used coffee grounds

[Maj.PotHead]

friend of mine brought over some used grounds from starbucks, guess they keep a room full in the back for ppl and thier house plants and such.

any1 use used coffee grounds during the grow as a soil amendment
will the used grounds effect the soils ph
should they only be used during veg, or can flowering also be included
it says right on the bag great source of N for your garden im just wondering thx for any experinced replys

 

[sproutco]

I would think that they are acidic. They are 2.08-.32-.28 n p k

 

[Farmer Joe]

I think they are very acidic as well. Never used them.

 

[supermanlives]

i put cofee and tea grounds in the compost pile and worm farm. never used them directly in soil mix without first composting or letting the worms munch on em.

 

[akornpatch]

very acidic...great for african lillies. LOL

Compost first...great idea.

 

[Guest]

use ASAP, they dont store fresh very long.
and lime them before m,ixin into yer containers,
but its non burning and fast release N if u need to top dress
or dont want to piss on yer plants.
composting first is a good idea, yeah.

 

[Guest]

btw i mean inside.
outside you can top dress about now
when the plants are stretching, but again, lime em first.
have fun

 

[3BM]

I have to disagree with some of the suggestions here. The acidity in ground coffee is mostly soluble, and thus used grounds have been largely neutralized by running hot water through them. Test the pH of the grounds you have but expect them around 6.5, slightly but not too acidic. Liming any material will cause it to loose N in the form of gaseous ammonia, so avoid it in compost piles. Besides, in my experience cannabis prefers acidic soil (6.2-6.6), so the acidity is welcome. Lime is often overused in soil mixes, and should only be added to soil below this range (unlikely unless one consistently adds acidifying material). Worms will eat the grounds up, and they are great in compost. Their fine texture means they heat up fast and break down quickly. I call it "urban manure".

 

[Verite]

Not sure if you want to use them in veg considering they are very high in P.

Material N P K
(%) (%) (%)
Alfalfa hay 2.5 0.5 2.0
Blood meal 15.0 1.3 0.7
Bone meal 4.0 21.0 0.2
Coffee grounds (dried) 2.0 36.0 0.7
Cornstalks 0.7 0.4 0.9
Cottonseed meal 7.0 2.5 1.5
Dried blood 12.0 3.0 0
Peat 2.0 0.3 0.6
Sawdust 0.2 0.1 0.2
Wood ashes 0 1.5 3.5

http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqfert/cis922.html

 

[NPK]

I bring home garbage bags full of grounds, filters included, for my compost. It's great! It attracts worms and gives your compost a wonderful texture. They're acidic, though I couldn't tell you what they might measure...now I'm curious.

 

[Guest]

1. Used coffee grounds are not acidic.
The acidity is rinsed out during the brewing process. Do not worry about pH. They serve as a great source of protein for your soil biology to munch on. Munching of the coffee grounds releases NPK through biological activity. But light NPK, not a lot. Do not add lime for UCGs because you do not need to.



2. You can use them in your compost
....as a "green"/nitrogen-dominant material)or you can mix them right in your soil, or you can spread a thin layer on the top of your soil as an organic mulch (not too thick, otherwise it crusts & repels water).



3. You can mix them directly in your soil
Outdoors: 3-5 cups per gallon of soil
Indoors: 2-3 cups per gallon of soil
These are my estimates based on my growing experience - feel free to play around. If using indoors, I would make sure my biological activity in the soil is stimulated in additional ways to ensure the breakdown of the coffee grounds.



4. You can add a layer ontop of your soil as an organic mulch
Do not add more than an inch or so, it crusts over and repels water if it is too thick.



5. Do not worry about them releasing too much NPK
NPK is released from them as the soil life munches on them, and this is a slow and steady process. UCGs are low in NPK anyways.




6. Use throughout the growing season. They mainly provide N, but it's not so much N (in my opinion) that it would negatively affect budding.




7. If using outdoors and you see mold/fungus on or under the layer of UCGs you put down, don't worry - it's a natural part of the decomposition process.



