News By Readers

Don't Throw Away Your Coffee Grounds!

By Janet Recker

Published: Friday, November 2, 2012 3:10 PM CDT

DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR COFFEE GROUNDS!

Article by Janet Recker

If you are like me, you make coffee each morning at home. I mean, who wants to spend a lot of money buying coffee already made from Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Racetrack, etc, when you can easily make really good coffee at home? Most people dispose of their coffee grounds in their garbage disposal, rinse them down the sink drain or throw them in the waste can. Besides clogging up your garbage disposal or sink drain so you have to call a plumber, all of these “solutions” have one thing in common… it’s a terrible waste to throw away your coffee grounds, when there is something wonderful you can do with them instead. What is this wonderful solution you might ask?

Scatter them around your landscaping and flowering plants! They are like Organic Gold for our heavy clay soil, here in N. Texas. They help to break up the soil and add rich organic nutrients that attract beneficial soil organisms like worms and beneficial bacteria. They help to make the soil a little more acidic which is great for Azaleas, and Roses. While I don’t recommend trying to use coffee grounds as a single potting soil, it is absolutely terrific for your plants and soil when sprinkled and spread out throughout your landscaping and gardens. It also helps to control slugs and snails which dislike the grounds… nice around Hostas, etc. Rabbits don’t like the smell either, another plus if they have been munching on your garden or landscaping.

Starbucks has a program in place where they will give you packages of used coffee grounds free of charge. They are available at all Starbucks locations in the area year-round, first come, first served. I have often stopped by for about 5 large bags of coffee grounds which I sprinkle around my landscaping. Free Organic Gold for your landscaping and gardens!

As it rains the rich organic material is pulled down into the soil and nourishes the soil to produce nitrogen and a variety of natural organic vitamins and minerals for your plants.

You may have heard of the slogan “feed the soil instead of the plants”? It’s entirely true! If you continue to feed chemical fertilizers to your lawn, landscaping and gardens, you build up harmful salt deposits that compact the soil and kill beneficial bacteria, worms and organisms that naturally support plants. You might get a quick green hit on the top growth, but the soil pays for it and in the long run, healthy organic soil ALWAYS outperforms chemical fertilizers and is a lot less work. Try this simple change of putting your coffee grounds to work for you. You will be surprised by the result!