Coffee grounds as a fertilizer for plants and flowers: reviews

Experienced cottagers and flower growers often use coffee grounds as a fertilizer. It is cheap and convenient, especially if you are a lover of a delicious strong drink. A certain amount of used powder is collected daily, which can be used to improve the growth of your domestic plants. This is a junk material that saves money and gives good nutrition to green pets, and also helps to keep the water and air permeability of the soil.

Interestingly, coffee grounds are used as a fertilizer not only for domestic plants, many summer residents during the whole autumn-winter season collect the remains of coffee and tea in order to use them in their summer cottage in the spring. To do this, the product remaining after the siesta is carefully dried and put in cellophane bags, where it waits for its time. With the onset of spring, the collected material is used for mulching soil and fertilizer.

How useful is coffee?

For a long time it was believed that coffee grounds are used as fertilizer only on alkaline soils or for plants that need high acidity of the earth. This is due to the high acidity of the coffee itself. However, later the researchers found that the coffee grounds have a neutral Ph. Despite the fact that even to taste you can determine some sourness inherent in coffee beans, this acid is completely washed away during the preparation of the drink. Therefore, the residue, which is used to fertilize the beds, is absolutely neutral.

Coffee grounds as a fertilizer

Comments gardeners testify that the soil thus fertilized attracts earthworms. It is this property that makes the coffee residue a universal fertilizer, as worms help to loosen the earth and improve its properties. So on any bed it will come in handy. In addition to these properties, the coffee grounds as a fertilizer for plants is valuable in the content of nitrogen and trace elements. Therefore, it becomes an excellent top dressing for garden plants. True, the content of nitrogen in it is low. Nevertheless, this is what makes it possible to use the coffee residue for composting and top dressing. In addition plants receive magnesium and potassium, which are very useful for them. But the quantity of minerals is such that it is impossible to talk about full nutrition without additional fertilizer.

Ways of using coffee grounds

Many summer residents who have already heard of such an application of the product, which they are accustomed to throw away, are interested in how to use coffee grounds as a fertilizer. There are a lot of ways, and every gardener can choose the one that he likes best. You can make coffee grounds by simply scattering it around plants or in a bed. Most often it is done in the spring, although it does not hurt to pour out the coffee residue throughout the whole summer season. The reviews note that after spreading the thicket around the plants, it is necessary to water the soil abundantly with water, and do not put it directly under the stem. It forms a crust, which does not penetrate the roots to the roots.

Coffee grounds are used as a fertilizer for tomatoes. To do this, it digs into a small depth around the plants. It is very good to simultaneously add herbal mulch, so the coffee grounds will not cake. According to reviews, it is best to make this simple fertilizer when preparing the holes for planting flowers. It does not make much sense to bring it under the roots. It is much better to prepare fertilizer from the ground, grass mulch and prepared, dried up thick. This allows you to simultaneously well fertilize the soil and prevent the formation of a crust on its surface, which means that you less often have to loosen it.

Preparing the compost

All the methods that we listed above, are great for a holiday village, but are almost not justified for home colors. The tasks here are somewhat different, home conditions do not contribute to the formation of a dense crust on the surface of the earth, but they impose high demands on the introduction of nutrients. Coffee grounds as a fertilizer for indoor plants is certainly useful, but contains too little nitrogen, magnesium and potassium. Therefore, the flower growers prepare the compost, which then goes for top dressing. The composition can be varied, but the combination of 50% of the coffee grounds, 30% of straw and 20% of leaves is considered optimal. You can also use cardboard and grass.

The main difficulty is that the compost must mature in a special pit. You can use just a large tank, only you need to place it in the most sheltered from the rain and wind place. The rest is a matter of technology. In one pile add the coffee grounds, straw and leaves, dried grass. After this, add a little bone flour, mix well and cover with a layer of fertile soil. After that, compost must be poured (it should be slightly moist) and make holes with a stick. Air access is needed to create a microclimate. Literally in 3-4 weeks the compost will be ready. Now you can use it in the form of nutritional supplements, bringing in pots, or mulching the surface when planting.

Drainage in a hurry

Coffee grounds as a fertilizer for flowers is used and directly when planting. If you did not have any chips and claydite at hand, which usually spread the bottom of the pot for better water and air permeability, then try to get by with proven means. To do this, take a few sachets of the most common tea and lay out the bottom of the pot. On top you need to pour a layer of coffee grounds, and then a soil mixture suitable for the plant. Tea together with the thicket will gradually rot and give additional fertilizer, as well as provide good drainage.

There is another option. At the bottom of the pot, pour the expanded clay, on top - a layer of coffee grounds, second-hand. Next, everything, as always: a layer of soil - and plant the plant in the usual way.

Organic pest control

Coffee grounds have long been used as a fertilizer for flowers. This is very convenient, because it does not require any expenses, after breakfast it is enough to collect the coffee residue, put it in a pot and lightly sprinkle with fresh earth. But in fact this tool is more functional than just a natural fertilizer. Ants, snails, slugs and many other insects do not like the coffee grounds, which means they will bypass your plantations by side. If you decide to plant valuable plants in the garden for a summer period, then this will be a good protection for them, and absolutely safe.

How else can you use coffee grounds?

Not everyone knows, but the seeds of many root crops before planting are recommended to mix with cooked coffee. This provides excellent germination, and the fruits are sweeter and more nutritious. But the coffee grounds are especially good as a fertilizer for indoor plants. Reviews suggest that most of all her love flowers such as roses and azaleas, hydrangeas and camellias. In this case, it is necessary to take into account one interesting property: when introducing coffee grounds into the soil, flowers have a habit of changing their shade. For example, pink flowers become turquoise. To prevent this from happening, they are watered with water, which you need to insist on the coffee grounds. Then you get a good effect without damaging the decorative properties of the plant. Domestic plants are also often attacked by insect pests. Such watering will be an excellent prevention.

Reviews

Gardeners and flower growers are advised to use coffee grounds as a fertilizer. They say that it loosens the soil well. Plants grow strong, grow faster. Especially love such a top dressing carrots and radishes. Very well this tool helps plants that have tortured slugs or ants. But the reviews note that, nevertheless, a full-fledged fertilizer can not be called coffee grounds, it is necessary to use other fertilizing.

Let's sum up the results

As you can see, the coffee grounds are a valuable product that can not be thrown away. Whether you are fond of indoor floriculture, or live in a private house with a garden, it will certainly find its application. This is a good fertilizer, a tool for making the soil light, and also effective protection against various pests. But the most important thing is that it is always at hand and does not require additional investment.