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Do you/would you use coffee grounds as fertiliser?

elu439elu439 Posts: 17
in Tools and techniques

Do you/would you use coffee grounds as fertiliser? 19 votes

Yes
31%
LynZenjeffGrumpymumAnte1HouseFinchjennifergilleece 6 votes
No
68%
ObelixxHostafan1DovefromabovefidgetbonesMagpie-MaidenSinging GardenerLoxleyBright starFireUncle MortJennyJedhelkamikeymustard 13 votes
«1

Posts

  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I put them in with the other kitchen waste and they go into the garden compost bin with grass cuttings, weeds and other plant material so they make up a TINY proportion of the whole. I wouldn't put them straight on the soil but I believe some people do to deter slugs.
  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    I do exactly the same as Posy 👍🏻
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    Same here. 
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2019
    No
    I use them either in the compost and sometimes as a slug/snail deterrent in the area where I grow some Hostas ... it’s conveniently just outside the back door 👍 

    Theres no point in using them ’as a fertiliser’ as they do not contain a significant amount of useful minerals etc.  They may, if you use enough) slightly increase the acidity of the soil on a temporary basis and again, if you use enough they increase the organic content of the soil and aid water retention etc. but they won’t increase the fertility per se. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    No
    No, because we don't drink coffee.  But if we did, I'd put the grounds in the compost bin with the veggie peelings etc.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Yes
    I clicked yes, but I do mix them in compost bins,   They’re not a fertiliser but a soil improver, anything organic you can dig in is good. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    No
    Mine go in the compost bin with the rest of the veggie waste.  The finished product is more of a soil conditioner than a fertiliser.
  • Valley GardenerValley Gardener Posts: 2,851
    I always put mine on bits of soil that need improvement,and lots round the Rhododendron,as the soil is alkaline. The worms love them.
    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I wouldn't expect them to be a fertiliser but I often sling the dregs from the cafetiere on the garden


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • HouseFinchHouseFinch Posts: 328
    Yes
    Maybe not so much as a fertilizer, but more as an amendment to improve the overall texture. Used loads in February-March and mixed with household compost to create a vegetable garden bed that had a lot of heavy clay underneath. The worms loved it, and it has seemed to keep the slugs out of the vegetable garden all throughout the summer.
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