You’ve poured a cup of delicious Haiti Joe Coffee, and as with any brew, you’ve now found yourself with used ground beans waiting to be disposed of…but wait, before you put those grounds in the trash, read how you can keep your coffee going beyond the brew!
Just like us, some garden plants thrive on coffee, in particular, the acidity found in our morning cups. A few popular plants that benefit from our used grounds include, but are not limited to potatoes, parsley, peppers, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and so much more! So how do we begin to utilize this hidden plant booster in our garden? Below we’ve listed 3 ways to help you get started with using this potent ingredient in your garden soon.
Compost your ground beans
If you already have an ongoing composting system in place, adding your used beans with the rest of your organic matter will serve as the most effective method for serving your plants. Grounds already contain a great amount of some key plant-loving ingredients, including phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium that will serve as a great addition. As with any compost recipe, adding the right amount to your soil is important to prevent your plants from burning. Sparingly adding compost with grounds will go a long way.
Sprinkle used beans
Sprinkling used beans is the simplest way to add nutrients to your plants. However, used grounds can easily create more harm than good when overdone. When adding used ground beans directly to your plants, it is key to do so very lightly. Ground beans have a tendency to clump when water is added, which if added excessively, may prevent drainage. When added sparingly, grounds will act as a slow-release fertilizer. However, it is important to only add coffee to mature plants and not seedlings to prevent any stunt in growth.
Liquid fertilizer
After your first cup/pot of coffee, you can create a diluted, yet effective liquid fertilizer from your remaining beans. After brewing, your beans will lose most of their potency, however, they will still need to be diluted further to ensure gentle fertilization. A good measurement rule is to use “about a teaspoon of coffee grounds per gallon of water. Let the coffee grounds and water mixture steep for a few nights, stirring occasionally, then strain the liquid through a cheesecloth.”[1] It’s important to remember that when using this fertilizing method, not to easily water your entire plant with fertilizer to the point in which it is heavily soaked, you will still want to water your plant with clean water in addition to the fertilizer. Yellow leaves are your sign that too much fertilizer was added.
We hope you enjoyed reading how to use Haiti Joe Coffee in your garden! For more great backyard farming tips, check out our helpful blog posts written to help backyard farmers, like you, succeed.
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[1] https://www.thesill.com/blogs/plants-101/how-to-reuse-coffee-grounds-for-your-plants