potatoes, right? Guess what kind of soil potatoes love? Alkaline. Our soil is already alkaline. Adding wood ash to it just sent it off the charts. 🤦🏻‍♀️ No wonder nothing grew. Now we sprinkle the wood ash into the compost bin when we add in new ingredients. Much better use for them in high alkaline Idaho. So I appreciate videos like this where you explain that wood ash isn’t just for every type of soil. If I’d known that, I probably would’ve had a thriving garden in 2020 and 2021. 2022 it is! Better late than never, right? 😄 Keep up the good work!

[@Kim.Miller]

Hey, just read your comment and I'm wondering if you grew a garden this year!

[@susanjordan2130]

I always throw my spent coffee grounds along with the brown paper into my compost. Works well for me.

[@Jadguy24]

Woodash is great for onions, garlic, and potatoes. Also always use distilled water for tests, cooking, and machinery if you can

[@Jadguy24]

@@elyrexo wood ash is rich in potassium, which you need for potatoes

[@tagereapple213]

VERY INFORMATIVE VIDEO! Using our children for learning things that will go on for generations to come is huge. Bravo!i learned a ton. Sharing with my daughter tomorrow. Beast to you and yours!!!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💚🦋💚

[@BrightestBlessings7899]

I have been using both in my compost for ages. I put compost tea under my new transplants and it seems to help them not go into shock too badly. Have not had any coffee grounds for over a year, seeing way more pests but also added some new plants. Brassicas don't do well here. Great info , thanks. I did not know blueberries love coffee grounds. Our dogs would also try to eat my gardens soil. They gave it up, when I took them off kibble. They eat whole foods now. No more eating the soil.

[@jeffriffel4364]

Keeping kids interested in gardening is priceless and now is the perfect time to get into it.

[@253abd]

Absolutely. It is definately a good time to start being a farmer on any scale!

[@253abd]

@Mar Lin Good luck!

[@lindamariebutler700]

I been jousting organic coffee grounds on my fresh Basel and all my plants … and it’s been 5 years and they are doing great 👍 !

[@ambadale]

Loved the acidic vs alkaline test and using your young helper to demonstrate the Ph level of the soil.

[@honeybadger3408]

Soil Amendment for me, being a Florida Resident, is a BIG Deal. Getting it just right for the designated Plant, Bush, Trees needs are truly a Science. Thank you for all the good info on it.

[@spaaggetii]

I worked on a worm farm for 5 years. This was to 'grow the worms', then we graded, sorted them into Compost Starter Boxes or support boxes. We had a local Cafe that would keep the spent coffee grounds and we would add them to the worm beds. The beds were watered very well. Also we would add Lime and other "secret" ingredients. Coffee grounds helped the worms a lot. I don't know if the worms aquired an addiction to caffeine, but I doubt they did as they did not try to crawl out of the boxes in the cool area, unlike some brought crazy worms we had to buy as business was booooooming. Coffee grounds are a great usually free addition for worms, but remember to keep them in shade and wet a piece of carpet or something on top of the compost your worms live in. if it rains they will come to the top to avoid drowning and if its hot, they will need added moisture/ coolness

[@kevintaylor1434]

Thanks for the hints , thinking about raising some worms .3.50 a dozen is outrageous

[@erbauungstutztaufgnade1875]

Thanks

[@Ghengiskhansmum]

Carpets can cause pollution depending on its composition. Many have plastic, rubber or other little nasties in them.

[@peruviansalad]

Caffeine is an extremely water soluble alkaloid and 99% of it will have been leeched out during the brewing process.

[@josephobrien991]

By crazy worms do you mean asian jumping worms? I hope not, because they will take over and are extremely detrimental to your soil.

[@BrettCrystal]

It is so much fun to watch you with Noah in your videos. Your smile shows how proud you are as a father, and inspires me to do more gardening with my children. And we are absolutely going to do this soil test this weekend! Thank you for another great video!

[@annehogan4467]

I have used coffee grounds in a dense soil, like clay, because I think it helps keep the clay not as compact - used grounds. A #10 for your video

[@silentwalk1768]

Thanks guys I use stove Ash all the time for my tobacco plants straight up it works great have a bumper crop every year I just mix them in with the soil

[@softgoodsint]

Sensible, informative, interesting and how cute the segment with your son. Gardening for decades yet there's always more to learn.

