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 (NC)—Canadian
gardeners are discovering that coffee grounds offer a valuable
source of nutrition for gardens.
Coffee grounds can be used in
several ways. Grounds can be applied along with other materials
as a side dressing for vegetables, roses, and other plants. They
also make an excellent addition to the compost. Grounds can also
help with worm bins. Worms fed with coffee grounds will flourish.
Gardeners can use grounds from
their home coffee brewing machines, or they can stop by Starbucks
to pick up a bag of complimentary coffee grounds. Starbucks offers
spent grounds to customers year-round for use in gardens and
compost bins.
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"Coffee grounds can be a
valuable source of nutrition for the garden," says Ben Packard,
director of Environmental Affairs for Starbucks. "Reusing
coffee grounds in the garden year-round is a great way to avoid
disposing of this rich resource from our stores."
According to The Composting Council
of Canada, composting not only helps to reduce the amount of
waste going to landfills, it produces a valuable soil amendment
that can improve the texture and fertility of the soil.
Compost is the single most important
ingredient for soil quality and productivity. |
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Some gardeners even use the grounds
to help ward off slugs and snails. The grounds can be used to
mulch plants that slugs love to feast on, such as hostas, ligularias
and lilies.
Coffee grounds can be applied
directly to a garden's acid loving plants such as azaleas, roses
or hydrangeas. While coffee grounds may be acidic, adding leaves
and dried grass can reduce this acidity. Your local gardening
expert can help you decide what is best for your garden. |