8. If you don't use them within 2 weeks or so, little white worms will grow in the coffee grounds. I dunno what they are, but I still use mine anyways if that happens, and I don't worry about em. I figure they're natural to the decomp. process anyways. Worst thing about leaving them in bags for 2 weeks+ is that nitrogen turns into ammonia gas and leaves the system [bag of grounds] and your UCGs after that have a lower nitrogen content.




Verite, I don't know why that number you got has so much P. This is what I found, which is more likely correct....I've seen this on many other sites as well....there's no way they have as much P as that source of yours says. I have a feeling it's because it says "(dried)" but I don't know how they could get such a huge P value...weird!

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/text/fertilizing_tables.html
Coffee grounds 2.1 (N) 0.3 (P) 0.3(K)






It is a blessing to organic material maniac gardeners that starbucks gives their used coffee grounds for free.
If you run into a store that doesn't abide, let them know it's their company's policy & ask the manager! Some people even bring buckets in and leave them there so they can be filled and then pick them up later on in the week.

And they smell & feel great enough to roll around in. The used coffee grounds, that is.

enjoy!

 

[jaykush]

as ive said before coffee grounds are like worm crack. they love it.

 

[Verite]

Yep... I think thats a typo.. I did some research and I think they meant to type out 0.36

 

[porgy tirebiter]

Wouldn't it be likely to grow smelly anerobic bacteria if it were not composted?

 

[Guest]

Porgy, any nitrogen-rich source you use can run the risk of going anaerobic - but only if you use large amounts of it, and don't have enough carbon mixed, or don't have something to create pores in it for oxygen (small sticks/stems) etc.

But you can basically throw a layer down and not worry, I just try to keep my layers no more than 1 inch thick of coffee grounds and usually I lightly mix it into the soil surface, or I lightly mix in a carbon-rich source, like dead leaves or hay.

Carbon-rich sources act as energy for the soil biology, like a form of sugar. Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in the soil, and soil biology needs it to live, so that's why we then add a nitrogen rich source along with the carbon rich sources.

If you have a good balance of nitrogen and carbon, your soil life will be happy. If you just have a bunch of nitrogen-rich stuff, it may go bad, and most of your soil life won't have energy (sugar/carbon) to make use of the nitrogen. Not to mention, if your N-rich source goes anaerobic, you start losing nitrogen to the atmosphere when it turns into ammonia (rather than soil biology turning it into nitrates that the soil life and plants can use).

So, don't throw on layers more than an inch thick, and if you decide to use more than that, mix it into the soil, add carbon sources, or do a little of both, and you'll be fine.

 

[ThaiPhoon]

I use them in my mix all the time now. I even experimented by making a soilmix using 25% coffee grounds. The plant is actually behind the others...25% is too much for cannabis, I think the 4or5 cups a gallon is cool tho..I don't measure things too accurately. The worms LOVE them (and crushed eggshells!). I have read the coffee grinds act as a pH buffer and help to keep the soil slightly acidic. I can't remember the source but Google using coffee grinds as fertilizer will most likely help you out as well!

Peace

 

[Benny]

Considering everything...I would stick to leaving the coffee grounds in a composter, and using your own compost. And would you rather be putting straight coffee grounds in your soil, or spend 10 dollars and get some worm castings, guano etc?

 

[hunt4genetics]

Have been busy, would have posted this earlier,
but last week I read this thread, so later that day I was in town, I decided to find out if the starbucks offers free grinds. So I ask, the manager said yes, and asked this kid to get it for me. The kid comes back and says "sorry I wish I had more for you."He poceeds to hand me a bag of coffee grinds, that felt like it weighed about 35LBS!
whoa! they consider this a little bit. I'm pumped! can't wait to work this into my plants and my conventional garden also. Peace.
if you are organic, and your local starbuck offers this, I would encourage you to take advantage of this free organic matter.

peace,
keep it green.

h4g

 

[Dignan]

Coffee grounds are a great addition and don't need to be composted, though composting won't hurt. But I wanted to say, the other day I was buying a coffee at Star*ucks and they had a sign up (not handmade, from corporate, apparently) that advertised that they donate grounds to customers for their gardens.

Thought that was cool.

 

[med_breeder]

I know it varies by store, but from your experiences
does starbucks have alot of grinds, or is it gone in no time?

Or does starbucks have like tons in a back room?
I know it varies by store.