Grounds for Gardening Season

With gardening season around the corner, now is the time to start saving your brewed coffee grounds to spruce up your soil. Coffee grounds are a great fertilizer to use in your garden for several reasons:

• Nutrient content: Coffee grounds are high in nitrogen, which helps plants to grow and thrive. Nitrogen is also a key component of chlorophyll, the compound that gives plants their green color and helps them photosynthesize. In addition to nitrogen, coffee grounds also contain other nutrients beneficial for plants like potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

• pH level: Coffee grounds are slightly acidic which can be beneficial for plants that prefer acidic soil, like tomatoes, blueberries, cucumbers, and broccoli, among others. Acidic soil can help to release minerals and nutrients from the soil and make them more available to the plant.

• Organic matter: Coffee grounds are also a good source of organic matter, which can help to improve soil structure and water retention. Organic matter can also attract beneficial microorganisms and earthworms, which can help to aerate the soil and break down organic matter into nutrients that plants can use.

One of the easiest ways to use coffee grounds as a fertilizer is to sprinkle them directly on the soil around your plants. You can also mix coffee grounds with other organic material like leaves or grass clippings to create a compost pile. Or, try brewing them into a liquid fertilizer by adding a few cups of used coffee grounds to a bucket of water and letting it steep for a few days. This liquid can then be poured around the base of your plants to provide them with a nutrient-rich drink.