Am I missing something?

I mean sure, they make a fine amendment and using them for the soil is preferable to using them in a landfill, but it seems some actually take the trouble to go to starbucks or elsewhere to get a free, small bag of them.

Why?

Is there any way in which coffee grounds offer more benefit to anything than say grass, leaves, grains purchased in bulk, manures etc. In other words given the ease of obtaining large quantities of many other excellent soil amendments, why are some going through the trouble of aquiring coffee grounds in rather small quantities?

Slugs and snails and some worm pests are repelled or harmed by coffee grounds.

The coffee was 5.0 and the grounds between 6.0 and 6.5

I would imagine there is some variability in the ph of the grounds based upon how much water is flushed through them. In this house we like our coffee strong and black so we use a lot of grounds. If we used less grounds it might be closer to neutral with the same amount of water flushing through them.

Also i didn't have distilled water on hand to run the test on the grounds so I had to moisten them with stored rain water (ph tested @ 5.0) which is acidic by nature. However, it was the least buffered water source I have on hand so it is what I used. It is possible the ph of the grounds is actually slightly higher. I won't know until I have some distilled water to test with.

Of course the water used to brew the coffee was tap water which is well buffered and on the mildly alkaline side. I don't know how that affected the ph of the coffee and won't know unless I brew a pot with distilled water.

Regardless, it is definitely true that the coffee itself is more acidic than the grounds.

Due to the water sources used it means if anything the coffee could be more acidic than 5.0 and the grounds less acidic than the 6-6.5

Around this time last year, I began reading about used coffee grounds on this forum and at the Soil and Compost Forum.

In 2002 I began gardening on a new property where the soil was poor - one side sand, another area clay, ash pockets from a forest fire years ago, not to mention the granite boulders. For two years I gardened in this soil from hell, not being able to afford loads of amendments to change it's composition. Things grew, but not like at the 'old' place.

Last fall, I approached a gas station which serves a lot of coffee about getting their UCGs. It was on my way home from work, so that was good. I won't spend $$ and go out of my way. Deal was I would give them a clean bucket every night, and take the UCGs out.

Started building a compost pile with UCGs a year ago. Leaves were available freely too - and lots of them - and seaweed is a stones throw at the neighbours' beaches, banana peels from the bakery on the way home, pumkins at this time of year, etc.

Throughout the winter, the pile was warm and sometimes hot. The snow always melted on the very top and surrounding area, which kept the pile moist.

By the spring, I had a nice withrow pile surrounding a maple. It was 4 feet high and 3 feet wide and quite long. I began using it in the gardens.

First thing is I HAD WORMS!!!! I had never seen worms here in 2 years.
Then I saw a lot less slugs!! I have a nice hosta garden, and the slugs weren't there... YES! Oh, and the deer were staying away too - could it be they don't like coffee either? And the ants in the gardens up against the house were no more. Others have noticed that ants appear to 'disappear' when you compost/amend the soil with UCGs.
Growth was amazing and full and strong and lush and... well, you get the point.
By the end of June, the winter pile had disappeared, but we were already using the spring piles. The UCGs make the compost heat-up really nice, and the spring piles were ready to go.

I now bring home about 300 lbs of wet UCGs a week. We have only 3/4 acre, but there's still a lot more amending to be done. Right now we have 4 piles one the go, and I will start the winter pile this month.

It smells nice.
It heats the pile.
It attracts worms.
It repels slugs.
It is a good nitrogen scource.
And best of all, it feeds the soil which feeds the plants!

The FAQs for the Soil & Compost forum says UCG are neutral. The grounds from espresso places are quite dry. The bags that Starbucks uses state that the pH is 6.9. I see no reason to question that, but other, wetter grounds may be a little lower in pH because less acid is removed by other brewing methods.

As for the original question of what is the appeal, I think mainly it is that they are free, especially since other organic amendments can be very expensive. For many people it is more convenient to get them at the closest coffee shop than to buy something at the garden center. And UCG are really concentrated, so a little goes a long way.

For me, they have worked best as a top dressing if you don't put too many on at once, but success may depend a lot on climate, too. My lawns really love it, as do my hostas. I also use a lot in composting, especially this time of year when I have lots of browns and few greens.

Lee

After reading this blog I still have a few questions about coffee. I am the holder of a 5lb bag of French roasted coffee beans that have become too old to use for coffee. I've been holding on to them because I can't stand the idea of wasting them. Again, they are whole beans. I am wondering if sprinkling them around my Mountain Laurels and Rhododendrons will help them or hurt them? I wonder if sprinkling them under my hostas will ward off the slug attack also. Can anyone suggest?

Thanks, madamebutterfly

You've come a long way since posting this way back when, ehh, D? ;o)

Al

1) It is free
2) It is HUGE not a small bag
3) The (soil like) texture of UCG is perfect
4) Seems to be deterring deers, slugs
5) Smells divine!