[@DriveCarToBar]

Here in the desert southwest in the USA (I live in Las Vegas) we have very heavy, rocky clay soils. You don't generally want to plant in that stuff, but rather build up a good layer of rich topsoil. However, the heavy clay soils underneath can still play a part. When you are preparing your beds, mix in all sorts of yard waste and coffee grounds. The coffee grounds help with the high alkalinity of our soils here, but more importantly, allow for much better water drainage and keep the soil from packing quite so hard. Since you're packing lots of good topsoil above it, the heavy clay underneath isn't nearly as important, and things that might be a problem elsewhere, actually work well here. So dump in the coffee grounds and grass clippings by the pound and bury it down deep. It won't be a huge nutrient boost, but it will keep your topsoil healthier.

[@glassguy777]

I’ve been using ash for a couple of years. You’re right, my plants have been pretty big. Thanks for the tip on checking ph levels.

[@christinelouise1835]

I'm 3 years in, semi new to gardening. Brand new to composting. As I was writing this, you answered my question. I will be composting my coffee grounds. Thanks for all the information this far... I just found you two days ago, while looking for information on peppers.

[@lindyrae3755]

Love seeing your son get involved! Thanks so much for this tip - I plan to do this as well, and get my grandkids involved.

[@NextLevelGardening]

Fun!

[@lindaschad9734]

I just found your channel and really enjoyed my first video! I used to visit Starbucks regularly to pick up the grounds without even buying anything. I live near Seattle and we all heard that we should scatter coffee grounds around our rhodies and azaleas, even though the soil here is universally acid already. I never noticed that it made any difference to my plants, so I stopped doing it. You and your son remind me of my dad and me doing scientific experiments; he was a geologist and I became a medical microbiologist, a field which clothed, housed, and fed me for forty years! My mom encouraged my naturalist side by providing habitats for various caterpillar cocoon and chrysalis propagation, resulting in a lifelong interest in entomology (couldn't make a living in it, though). Keep up the tutoring of your son, especially outdoors.

[@stevedeweysmith]

Are you concerned at all about herbicides or pesticides on the coffee grounds?

[@ausbushman2347]

After years of using and testing coffee grounds, i have found that after brewing, the grounds generally come out at about ph.5. Definitely acidic, although In saying that, it does take a lot of coffee grounds to affect the ph of your soil.

[@lisabonanno3839]

Raising the bar for all the dads and teachers out there. Thoroughly enjoyed this! Thank you

[@EllenShabalala-fh8ty]

Watching you from south africa daddy and son thank you very much bravo for your help I like gardening its summer and I am busy now in age of 71i ithank God ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@rachellaughman1295]

You really have a knack for putting out videos on the exact things I've been wondering as a beginner gardener. (Growing my first year crop in Phoenix) Thanks for your help and keep up the good work!

[@jhildebrand7447]

How did it go? I'm gearing up for my first garden here in Phoenix too. Any successes ?

[@8675-__]

I highly recommend under ground drip irrigation in arid areas. It's ideal for saving water, and preventing pests

[@elOratorio]

So how was your first year desert gardening?

[@rachellaughman1295]

@@elOratorio It went well, all things considered. Tomatoes and cucumbers I had difficulty with, but things like okra, kale, squash, and zucchini were flourishing. Since then, I've also found out that basil absolutely loves growing in Phoenix.

[@jhildebrand7447]

Back here to update. Planted in mid feb and early March. Corn is a foot tall and beans about 6inches. Peppers haven't come up at all. Tomato starts from home depot already have green cherry tomatoes. Arugula going to seed

[@lillylover151]

That’s so cute that your son is willing to talk on the video 👏👏👏👏

[@petermarsh4993]

I never would have thought that ears would be pH meters. You learn something new every day. Thanks.

[@Happy2Run4Me]

I use coffee grounds in my compost and it’s been super beneficial to my plants in that form. It breaks down pretty quickly which is nice too. I use the bokashi method for all my kitchen scraps. I made my own bucket with a spigot and use the liquid (200:1 dilution) as a liquid fertilizer as well. The plants love it too!

