A jolt of coffee to make the garden grow.

Year I tell ya', YEARS, I have been quaffing coffe product from the spawn of Sataan.

StarBucks! I swear to god the employees get free cocaine for every hour worked because they are too damned hippy happy but, the convienience of a well prepared cup draws me to them day after day.

"Breve' Latte' please. Hold the Latte' and bring it double Breve'. How much? Okay, here's the title to my house. Fair?"

But wait, all the while, I didn't know what else could be ordered but was not on the menu.

"Grind for Gardens please"...."How much" says the hippy fookster ... "How much you got? The truck is a 3/4 ton!"...."Can you come to the back door" he says.

100 pounds in 10 pound bags he loads into the back. Yes, HE loads. And HE thanks ME.

Once done, he says, we have this much nearly every day and it usually goes in the dumpster. We have a few others ask but, only occasionally.


So, I emplore you. If you have a Garden and are often tempted by Sataan in a cup. Get some grinds! And perk them plants up. As per StarBucks website the official typical analysis of the bag-o-mixed grinds is as follows;

Nutrients: Nitrogen=1.45%, Phosphorous=Non detectable, Potassium=1204 micrograms/gram (ug/g), Calcium = 389 ug/g, Magnesium= 448 ug/g, Sulfur=High ug/g (whatever that means).

In many climates south of Fairbanks, AK a pound or two of used coffee grounds (in a 3x6 raised bed) will lead to earthworms as fat as a man's thumb by the end of the second season.

You can also pile them up at the foot of a tree near your favorite fishing hole so you don't have to pack in your own worms.

Good to know Barbara S is giving the fool stuff away.

Coffee grounds also improve soil by lowering bulk density.

Too bad (or maybe it's good) that most of the starbucks 'round here have a hard time holding onto their grounds...

so just dump the grounds onto the dirt?

Hey all,
So I read about the coffee grounds and have a question. My plants are just starting to flower, would it be good to get some grounds from my local Starbucks and work them into the soil or should I just let things go and not risk killing something?

heh, step daughter just bought a coffee shop last week, and it's only 2 miles away.

Hey all,
Here is a pic of my coffee hops! LOL.... I talked with Starbucks about there recycle program for grounds and was immediately asked how many pounds I would like. So I took home what I am guessing to be about 20 lbs. and started in. This pic is before I hand mixed it in to the soil, the grounds were still warm! Does anyone have an idea as to how much to use and how often?
Thanks
Gene

We have our own espresso maching at home and output a quarter cup of grounds a day. Our compost must be around 1/8 coffee grounds. When I dig out some processed compost and pop it on my hops they go nuts. I've grown all my hops using only my own organic compost and they are healthy and happy and at present around 25 feet tall and flowering like mad.

Here's to the world's second best drink!

schwoa!!! im gonna have to try this when i get around to growing some hops

Since I've read this...my co worker has been picking up grounds from Starbucks every morning (and afternoon) when he goes. I have a feeling my garden is going to have some seriously fertile soil next year! I've also been dumping spent grains on it...

If you think dumping coffee grounds directly on your garden works well you should try composting them first. Between spent grains, coffee grounds, leaves in the fall and vegetable matter I must get about 300 pounds of compost a year.

Coffee grounds are a green compost and if you don't compost them first they also can make your soil more acidic. So, if you live in an area that already has pretty acidic soil, beware of making it more exacerbated.

Believe it or not I don't have a Starbucks within 30 miles of me...

if you live in an area with pines, compost first due to acidity

homebrewer_99 said:

Believe it or not I don't have a Starbucks within 30 miles of me...

Click to expand...

Have you checked in you garage recently?

I refuse to believe that as we have Starbucks next to supermarkets with Starbucks inside of them, one mile from another Starbucks which is within a short distance of about 20 more.

samc said:

Have you checked in you garage recently?

I refuse to believe that as we have Starbucks next to supermarkets with Starbucks inside of them, one mile from another Starbucks which is within a short distance of about 20 more.

Click to expand...

The nearest one for me is close to 30 miles. In fact I think the closest walmart is at least a hundred and I see the inside of a brew shop once a year if I'm lucky.

But back to the original subject, coffee grounds should be composted. Using them sparingly throughout the year is ok but I wouldn't dump 10lbs of fresh ground on my plants. Using them to adjust the ph of your soil a little is ok also.

I got some at the end of last season and added them to my "composter" (gigantic plastic container I leave outside and dump coffee, hops, grains, fruit, etc. in).

Anyway my "composter" still has a bunch of half consumed crap in it, I guess it wasn't hot enough over the winter, should I wait till it's mostly done and not moldy anymore to dump on top of my just sprouting hops?

/hijack

PS: I <3 Starbucks...don't hate

magnj said:

I got some at the end of last season and added them to my "composter" (gigantic plastic container I leave outside and dump coffee, hops, grains, fruit, etc. in).

Anyway my "composter" still has a bunch of half consumed crap in it, I guess it wasn't hot enough over the winter, should I wait till it's mostly done and not moldy anymore to dump on top of my just sprouting hops?

/hijack

PS: I <3 Starbucks...don't hate

Click to expand...

check the moisture and if possible stir or just roughly mix up the bin. a composter needs moisture and air to work thus generate it's own heat. without those, it could be 120*F outside and the bin will do little more than reek.

I sent the SWMBO over to our local Starbucks to check this out and they sent her back with a 25 pound bag of coffee grinds. Thanks for the suggestion!

homebrewer_99 said:

Believe it or not I don't have a Starbucks within 30 miles of me...

