To funny!! Well I have been keeping mine also, along with the coffee filter. I figured there are 2 things I could do with them. 1 either mix it with my mix that I am using in my containers. Or 2 use them in one of my beds to help break up some of my clay. My thought was, that earth worms actually feed off of coffee grounds. Well earth worms actually break up dirt. Well I plan to plant some woodland plants in this one bed. So I was going to dump my coffee grounds in that bed and mix with the existing soil.

Maybe someone else can give us some tips. I have been wanting to ask around to people using coffee grounds but I just haven't gotten to it.

Oh by the way when I started my comment off to funny, I wasn't laughing at you. I was relieved to find that someone else must think like I do. Ha Ha!!

As far as which plants need more acid the only way I know that is research every plant, sorry.

Thanks countrycarolyn :)) Every little bit of input helps. My tomatoes (first time growing them, not from seed) loved the coffee grinds with the filters, and eggshells this year.

I had some coffee grinds I saved too long recently that ended up molding (tossed those away) but these... well.... since I am winter sowing now maybe I could put them to good use....?

You know they say egg shells are a good way to keep away the slugs. Hey I believe in all that stuff. I even use a bottle of spray water with a few drops of dish washing liquid in it to get rid of pest on my tomatoes. Or just plain flower. The only reason I grow marigolds is to keep away the borers around the tomatoes. Zinnias are suppose to be another good one. If pyretheum had a long enough bloom I would have it all around my house. lol

I throw coffee grounds in my house plants on a regular basis. If they get moldy, I just stir them a little with a fork. That is the only fertilizer my house plants get and some are over 15 years old.

@carmen - I have been tossing them also in my snake and pothos plants, they are growing out of control! I love the fine texture of the grinds too.

Used coffee grounds are great for the compost pile if you have one. Even though they are colored brown, they are considered a 'green', which means they contribute nitrogen as they break down in the soil. Most of the acid in the coffee grounds gets dissolved into your coffee, so used coffee grounds won't be very acidic. I would not want to let the coffee grounds touch a small seedling, because I would be afraid the mold from the coffee grounds would hurt the seedling. It would probably be fine mixed into the garden soil next to big established plants, though.

I used seaweed as my soil conditioner. It stinks, but it's a great natural for soil. I just put pails of it around my rose bushes.

I'm going to do a little test on my some of my containers and compare seedling sizes and hardiness to the containers w/out the seaweed.

We are putting the coffee grinds on what will be a future vegetable garden. Sounds like a great idea.

I have noticed in the garden that the presence of fresh coffee grounds seems to impede germination. Perhaps not of all seeds, though? As for using them for a top dressing in your WS pots, you will probably find they crust over. This will make it hard for little seedlings to emerge.

If your coffee grounds mold, don't throw them away! Unless you throw them onto the compost pile, or sprinkle them in your garden beds. Molding is the beginning of the decomposition you want.

Happy Sowing, all you WSers. May your sprouts all spring forth at just the right time.

Hepatica

Posted by hepatica_z7 Fri, Dec 24, 10 at 13:36

I have noticed in the garden that the presence of fresh coffee grounds seems to impede germination. Perhaps not of all seeds, though?

I have been researching serious articles on coffee and so far the only negative effect I can find seems to be on the germination of some(?) seed. You can study my links at Allelopathic, autotoxic Chemicals in Coffee: - Test Forum - GardenWeb. I invite you to report anything you find that I have missed.