Excess Coffee Grounds

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Cornelius_Gotchberg
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Excess Coffee Grounds

#1

Post: # 70559Unread post Cornelius_Gotchberg
Fri May 27, 2022 3:56 pm

Thanks to the lovely and long suffering Mrs. Gotch's efforts (I never touch the stuff), we'll have ~ 15-20 dry quarts of coffee grounds left over after Tomato-n-Pepper planting.

Should a person just distribute them equally twixt the three (3) composting bins, or is there a better approach?

The Gotch
Madison WESconsin/Growing Zone 5-A/Raised beds above the Midvale Heights spade-caking clay in the 77 Square Miles surrounded by A Sea Of Reality

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bower
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#2

Post: # 70561Unread post bower
Fri May 27, 2022 4:21 pm

My compost basically depends on coffee grounds, so that gets em all. But I'm curious to hear what other uses people found worthwhile. ;)
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slugworth
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#3

Post: # 70562Unread post slugworth
Fri May 27, 2022 4:48 pm

The 1st place I ever worked had free coffee.
They had so many coffee grounds, they used to spread them on the sidewalks during the winter instead of sand.
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zeuspaul
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#4

Post: # 70563Unread post zeuspaul
Fri May 27, 2022 4:56 pm

If I had them I would add them to my potting and or seed starting mixes.

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Cornelius_Gotchberg
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#5

Post: # 70565Unread post Cornelius_Gotchberg
Fri May 27, 2022 5:31 pm

I add a small "grab" (~two [2] tbsps/28.2 grams) of both coffee grounds and epsom salts to each Tomato-n-Pepper planting hole.

The Gotch
Madison WESconsin/Growing Zone 5-A/Raised beds above the Midvale Heights spade-caking clay in the 77 Square Miles surrounded by A Sea Of Reality

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brownrexx
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#6

Post: # 70572Unread post brownrexx
Fri May 27, 2022 7:11 pm

I add them to my compost pile.

rossomendblot
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#7

Post: # 70584Unread post rossomendblot
Sat May 28, 2022 4:29 am

We get huge quantities of coffee from a local cafe, most of it goes in to the compost pile or the wormery. You can sprinkle them over soil as a light top dressing, not in a thick layer which can form a hydrophobic crust. In autumn I put a thicker layer on the raised beds and cover it with compost, by spring the worms etc. have broken it all down. I don't dig them directly in to the soil as there is a study which showed this can reduce plant growth, but the addition of manure solves that (they said it wasn't due to N depletion but didn't allude further).

I also use them as a small percentage of potting mixes for certain things like potatoes and squash which don't seem to care what they grow in, 10% of the total mix is the maximum I have used.

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bower
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#8

Post: # 70591Unread post bower
Sat May 28, 2022 6:14 am

slugworth wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 4:48 pm The 1st place I ever worked had free coffee.
They had so many coffee grounds, they used to spread them on the sidewalks during the winter instead of sand.
I tried this one year. It did work pretty well for non slip, but what a mess to track into the porch. :roll:
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worth1
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#9

Post: # 70595Unread post worth1
Sat May 28, 2022 6:42 am

Okay what is it???
I go one place and I read worms like coffee grounds.
Another says they kill worms.
Worth
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Rockoe10
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#10

Post: # 70596Unread post Rockoe10
Sat May 28, 2022 6:52 am

Raw coffee grounds can be toxic to plants and worms, but used grounds are ok for both.
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worth1
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#11

Post: # 70599Unread post worth1
Sat May 28, 2022 7:16 am

Rockoe10 wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 6:52 am Raw coffee grounds can be toxic to plants and worms, but used grounds are ok for both.
That's what I always thought.
Who on earth could afford to dump fresh coffee grounds on a plant or soil?
I mean seriously are people that ignorant these days?
Do they have to be held by the hand that much?
Not ranting so to speak but seriously. :lol:
Worth
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#12

Post: # 70608Unread post slugworth
Sat May 28, 2022 9:37 am

Bower wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 6:14 am
slugworth wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 4:48 pm The 1st place I ever worked had free coffee.
They had so many coffee grounds, they used to spread them on the sidewalks during the winter instead of sand.
I tried this one year. It did work pretty well for non slip, but what a mess to track into the porch. :roll:
Just blame the dog.
Wood ashes leave skid marks also, but lighter in color. :lol:
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JRinPA
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#13

Post: # 70734Unread post JRinPA
Mon May 30, 2022 10:11 am

Worms love coffee grounds, at least mine do, supposedly euros. I take all the coffee grounds and layer them in the hot compost. The worms go the edges and don't burned. Or at least, the survivors don't complain. The coffee grounds are a perfect compost source, they can be treated as brown or green. There was a time I tried to collect coffee grounds from the dunkin donuts and such around here, but it was not worth the effort, lots of "we're not allowed" and wasted time and gas. I don't know what they do with them nowadays, probably sell them to some worm farmers.

That would make a heck of mess using them as traction!

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worth1
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#14

Post: # 70737Unread post worth1
Mon May 30, 2022 10:27 am

Just don't get one in your eye.
Eyes hate coffee grounds.
Worth
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karstopography
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#15

Post: # 70861Unread post karstopography
Wed Jun 01, 2022 3:47 am

I wonder how much coffee grounds people are generating every day? I use about 1/2 ounce dry coffee grounds a day. Call it a pound a month. 12 pounds a year. That would be a very minor part of the contributions to my compost pile compared to everything else that goes in there.
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worth1
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#16

Post: # 70864Unread post worth1
Wed Jun 01, 2022 5:30 am

karstopography wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 3:47 am I wonder how much coffee grounds people are generating every day? I use about 1/2 ounce dry coffee grounds a day. Call it a pound a month. 12 pounds a year. That would be a very minor part of the contributions to my compost pile compared to everything else that goes in there.
That's exactly how much coffee I brew at home every day.
The days of brewing a whole pot of coffee to just go to waste are long gone.
I don't even have that type of coffee maker.
And haven't had for so many years I can't remember.
Worth
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Amateurinawe
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#17

Post: # 71525Unread post Amateurinawe
Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:18 am

Pre-covid I'd pick up spent coffee grounds from the coffee shop on way home from work. As many kilos as I could carry and put it in layers in all the worm bins. Mixed in of course with other greens and browns for the wrigglers. I'd say the worms loved it, I think they get addicted by the caffeine and get hyperactive. Many a time I'd come home and there they were, around the sides of the bin smoking a cigarette with an empty mug waiting for the coffee...

It certainly enhances the overall texture once the worm compost is extracted.
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bower
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#18

Post: # 71594Unread post bower
Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:16 pm

Coffee grounds are high N compared to other kitchen waste. So every bit of it is valuable where your compost is mostly plant material weeds and straw. The coffee grounds bucket is the layer that counts.
I know I had a pile in one corner (granted somewhat shaded) which was straw and weeds with no coffee grounds, and at the end of the day it was a lot less like compost and more like a heap of straw. Two years in a row barely made enough dirt to stick something into.
I just need to drink more coffee to make more compost. Plenty of weeds and straw! ;)
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Danny
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#19

Post: # 71607Unread post Danny
Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:32 pm

Mostly around 2 lbs a month is used here, and most often it is scattered around the yard or composted.

NarnianGarden
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Re: Excess Coffee Grounds

#20

Post: # 75407Unread post NarnianGarden
Thu Aug 04, 2022 4:58 pm

I spread used coffee grounds under the apple tree, around rose bushes and of course in tomato containers. (not too much for tomatoes... once in two weeks maybe... )

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