What Plants Like Coffee Grounds?
Plant moms and dads are forming by the day. Many are saying that pets are the new child and plants are the new pets, so it’s safe to say that whenever there is a helpful plant hack, we are ready to dive into it. Even better when that plant hack includes a way to utilize our used coffee! So how can you utilize coffee grounds for plants?
Surprisingly enough, they can be used in a few different ways for some pretty popular plants. What are the plants that like them? How can they be used? Let’s jump in and see how you can transform your old coffee grounds into something fresh and new.
Used Coffee Grounds
There is a big distinction between used and new coffee grounds, so we’ll dive into both separately. Used grounds are much more popular as plant fertilizer. Here are the top uses of used coffee grounds:
1. Fertilizer
The biggest use of used coffee grounds is as a fertilizer. It helps with drainage, keeping your plants from getting the dreaded root rot from water getting stuck in the soil. It also helps attract earthworms which are crucial to a healthy plant’s growth.
Some argue that fertilizer raises the pH level which can be a positive thing for plants that love acidity.
Be sure to look at your plant and whether they are acid-loving or not to decide if you want to try this. If they are not acid-loving plants, simply rinse the grounds before adding them to the soil to prevent them from negatively affecting the pH level. This is how you will likely use your used coffee grounds most of the time to ensure there is no damage from the acidity.
2. Mulch
If you have a large number of plants, you can even use coffee in the garden as mulch for your plants. This will take quite a bit of coffee, so you can mix it with other mulch or add more as you go. Depending on how big your garden or landscaping is, you will need to get good use of your coffee and mulch combined.
3. Repellant
There are loads of ways that coffee can be used as a repellent. Whether it be slugs, snails, or cats thinking your garden is their own litter box, used coffee grounds help protect your precious plants from getting damaged. The great thing about it is that it does repel animals, but it doesn’t harm them in the process!
New Coffee Grounds
As far as new coffee grounds go, there are a few ways to utilize them for your plants also. Here are the most common options:
1. Weeds
The acidity in fresh grounds can help keep weeds away from your garden. Be careful with this, however, as it can damage some plants at the same time. Tomatoes do not respond well and can get damaged when mixed with grounds as well as a few other nonacidic loving plants. This is just one of the most common options that don’t blend well with acidic grounds.
2. Acid Loving Plants
On the other end of the spectrum, there are some plants that thrive on the acid in fresh coffee grounds such as root crops like radishes or carrots. Other acidic plant lovers include blueberries, hydrangeas, azaleas, and lilies. Try adding these to your garden to utilize coffee grounds in a new way.
3. Pest Control
It’s always good to have pest control for your beloved plants. It isn’t completely foolproof to give the most pest control but it can deter any bugs that could destroy your plants significantly. If you are running out of options when it comes to pest control, give your fresh grounds a try to see if it does the trick.
Conclusion
So there you have it. Who knew that you could use coffee grounds for plants? Next time you are finishing your morning cup of joe and have leftover grounds, don’t toss them in the trash. Give them some new life and recycle them as your plant fertilizer, pest control, or mulch to add something useful to your life rather than add more waste! Examine your own plants and see whether you want to give them a try with fresh or used for your plants.
