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Location

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Date Posted

Little-TON - Colorado

Anyone using coffee grounds in the patch??? It appears to me to be a perfect green food and I have laid down a bunch in my gardens......Anyone else intrigued by this? I perfer Starbucks.....

6/21/2006 1:43:15 PM

Taber, Alberta

I have been using coffee grounds in my compost and directly on the soil in the fall and spring for the past few years. After a little digging last week, I was pleasantly surprised by the massive number of worms now living in my dirt. Plus I love the smell LOL!
I get mine at the local 7-11. Coffee consumption dies off in the summer and I have other things to do in the patch, but once October rolls around, I'll be back collecting 1/2 a plastic garbage pail every day.
Alan

6/21/2006 1:48:30 PM

ordinary,VA

coffee grounds are good worm food.
I put grounds in the patch in fall and winter.
local coffee show saves the grounds for in a five gallon bucket.

6/21/2006 2:07:10 PM

San Luis Obispo, Ca.

Yea i tried that once, my cat ate some and she didn't sleep for a week.

6/21/2006 6:18:22 PM

Montoursville, PA

Coffee grounds and a dab of corn meal are the two absolutely best things one can add, to the patch, after using manure and a cover crop.

6/21/2006 6:58:50 PM

yup,,nothing like worms with a caffeine buzz plowing the dirt !!

6/21/2006 8:06:06 PM

Dallas, Oregon

make sure to keep an eye on your PH

6/22/2006 12:22:55 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Starbucks reports that the PH is around 6.9. And not to exceed 25% volumn. Also I believe the worms are getting a buzz and fat....along with me getting a instant contact buzz when tossing them in the gardens. The grounds are very finely ground with some of the expresso paks tightly packed.......the best part is it is weed free......

6/22/2006 11:30:52 AM

Midwest

Starbucks and I had a good thing going last fall through the winter. They had garbage bags of grounds every week until the Spring when gardeners began to ask for it. I spread it over all the fall leaves and snow and the soil when I over-turned the patch in April. Made the snow brown but who cares? Because we growers prepare the patch in the fall, we can get as much as we want. People are fascinated when you tell them your feeding coffee to your pumpkins.
GroBigBro!

6/22/2006 2:27:03 PM

Sacramento, CA

I am expanding my Patch to allow for much more gorwth than I originally planned. I know that the prep for the patch should occur in the fall, but is there a problem with adding the grounds now? My acidity is fine.

6/22/2006 2:55:35 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

No, Starbucks says it can be added as a green food. The best part about it is the worms love it......it has really darkened up my soil.....Great for acid/hi N loving plants like giant punkins......It gives a great garden smell too. I even recieved permission from Starbucks to link to ColoradoPumpkins.com If you google grounds in the garden you will find links from UK and the US, even an EPA article its good stuff and free for now......

6/22/2006 3:17:36 PM

Denver, CO

I have put about 2 pounds (wet weight) per sq/ft on over the last 2 years in my patch. It works well to minimize compaction, retains mostiure for a much longer period of time then un-amended soil, and releases nitrogen at a very slow but steady rate. Soil tempeture is rasied by a degree or two as well, though it takes a bit longer overall to warm up. It does seem to push the pH level up a bit. And without the proper bacteria present ( ie- needs lots of manure to counter) it will not produce the worms that everyone wants so badly. Overall, I would say coffe grounds are a excellent soil additive and worth the effort.

6/22/2006 8:42:09 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

I have been adding the worms, much to the liking of the local Robins, the Robins think Im doing it for them......in the past I did, but now I'm trying to chase them out of the patch and they think Im playing with them........however the cat keeps them moving. Ever see a robin attack, I have witnessed a couple, twice on me and once on my cat. Muliple robins dive bombing.....Makes the Alfred Hitchcock movie believable

6/23/2006 9:02:53 AM