How to use old coffee grounds in the garden

Dean Cartwright

03rd Sep 2020

2 minutes for reading

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Organic Pest Repellent

Sprinkle used coffee grounds around your plants to protect them against destructive garden pests like ants, snails, and slugs.  It has even been said that old grounds mixed with dried orange peel will keep away some small mammals like cats (though Felix can be a tough customer.  If coffee and orange peel doesn’t work, try rosemary oil instead!)

If you make a daily pot of coffee, you also have a fabulous source of organic matter right at your fingertips. In compost jargon, coffee grounds are a “green,” meaning an item that is rich in nitrogen (yes, I know coffee grounds are brown. In your compost, they’re green.) Coffee grounds are approximately 1.45% nitrogen. They also contain magnesium, calcium, potassium, and other trace minerals.

Coffee Grounds as Fertiliser

Coffee grounds for gardening does not end with compost. Many people choose to place coffee grounds straight onto the soil and use it as a fertiliser. The thing to keep in mind is while coffee grounds add nitrogen to your compost, they will not immediately add nitrogen to your soil.

The benefit of using coffee grounds as a fertiliser is that it adds organic material to the soil, which improves drainage, water retention and aeration in the soil. The used coffee grounds will also help microorganisms beneficial to plant growth thrive as well as attract earthworms.

Coffee grounds and gardening go together naturally. Whether you are composting with coffee grounds or using used coffee grounds around the yard, you will find that coffee can give your garden as much of a pick me up as it does for you.