I throw straw over several of my beds, then dump in thin layers of used coffee grinds often - after a while there's a thick layer of worm castings under the straw. Seriously - at first I thought my garden was horribly infested with mice but now I know it's worm poop.

I think that if the soil is well amended with lots of organic stuff, and it's full of fat earthworms, they will provide the poop for free - but you don't really need it because your soil is so good from your (less costly) amendments. :-)

Cheers,
Michelle

i just started a verimcomposting bin. It's very easy and not that gross at all (I do not like touching worms! and I still haven't!).
there is a good forum here on gardenweb about vermicomposting.

I bought my bin at a local environmental center for around $30. I really like the idea that they reycycle your kitchen scraps (coffee, banana peels, old oatmeal!) into a GREAT fertilizer for your roses. And it's a good lesson to do with my kids.

hope this helps!
gbebeh

Just apply used coffee grounds in a thin layer in your planting beds. Worms will appear as if by magic and leave castings behind. Easiest method of all.

And cheapest, too.

Hoovb, hope your dog is well today. :-)

When you say a thin layer, are you talking about just spreading or say 1/4 inch?

About 2" of manure compost mixed into the top of the soil will bring the worms... then they will have worm babies and before you know it you have a ton... just keep top dressing with the compost when it runs out and the worms will stick around...

My neighbor vermicomposts and occasionally gives me a bucket of worm castings. Last year I spread about 1/2" around my patio roses and potted tree rose. They seemed to do well with it but hard to tell if it was that or the compost/alfalfa meal I had fed them earlier.

My neighbor seems to enjoy his worms. He has tried to get us started with vermicomposting, but I am already all set with my compost piles (where all our food scraps go) and don't think the castings are so magical as to be worth my time to take care of worms all year round.

I do have lots of worms in my soil, including those red wrigglers (compost worms) because I mulch with shredded leaves, so I don't think adding extra worm castings is going to do much for my soil.

I'm one of the ones who depends on the worms already in the soil to continue pooping.

Me too.

redsox, I know that too thick of a layer of coffee grounds will crust over and repel water. I don't think 1/4" is too thick. I haven't gotten the nerve to ask my local coffee joints for the grounds, I just scatter my weekly amount around the little bed or save it for my tiny compost pile.

Diane, at our local Starbucks, they leave the grounds in large packages in a bucket for people to just walk in and grab. I'm sure they do the same at other locations. I don't know if you live near a Starbucks....

At our house coffee is liquid gold.

It's win-win because the workers don't have to carry the grounds out to the trash--you are saving them work. So don't be afraid to ask for grounds because you are doing the coffee place workers (as well as your garden) a favor.

Also I have found every starbucks to be different. ( we have one on every block here, no joke). At some starbucks they have other gardeners coming and I could barely get any grounds, really!

But then I found two other starbucks and they love to give me grounds. The one manager will give me a 1/2 garbage full if I ask her. And she always thanks me heartily for taking them. Now any gardener who visits my house gets to leave with a bag of grounds.

of course now my kids say "mom are you going to get more coffee today?? moan.........". But hey my soil is sooo terrible I'll take all the free forifiers I can.

Now I just need a free source of manure...

gbebeh

If the coffee or tea has not been brewed, what does caffine effect? Does caffine cause any pro or con effects in a garden? Same question about tobacco

Diane, you can deal with the crusting problem by mixing the coffee grounds with equal volumes of composted manure and/or mulched leaves. Worms like them too.

Yes, but that would require work... :-)