Some days coffee is the only thing that stands between me and an unfortunately timed nap behind the wheel of my Miata. Other days it just makes the morning (and the afternoon) better. Pretty much any day is a day that I could wax rhapsodical about caffeine. But who knew it could also help plants grow?Turns out, in California at least, coffee grounds are great for the soil around plants. Especially acid-loving plants like gardenias. That's because the soil in the western United States is less acidic than the soil back east, where this trick probably doesn't work very well. Hmm, I live in California. I have lots of coffee grounds. And I have (I think) a gardenia.
Sadly, the plant is puny and doesn't want to produce any flowers.Maybe it wants some coffee grounds? I spread some around its base yesterday.
Today, I noticed what might be buds. Then again, they might be new leaf growth. Whatever they are, they probably predate my caffeine application since I've been watering the plant more lately too. Hopefully the grounds will at least make it less of a runt? They should, since they're quite nitrogen-rich, and nitrogen is a key component of fertilizer. Supposedly they will also repel ants, slugs, snails, and cats who want to use fresh soil as a litter box.
It'll be interesting to see if this works. If it doesn't, and the plant dies, I I can easily blame the grounds and not my sleep-deprived self. Thanks, coffee!
My mom's roses started doing much better when we began using coffee grounds. We put coffee grounds and ground up egg shells on our tomatoes and they did great after we started doing that. Plus, with the egg shells, if they are rinsed out and crushed but not really ground up, the shells help deter slugs and snails too. Crazy! Happy gardening to you!
ReplyDeleteMy husband uses coffee grounds in our plants too! We have a compost heap in our yard so most of our veggie scraps and coffee grounds go in ther as well as yard waste, etc. Yeah, we're that hardcore... Oregonians, go figure. PS: I love the mental picture of you taking a nap at the wheel of your miata. Although I hope that never happens to you. When I pictured it, you were a cartoon. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to do that with her coffee grounds... and her plants always seemed to enjoy it too.
ReplyDeleteCoffee grounds are great in the compost too! Thanks for the tip, Corinna!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, everyone! The buds are still just buds but I'll keep you posted!
ReplyDeleteHmm...I might use that. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI guess coffee perks up more than just me. I will need to give it a try on my roses.
ReplyDeletehow about tea leaves? I don't drink coffee, but do drink tea. Oh and I love the catnip toy with the chemical sewn into it by the way! Saw it on the side and since I'm a science geek I got a kick out of it!
ReplyDeleteI think the coffee grounds will work. My mom has been an avid gardener her whole life and has a compost to which she has always added coffee grounds and her plants indoors and out are beautiful. Me on the other hand....I can barely keep my one bamboo plant alive!:(
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