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Bristol R.I. USA

I have a question about adding organic matter directly to the patch. Sometimes space is limited and I cant really have a great compost pile. I was thinking of adding the organic matter to the patch directly. Coffee grounds and egg shells. Can to much coffee grounds be to much? Also I live near the ocean and was wondering if adding seaweed to the patch would be okay. Properly washed of coarse?

11/2/2009 12:27:53 PM

Southern Sweden

Thats a good idea.I do add all my organic vegatable food waste into my patch direct - works very good.i even use seaweed on top of the soil.

11/2/2009 4:53:57 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

I don't think you can ever get too much. But I have very alkaline soil that swallows up organic matter faster than I can add it. Theoretically, you could get too much. But I think if I could get ALL of the coffee grounds from the local Starbucks over the winter, it would still not be enough.

11/2/2009 5:57:37 PM

Bristol R.I. USA

I get my coffee grounds from a dunkin donuts. I get about 2 to 3 gallons a day. I add it to the patch directly on top throughout the year. In addition to other garden waste.

11/2/2009 8:59:08 PM

(rocky) Bonney Lake Wa.

Well I recently remembrered a friend that has a coffee distributing co. and the pressurize there coffee after just 1 roast and they got through roughly 600 lbs a week and I get the husks too. So fortunately for me I wont have to make several trips just few really big ones. I love the organics that the grounds bring in.

11/2/2009 9:59:39 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

I stopped at Starbucks this morning and picked up about 20 pounds. I just need to make another 100 stops over the winter.

11/3/2009 11:01:48 AM

Bristol R.I. USA

I try to get as much as possible to help the mycrobes have something to chomp on. it actually can be fun.

11/3/2009 11:05:09 AM

Navarre,OH

Coffee grounds are great I have used them forever and i even use old grounds and make a real strong coffee and use a Miracle Grow hose attatchment fertilizer to water the garden from time to time.

11/3/2009 6:36:35 PM

South East

Lucky here I work in a Cafe that has a Starbucks right inside. I get about 1/2 a 5 gal bucket everyday. :)

11/3/2009 6:40:05 PM

Enumclaw, Wa

Coffee grd compulsive. I can hit 10 to 14 Starbucks per day three times per week. Started last Feb. Yield was over 1000 ft cube. One inch over 15000 ft sq patch is a lot of grounds. Takes an extra 2 hours to get home. Flirt with the Starbucks girls, runs up the auto gas bill, have to explain to wife why it takes so long to get home. A couple of down sides there. The up side; got a personal best this year; increased worm activity in the soil. This is all Dean Biss's fault. He wrote the coffee ground article in the PNWGPG newsletter. Besides Starbucks girls are looking for youth with hair.
Not sure if you can over ground the patch. That is a lot of ground to cover.(no pun intended) The NW gets a little rain every winter so it does get filtered. Coffee smell is better than the dairy next door.

11/3/2009 6:56:25 PM

Ohio

Do the grounds need dried? I started collecting them from work about a month ago and have been drying them on newspaper in prep for the garden. do they need dried? Or should I just keep them in buckets or trash bags?

11/3/2009 8:11:38 PM

[email protected]

There's no reason to dry the coffee grounds. Add them to the compoist pile as soon as you get home & turn them under.

It is possible to raise the pH with coffee grounds. I used to grow Gardenias. The potting soil never stayed alkaline enough so the plants would become chlorotic. Adding coffee grounds plus dumping the stale pot on the soil occasionally greened them back up.

11/3/2009 10:38:46 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

HW...judging by yer location, I can understand why there are only 3 here in Owensboro...but I do them weekly...and get a fairly full 5 gallon bucket from each....I spread em wherever I can all year long!!! New raised flower or veggie bed...dump em, and till em in!!! Compost pile...dump em in!!! Veggie, or pkn patch...just dump em in!!! Never had a prblm w/ too much coffee grounds!!! Peace, Wayne
PS...HW...would like to hear about yer new PB!!! Over 1K?

11/4/2009 8:55:22 PM

Watertown S.D.

Do you remove the grounds from the paper filter packets they come in or just put in paper and all

11/4/2009 9:50:48 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

None of the ground I get from the local SB's have any paper in them!!! I would put those in the compost pile!!! Peace, Wayne

11/5/2009 7:33:22 PM