Coffee as plant feed

Evening all.

I'm sure many of us have read that coffee is good plant food. I've read this claim many times, but nobody seems to know the NPK composition of coffee so its hard to find the info to back up the hearsay.

So I was just wondering if anyone has tried it, and if so, what sort of results you've seen.

A year ago I took a peace lilly in to work. I did pot it up into a much larger pot than the one it came in, but we all kept forgetting to feed it, so until a couple of weeks ago it was looking pretty pathetic. Then one day about 2 weeks ago, we watered it with the cold dregs from our coffee percolator. The results were astonishing. Within a couple of days it looked noticeably better, then by the following monday, it had quite literally doubled in volume, and continued to grow at a noticeable rate after that. So today we gave it the coffee dregs again. Its going to be the friday afternoon routine.

 

There's a fair amount of Nitrogen in coffee grounds

perhaps I should do something with mine, rather than chucking them on the compost heap (where they aren't wasted, but aren't doing anything specific). I could put in the watering can in the evening, and then use the water in the morning ... or maybe just tip on specific plants

 

Good results Clueless

The town coffee shops allow you to collect for free, the used coffee grounds
Starbucks even has it bagged up ready to take

A friend said she will get some for me. she uses it on here garden, only comment was the garden smells great :-)

Jack McH

 

I've read somewhere that it is acidic. If that's true, I guess we have to be careful which plants we feed it to as some might not like it. Also, without being able to find out a bit more about the mineral composition, I'm a bit worried that the short term gains from all the nitrogen (leafy growth) might be negated by a deficiency of other minerals that be slower to show up.

 

As you say there is no information on what benefit it has, or NPK
I can test the acidity easily with my meter (do not know what it is but I will check it out tomorrow)

Jack McH

 

COFFEE GROUNDS NPK 2.00 0.3 O.28

http://www.primalseeds.org/npk.htm

Jack McH

 

Slugs and snails hate them. Just put a ring around the young shoots as they emerge.

 

Here's the whole lot:

Alfalfa hay 2.45 0.5 2.1
Apple fruit 0.05 0.02 0.1
Apple leaves 1 0.15 0.35
Apple pomace 0.2 0.02 0.15
Apple skin (ash) - 3.08 11.74
Banana skin (ash) - 3.25 41.76
Banana stalk (ash) - 2.34 49.4
Barley (grain) 1.75 0.75 0.5
Bat guano 6 9 -
Bean and pod 0.25 0.08 0.3
Beet waste 0.4 0.4 3
Beet waste (root) 0.25 0.1 0.5
Blood meal 15 1.3 0.7
Bone meal 4 21 0.2
Bone (ground and burned) - 34.7 -
Brewer's grains (wet) 0.9 0.5 0.05
Brigham tea (ash) - - 5.94
Cantaloupe rind (ash) - 9.77 12.21
Castor bean pomace 5.5 2.25 1.13
Cattail reed & water lilly 2.02 0.81 3.43
Cattail seed 0.98 0.39 1.71
Chicken manure 1.63 1.54 0.85
Coal ash (anthracite) - 0.125 0.125
Coal ash (bituminous) - 0.45 0.45
Cocoa shell dust 1.04 1.49 2.71
Coffee grounds 2.08 0.32 0.28
Coffee grounds (dried) 1.99 0.36 0.67
Corn (grain) 1.65 0.65 0.4
Corn (green forage) 0.3 0.13 0.33
Corncob (ground, charred) - - 2.01
Corncob (ash) - - 50
Cotton seed 3.15 1.25 1.15
Cottonseed meal 7 2.5 1.5
Cottonseed-hull (ash) - 8.7 23.93
Cotton waste 1.32 0.45 0.36
Cow manure (fresh) 0.29 0.17 0.1
Cowpea, green forage 0.45 0.12 0.45
Cowpes, seed 3.1 1 1.2
Crab (common) 1.95 3.6 0.2
Crab (king, dried and ground) 10 0.25 0.06
Crab (king, fresh) 2.3 - -
Crabgrass 0.66 0.19 0.71
Cucumber skin (ash) - 11.28 27.2
Dog manure (fresh) 1.97 9.95 0.3
Duck manure (fresh) 1.12 1.44 0.49
Egg 2.25 0.4 0.15
Eggshell (burned) - 0.43 0.29
Eggshell 1.19 0.38 0.14
Feather 15.3 - -
Felt hat factory waste 3.8 - 0.98
Field bean (seed) 4 1.2 1.3
Field bean (shell) 1.7 0.3 1.3
Fish scrap (red snapper) 7.76 13 0.38
Fish scrap (fresh) 6.5 3.75 -
Greasewood (ash) - - 12.61
Gluten feed 4.5 - -
Greensand - 1.5 5
Grape leaves 0.45 0.1 0.35
Grapes (fruit) 0.15 0.07 0.3
Grapefruit skin (ash) - 3.58 30.6
Hair 14 - -
Hare and rabbit waste 7 2.4 0.6
Hoof meal and horn dust 12.5 1.75 -
Horse manure (fresh) 0.44 0.17 0.35
Incinerator ash 0.24 5.15 2.33
Jellyfish (dried) 4.6 - -
Leather (acidulated) 7.5 - -
Leather (ground) 11 - -
Leather (ash) - 2.16 0.35
Lemon cull 0.15 0.06 0.26
Lemon skin - 6.3 31
Lobster (refuse) 4.5 3.5 -
Lobster (shell) 4.6 3.52 -
Milk 0.5 0.3 0.18
Mud (fresh water) 1.37 0.26 0.22
Mud (harbour) 0.99 0.77 0.05
Mussel 0.9 0.12 0.13
Mussel mud (dried) 0.72 0.35 -
Molasses residue (brewing) 0.7 - 5.32
Moss 0.6 0.1 0.55
Oak leaf 0.8 0.35 0.15
Oats grain 2 0.8 0.6
Olive pomace 1.15 0.78 1.26
Olive refuse 1.22 0.18 0.32
Orange cull 0.2 0.13 0.21
Orange skin (ash) - 2.9 27
Oyster shell 0.36 10.38 0.09
Paint processing waste 0.02 39.5 -
Pea pod (ash) - 1.79 9
Peach leaf 0.9 0.15 0.6
Peanut (seed & kernel) 3.6 0.7 4.5
Peanut shell 0.8 0.15 0.5
Peanut shell (ash) - 1.23 6.45
Pigeon manure (fresh) 4.19 2.24 1.41
Pig manue (fresh) 0.6 0.41 0.13
Pigweed (rough) 0.6 0.16 -
Pine needle 0.46 0.12 0.03
Potato (tuber) 0.35 0.15 0.5
Potato (leaf and stalk) 0.6 0.15 0.45
Potato skin (ash) - 5.18 27.5
Poudrette 1.46 3.68 0.48
Powderworks waste 2.5 - 17
Prune refuse 0.18 0.7 0.31
Pumpkin (fresh) 0.16 0.07 0.26
Pumpkin seed 0.87 0.5 0.45
Rabbit brush (ash) - - 13.04
Ragweed 0.76 0.26 -
Redtop hay 1.2 0.35 1
Rhubarb stem 0.1 0.04 0.35
Rockweed 1.9 0.25 3.68
Rose (flower) 0.3 0.1 0.4
Salt-marsh hay 1.1 0.25 0.75
Salt mud 0.4 - -
Sardine scrap 7.97 7.11 -
Seawood 1.68 0.75 4.93
Sheep manure (fresh) 0.55 0.31 0.15
Shoddy and felt 8 - -
Shrimp head (dried) 7.82 4.2 -
Shrimp waste 2.87 9.95 -
Silt waste 9.5 - -
Silk mill waste 8.37 1.14 0.12
Silk worm cocoon 9.42 1.82 1.08
Sludge 2 1.9 0.3
Sludge (activated) 5 3.25 0.6
Sludge from sewer beds 0.74 0.33 0.24
Soot from chimney fllue 5.25 1.05 0.35
Starfish 1.8 0.2 0.25
Sunflower seed 2.25 1.25 0.79
Sugar (raw, residue) 1.14 8.33 -
Sweet potato skins (ash) - 3.29 13.89
Sweet potato 0.25 0.1 0.5
Tanbark (ash) - 0.34 3.8
Tanbark ash (spent) - 1.75 2
Tankage 6 5 -
Tea grounds 4.15 0.62 0.4
Tea leaves (ash) - 1.6 0.44
Timothy hay 1.25 0.55 1
Tobacco leaves 4 0.5 6
Tobacco stalk 3.7 0.65 4.5
Tobacco stem 2.5 0.9 7
Tomato fruit 0.2 0.07 0.35
Tomato leaves 0.35 0.1 0.4
Tomato stalk 0.35 0.1 0.5
Wheat, bran 2.65 2.9 1.6
Wheat grain 2 0.85 0.5
Wheat straw 0.5 0.15 0.6
White clover (green) 0.5 0.2 0.3
White sage (ash) - - 13.77
Wood ash (leached) - 1.25 2
Wood ash (unleached) - 1.5 7
Wool waste 5.5 3 2

 

I've not used real coffee in years, didn't know anybody still did.

Hows it made these days, I threw the percolator out about 20yrs ago.

 

ask starbucks or any shop that sells decent coffee for their coffee grounds

I don't use it though, as I read that it alters the ph of the soil .... I'm also not convinced that it is a good snail/slug deterent ....

one of my clients used it around her hostas as she refused to use the blue pellets as she has several bird feeders in her garden.... her hostas were munched ...

I will try the garlic spray on her hostas this year (I see some of them have already started growing)

 

Here's a link I put up a couple of years ago here ...

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/151/1/Recycling-coffee-grounds.html

 

http://groundtoground.org/tag/coffee-grounds-ph/

 

Hiya Pete

T'other half uses real coffee every day, most folk do here in these machines. He had a Krups now a Saeco .. I personally don't like it as I am a herbal tea person but love the smell of fresh ground coffee.

*dim* Garlic spray is absolutely disgusting and foul smelling ... I tried it once and never again.

 

garlic spray works though ...

 

I`ve never seen so many pristine hostas , I love hostas but the snails love them too much ....I`ll piss off my neighbour but will try garlic........the lady in the video must be Thailandise , by the way she organise the plant and by the taste of Thai people in growing not tropical in the tropic almost like us but in the oppasite way.