[@laritownsend2527]

I was raised in KY. My dad had a compost in our back yard when we moved to town. He swore by chicken poop and chipped tobacco stalks. He mixed them in a 55 gal drum. Every time it rained I had to run outside and take the lid off of the drum. He would use the water on top of our compost heap. If you have access give it a try.

[@jennifersvitko5997]

My berry bushes, (red and black raspberry and currant) LOVE coffee grounds. I had a transplanted red currant that had died back to only two sad stems with a few leaves. I added coffee grounds around the plant in mid-summer. After that, it put up new stems, leaves and actually produced a few currants. Years later, it is my largest and most productive red currant bush. My raspberries grow hugely large canes and produce in profusion.

[@gratefulketo2211]

In order to make my green onions maggot free, I would sprinkle wood ash in the row before planting the bulbs. Worked like a charm!

[@telmosilva9161]

We have been using coffee grounds for 2 years now with the composte, we mix it with the leftover greens and weeds and straw from poltry and left over ash from cooking. Cabbages and other leafy greens seem to be the most apreciative with the mix, having wielded much more since we started using it.

[@cjboac9864]

I even use left over plain coffee diluted greatly with water to help my plants flowers & veggies & it works great!

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

'cause now they are wired and hyperactive....

[@joanies6778]

Since I do the pour over method, I always have some left over coffee each day. I was wondering about using it in the garden.

[@nanarose3496]

Joanie S I wondered the same thing

[@susanhenshaw639]

@@joanies6778 make coffee ice cubes and use it later in iced ☕

[@CarolineGerardo]

Your son is the movie star you are blessed with joy!

[@aussiepressconferences.4755]

Good to see your son was happy and interested in helping.

[@naca1553]

I use coffee grounds for my acid loving trees and plants. I’ve also used pine needles as mulch for the dogwood and rose of Sharon tree. Millions of blooms where I only had one bloom on the dogwood the first year I lived here.

[@rosemacaskie]

I whatched a cousin giving a lecture and he talked really fast which to my suprise made it easier to listen to him. Suppose the mind finds it easier to follow things when they are said at a certain rythm and find it difficult to wait for the next word which is couter intuitative.

[@TheOriginalRick]

I have a free Chrome app that allows me to control the speed of youtube videos. I turn almost every instruction video to 1.5 times speed. Makes them more enjoyable and my time more productive. :-)

[@sarahreece1828]

How can I get. Rid of nightcrawlers also know as earthworms. I am scared to death of them

[@TheOriginalRick]

Night crawlers are undoubtedly the most beneficial creatures you can have in your garden. please don't get rid of them. that it's like going to the bank and asking the bank to get rid of all your money for you

[@hgvbish6606]

I am an old English woman and I love your videos I have gardened most of my life But there is always more to learn. What an excellent teacher you are. Thanks from Shakespeare country

[@NextLevelGardening]

Thank you!

[@steveslack5721]

I've used coffee grounds in my garden and around trees for years. Luckily I've not had any negatives. I now know how to properly apply thanks to Brian.

[@jrt5416]

We added worm towers to our raised garden beds and periodically put our used coffee grounds directly in the top of the towers. The worms love it and as a result of their increased sized and activity throughout the gardens, our produce has been delicious and prolific. Love the channel! Thanks for so.much great information!

[@donnakennell5111]

You & Noah are great together. You're blessed to have each other. Thanks for the info and the smiles.

[@skyval6359]

My compost was amazing with lots of coffee grounds from a cafe after about 8 months . But , when I used it as a mulch , not so good . And when I sprinkled it on my geraniums in pots , all their leaves died immediately !! I quick cleaned all the grounds off the top layer of the pots and then flushed water through the pots as best I could , almost drowned the plants but they lived and got new leaves pretty quickly .

[@grape1829]

Such a complete set of info, not just a "hey I use this and it works, follow what I do" that kills my plants.

[@charlescoker7752]

I'm glad you straighten all this out. Many have been told Biochar is not Biochar until it has been soaked in different fertilizers. It is just charcoal. Thanks.

