Do coffee grounds help or hinder plants?

 Does anyone know whether or not coffee grounds are dangerous for the health
of plants or lawn?  I heard once that they are sometimes used when turf is
laid, but at my place there is a suggestion that some plants are in
declining health because I emptied the contents of the plunger on them!

 

used coffee grounds are fine on the lawn if sprinkled fairly thinly, don't
use as a mulch on lawn unless you want to kill it. There is some debate
about the acidity of used grounds. If that is a concern long term check the
ph of your soil and adjust it with lime as necessary. An occasional usage
isn't any problem. Same with coffee grounds on gardens. The odd plant may
not like it whereas I have found all my vegetables, shrubs and lawn do fine
with coffee grounds.

rob

 

From memory coffee is acidic which will make the soil sour. So the ground
will be good for azaleas, gardenias and camellias because they like acid
soils. Not so good for things that like neutral pH to slightly alkaline
conditions. I would suggest a handful of lime, dolomite or rockdust to even
the ledger as all are alkaline.

Cheers

Dick

 

the balance of consensus I have read acorss various web pages is that coffee
grounds may have a fairly weak acidic reaction on soil. Much of the acid in
grounds is apparently washed out through the brewing process. I simple (and
a little arbitary) test would be to measure the ph of the grounds using a
standard take home kit and see what that yeilds. If it shows a result test
various batches of coffee grounds to see what the general norm is. If midly
acidic factor that in to any liming regime. Another factor to consider is
the soils natural ability to buffer acidic material.

For example, here in NZ we havea good supply of rain. Every few years it is
recommended to lime the lawn. PH checks across the garden will give me a
rough indication of the soil ph and how to bring it in to decent level
(close enough is good enough type measure mind you). I might need to lime a
year earlier due to using coffee grounds. I have not experienced anything
dramatic in my usage of coffee grounds. Trial and observation most likely.

rob

 wrote:


I maintain worm farms and both tea and coffee grounds are eagerly
devoured by worms.
So if in doubt add your coffee grounds to your compost.
--

Stuart