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What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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Posted by
rosiew 7 GA (
rosemarywalsh@bellsouth.net) on
Sun, Feb 6, 11 at 17:57
| It's been cold and very rainy here in Atlanta area. I've scored way over 100#s of UCGs. Have them in the garage (and trunk) at present. Best advice really appreciated.
Rosie, Sugar Hill, GA |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| I'd get them out of the trunk of the car, but they will do fine in the bag until the weather improves. If they get a little moldy, so what? |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Mon, Feb 7, 11 at 3:04
If you have a 5 gallon bucket with a lid 0r any container of that size or larger. You can fill 1/3 CW,1/3 shredded paper or leaves or both, 1/3 air. Seal lid tightly or you will have a mess. Every other day or so round the container around to mix the contents, then set it up right again, unseal or crack the lid to let any gases that may build up out.You will have compost in no time at all. Repeat every few days.
Or put in a rubber trash can until Spring, they will heat up some, but be fine out side. |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| If your soil is not snow covered you could spread those coffee grounds around your plants now. You could also compost them, but not in a sealed container of any kind since that would exclude air and they would anaerobically (in the abscence of air) digest and smell really bad. |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| I could spread them now but the nitrogen effect would be lost, wouldn't it? I can stack the bags of grounds outside. Don't think the clear plastic will break down real quickly. Appreciate your responses. Will watch this because I forgot to click on email responses to me. Duh. Rosie |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Mon, Feb 7, 11 at 11:33
kimmsr is correct, to make myself clear/what I should have said. The 5 gallon bucket is a mini tumbler, to be sealed only when you are rolling it around your nice warm garage. You should unseal in after each tumble/roll.
This is the subject of most misunderstanding on threads: one not speaking clearly &/or another not understanding what one means.
I will try to do better. |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| I'd dump them in a pile in the backyard and mix 1 part grounds with 2 parts shredded leaves or chopped straw. The weather will be warming up there soon and it should compost nicely. Like any compost, it will take 4-6 months. If you're concerned about the appearance, enclose it in a small cylinder of half-inch hardware cloth. That will give it plenty of air and moisture circulation and keep out pets and lawnmowers. But a nice spot in the woods or behind a hedge will serve just as well. |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| Are you buried in snow right now? I'd probably toss them in the compost pile. |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| nygardener z6 - You compost for 4-6 months?? Maybe I'm doing things differently: I usually allow my compost to 'cook' for 1 to 2 months before I use it. However, my compost piles are pretty big: 5 ft tall and about 15 ft wide at the base. I prefer a pretty coarse compost. How do you determine when your compost is finished? |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| They're obviously no good, I'll take them off your hand for safe keeping ;) |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| Nice thinking piedmontnc! I'd get them into a pile of straw/leaves/shredded paper, kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, Urea, mix in some water and molasses (20:1), cover it over to keep out the rain and turn it when the heap starts to cool down. When you can't get it hot by turning any more, leave it be for a couple of months - then you got some magic coffee compost :) |
Here is a link that might be useful: The Ground to Ground website
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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- Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Fri, Feb 11, 11 at 7:00
| No one has asked yet, what do you normally do with UCGs Rosie? I saw you ask if you could spread them now but were concerned about N loss. I don't think a lot, if any appreciable amount, of N is lost if one spreads UCGs in cooler weather. Lloyd |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| Every time this thread bubbles to the top, I get jealous. I've got a couple of big buckets of coffee grounds, saved from my own morning coffee, and I'm looking out the window at the garden and lawn covered with a couple of feet of snow. As soon as it thaws, I'll scatter my coffee grounds somewhere. Probably on the lawn, because I'm on a mission to get it back on track, and I've got other stuff (like compost an rabbit manure) for the garden. |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| Appreciate all these responses. Lloyd - I haven't been able to get UCG's in quantity before. Always put my personal grounds in compost container in kitchen or add some water to my coffee press and drizzle around plants - have been feeding my pansies with them. Bagged stuff I've gotten from Starbucks used here and there. But now we have a Starbucks at a new grocery nearby so I'll be able to get hundreds of pounds in the coming months, and of course, this will be ongoing. The ones I have now I'm going to spread out on a tarp to get drier and try spreading on the lawn with my fertilizer spreader. My one huge rose will get some too. Everything still soppy wet. But great weather coming this weekend. Will try to mulch mow more leaves and get a big messy pile started. I'm fenced and have no concerns about how it looks. Shane, thanks for the Ground to Ground link. Good program, great links. Keep the idea coming - we all benefit. Rosie, in Sugar Hill, GA |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| I used to collect UCGs year round and would just pile them out behind the back gardens during the winter, then spread them into a lasagne bed (or where ever) when the weather warmed. I have also left them in buckets - they will get a little moldy, but that wasn't a problem. Leira I am looking at the same couple feet of snow. So glad the snow has stopped for the meantime! I have rejuvenated my lawn, albeit slowly, by spreading lime and top-dressing with compost every year or every other year. Also I always leave the clippings on the lawn. The grass has responded very well to this treatment. |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| This post is way off season, but had a few minutes and was looking back in time..............Anyhow, we live in a snowy winter area. I use my coffee grounds, gathered tri-weekly from a local coffee house, spread on my snowbanks on the N. side of our house. Due to the UCG's dark color, they warm faster in the sun and melt the snow quicker. They then settle on the lawn and benefit it. Just a thought. Hope winter is a long way off. Ken |
RE: What should I do NOW with coffee grounds?
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| I just looked at the label on a bag of Starbucks used coffe grounds and the label says to use the grounds within 2 to 3 weeks for best nutritional value. |
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