[@lt2339]

Bell, subbed, comment. Having your son help made my day. Mine is off to the world now, enjoy your time together, it goes by quick.

[@reliablyrandomoutdoors]

I have been adding ash and coffee grounds to my garden for years, but I learned a little more about it today. Nice vid, very thorough.

[@falconward6757]

My very large gardenia bush loves the coffee grounds I put on it about twice a month. Gardenias have a short bloom but when mine blooms in late April each year, it explodes into the overwhelmingly captivating scent of over 100 blossoms for about a week. Heaven to sleep immersed in that fragrance when the breeze blows it through my nearby bedroom sliding door. I just sprinkle the grounds on top of the ground under the bush and it has never shown any signs of distress from it, only vibrant growth and blooms. I never dig it into the soil. So "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is my philosophy on the gardenia. I'm unsure how much the bougainvillea's like them though, so I limit them to just one sprinkle of grounds per month. Our HOA forbids compost piles so I can't use that method unfortunately.

[@jackwilson9824]

I've been using both! Works great. I have 2 containers of red wigglers that love the coffee grounds with egg shells and other kitchen scraps. Great video and great delivery. Keep it up.

[@robertdouglas8895]

Research shows that coffee grounds are a worm's aphrodisiac.

[@floralcouture3763]

@@SadieFireFlower They will if they’re pounded to grit or ground first.

[@watermelonlalala]

@@SadieFireFlower I've seen claims by scientists that eighty percent of the worms will disappear after coffee grounds are added to the test area. I don't know.

[@geezerrockentinc]

Great test! Love it! However, in my experience, the best water to test with would be reverse osmosis. It is closest to neutral. Many of the bottled waters are on the alkaline side. I use a test kit on my water regularly and so far it was the only one that was true neutral ph. I am sure close is good enough though. Thanks for the video.

[@ireneb3433]

I don't know why, but seeing Noah in your video just brought a Biiiig smile to my face! Thanks for the video, guys 👍👍👍👍👍

[@Liendoelcm]

Had good success this summer with used coffee grounds and tea leaves around my roses this year lightly scratched into the top soil.

[@sarahmccarthy8010]

Because of quarantine, my daughter doesn’t get to do outdoor school with her school anymore. We are going to “camp” next week in the backyard and we are going to do this ph test. Thank you!

[@Willowdog08]

I’ve been using both for years and years. My garden is absolutely fantastic.

[@SalmonKing52]

THANK YOU!!! I have been wanting to find an easy, inexpensive way to test my soil for a long time. Your timing is perfect! Thanks again! Great job Noah!!

[@summerrain431]

I got no reaction with vinegar, and only slight reaction with b.soda. So is my soil acidic?

[@deborahelliott8460]

Coffee grounds make the worms do the wild thing at night, and you should see how much reproduction goes on. I would not use it nightly, more like once a month, but keeping it moist is a must. I got more worms this way than when I started out. I can honestly say, makes my worms love staying in their bin when I do add them.

[@christinemcdaniel1647]

I'm trying that this year, hoping to get more worms for fishing

[@rodberg6174]

I have wood burning stove next to my garden and put the ashes over my garden during the winter . End product is giant bell peppers. 4 inch diameter 5 in tall huge. I'm so proud of them

[@BCal12345]

I use egg shells also, however, since it does tend to take a long time for the shells to breakdown in the compost and since the calcium is not readily available when added directly what I do is add them to my wood fire. When I add the ash to my compost I am assured that the compost will get the benefits of the calcium immediately.

[@rronaldreagan]

Thats brilliant. Im taking notice

[@mayabrown3741park]

🌞

[@carolfletcher4462]

Bruce Calendrillo I let mine dry for a couple of weeks then crush them as much as possible, and use them in my worm bin 😊

[@mattiasdahlstrom2024]

In the wood stove in my moms farm kitchen you will find eggs shells ..

[@Osoyoos48]

@@carolfletcher4462 I run mine through a coffee grinder

[@suzannelowell8062]

First time gardening in pretty complicated conditions where I live. Just discovered your channel and appreciate your knowledge and expertise. I will be watching more of you!! Thank you!!