Do any of you use coffee in your garden? Used grounds are apparently a good compost material, as well as being useful to plants in other ways! For instance:
* Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen.
* Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.
* Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer. Use about a half-pound can of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water; let sit outdoors to achieve ambient temperature.
* Mix into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.
* Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests.
* If you are into vermi-posting, feed a little bit to your worms
Source: Sustainable Enterprises
We don't use any coffee in our garden yet, but we're planning to pretty soon! Starbucks was actually giving away bags of used grounds to be used in gardens a few months ago, which is where we got the idea. What do you think? It's a pretty neat idea, eh?