Coffee Compost

What starts out as a cup of coffee can end up being grounds for a great garden! You can also dilute your coffee grounds with water for an excellent liquid fertilizer that's completely organic.

After you brew your coffee, save your grounds. If you don't drink coffee, just stop by a local coffee shop, and they'll probably let you take home their grounds. Put the grounds in a canister like an ice cream bucket, a coffee can or a canister made specifically for coffee grounds. Then take the grounds out to your plants and scratch them into the soil.

Coffee grounds are an excellent fertile source of organic matter for plant food. They contain about four percent nitrogen, one percent phosphorus and three percent potassium.

Be aware, though, that fresh coffee grounds can burn very tiny transplants, so hold off on the strong stuff when the plants are young. Besides vegetables, acid-loving plants like azaleas, blueberries and conifers can also benefit from a cup of java.

Keep in mind, coffee grounds are acidic, so be careful how you apply them to the soil. In fact, it's probably a good idea to have your soil tested just so you don't overdo it.

Also in this Episode

Rebecca's Garden : Episode REB-624
•	Tips for Choosing Garden Pieces of Art
•	Coffee Compost
•	All About Tomatoes
•	Cleaning and Sharpening Tools
•	Caring for the Summer Flower Garden