What are the best garden uses for 5 gallons of used coffee beans?

Question

I asked a local coffee shop to save up their used coffee beans for my garden, and was wondering what the best uses for all the beans would be.

In my garden I have:
Apple tree
4 blueberry bushes
Sunchokes
Garlic
Turmeric (experimental for zone 4a)
2 Tomato Plants
Some flowers

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered May 11 '16 at 22:40

9

We get 30 litres of coffee grounds once a month from the local deli. We're on a list of people who take the stuff to stop it going into landfill. It just goes straight into our compost pile.

Newly cooked grounds are sterile enough so can be used for growing some mushrooms, and they don't then get competition from other fungi.

Some people use coffee grounds as a soil acidifier for their blueberries. Does it really work? The ground is a huge pH sink, so I have my doubts that any acidification will be permanent unless your plants are in pots. But it's a high nitrogen source so you wouldn't want to put them down unless you're wanting to promote leaf growth.

answered May 11 '16 at 22:40

Graham Chiu

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What is your rule of thumb for which plants to put it on? – black thumb May 12 '16 at 22:15
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Acid loving plants, blueberries, tomatoes, citrus – Graham Chiu May 12 '16 at 23:38
Will they keep deer/rabbits away from my wild sunchoke patch at the city garden? How often do I apply? – black thumb May 13 '16 at 06:30
@blackthumb Might be worth posting this as a new question :) – Tim Malone May 19 '16 at 19:37

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 18 '16 at 13:46

0

Coffee grounds are good to use as mulch or fertiliser. I am not sure if you have them in the form of grounds or beans though.

Here is a helpful article: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/coffee-grounds-gardening.htm

answered May 18 '16 at 13:46

ALR

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What are the best garden uses for 5 gallons of used coffee beans?

2 Answers2