Click to expand...

Come to Seattle, I can count five within a two block radius from westlake center. Head to the market and you'd better stop counting.

Anyway, next time I'm at starbucks I'll defenitly get some ground for my hops.

magnj said:

I got some at the end of last season and added them to my "composter" (gigantic plastic container I leave outside and dump coffee, hops, grains, fruit, etc. in).

Anyway my "composter" still has a bunch of half consumed crap in it, I guess it wasn't hot enough over the winter, should I wait till it's mostly done and not moldy anymore to dump on top of my just sprouting hops?

/hijack

PS: I <3 Starbucks...don't hate

Click to expand...

I'm fortunate enough to have a rototiller. I till all my compost. Two weeks ago the bottom half of my compost was frozen, the upper half melted, and blankets of steam were billowing through the air. If you've got uncomposted material, turn it, spin it, poke it, find a way to break up those clumps. It's early in the season, you're compost will still be of great value.

You compost dog poop? I gave it a real good mixing today and I'm leaving it cracked open to get some air, might drill more holes tom. Thanks for the help so far. Hops are doing great without it anyway.

magnj said:

You compost dog poop? I gave it a real good mixing today and I'm leaving it cracked open to get some air, might drill more holes tom. Thanks for the help so far. Hops are doing great without it anyway.

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Leave out the dog waste.

Turn it every couple weeks and make sure it gets lots of air. Drill some holes as well as leave the lid open.

My compost bin is just a 2x4 frame with chicken wire to hold everything in place and its stored in the shade to help keep things moist.

Yea I didn't think I was supposed to put any in so I haven't. Mine is a big rubbermaid with the bottom drilled like 2 dozen holes. Had it in the shade all winter...in the sun now.

compostable materials;

anything plant based with some caveats,

1.) Weeds can and will set seed in a compost pile that is not kept hot enough to denature the seed. If you can keep the pile hot, add away. If not, trash them.

2.) Hop bines can and will take root in a cold pile.

3.) Bean sprouts. same as hops.

aside from that, egg shells, egg crates, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, shredded cardboard, etc.....

meats, dairy, or animal based oils SHOULD NOT be placed in teh compost bin. Bleached paper can be but is not very benificial. Styrofoam will not compost but, if broken up properly can add some fluff to the mix as well as shredded credit cards, cd's, dvds, etc...

Poop from carnivourous animals should not be used. However, if you have vegetarian animals, compost away just make sure it stays HOT.

It is best to layer but, I avoid adding woody twigs and such. Too hard to clean out when it's time to spread but does contribute to a fast acting pile.

All that said, I am turning in my pitchfork. My back can't handle the work. Instead, I am building a turning bin out of plastic 55 gallon barrels and 2x stock. A rolling composter can be built for $45 toatal or bought for $125.

I want the compost but, I also want to be able to stand vertical.

i just use "the claw" to mix mine. Its a hand tiller. Seems to work pretty good.

Also Ive had no issue with weeds, hop bines, etc resprouting unless they are on the edge where they can get lots of sun. I think mine is pretty hot tho b/c i can fill up one side (2'x2'x2' cube) and in 2 weeks its half the size it was (and not thru compacting as i turn mine frequently).

Yep. If you keep it small it is definitely more manageable.

My pile was 5 foot by 5 foot and sometimes (in the summer with all the clippings) 8 foot high before it decomposed and shrunk down. But oohhh man that stuff was black and rich once it was finished.

GilaMinumBeer said:

compostable materials;

anything plant based with some caveats,

1.) Weeds can and will set seed in a compost pile that is not kept hot enough to denature the seed. If you can keep the pile hot, add away. If not, trash them.

2.) Hop bines can and will take root in a cold pile.

3.) Bean sprouts. same as hops.

aside from that, egg shells, egg crates, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, shredded cardboard, etc.....

meats, dairy, or animal based oils SHOULD NOT be placed in teh compost bin. Bleached paper can be but is not very benificial. Styrofoam will not compost but, if broken up properly can add some fluff to the mix as well as shredded credit cards, cd's, dvds, etc...

Poop from carnivourous animals should not be used. However, if you have vegetarian animals, compost away just make sure it stays HOT.

It is best to layer but, I avoid adding woody twigs and such. Too hard to clean out when it's time to spread but does contribute to a fast acting pile.

All that said, I am turning in my pitchfork. My back can't handle the work. Instead, I am building a turning bin out of plastic 55 gallon barrels and 2x stock. A rolling composter can be built for $45 toatal or bought for $125.

I want the compost but, I also want to be able to stand vertical.

Click to expand...

I found potato peels can be a problem if not composted well as the skins will sprout and you have potato plants where you don't want them. I still use them of course.

Yeah. There are others that can be problematic too.

the key is to keep the pile hot to denature any enzymes.

My observation is hop bines are so thick, they don't break down quickly.
Dog poop retains moisture and therefore it's smell. I let it sit in the yard until it is dry. Only after the sun has baked it do I add it to the composter. Potato peels seems to take forever to break down.
I have a small concrete 'room' that I built and compost in. It's maybe 5'*4'*5'. I use a rototiller to turn everything. Everything minus meat and hop bines goes in the bin.

Dry bines go in the fire pit and the ash goes ON the hop beds. Ash is a good amendment and helps keep away the evil Japanese Beetle.

Retrofit said:

Dry bines go in the fire pit and the ash goes ON the hop beds. Ash is a good amendment and helps keep away the evil Japanese Beetle.

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This is what I had planned as well. Burn baby burn.