I have read a lot about this because I am a heavy coffee drinker. If you leave used coffee grounds out they will mold. That would be terrible to put with plants, but I have read that if you compost them first they are good to use. I wanted to use them to lower ph naturally. I also read that it would take basically over a month to lower ph that way.
Thanks for the info. I was thinking to oven bake the used coffee grounds to dry em out and sterilize them. Hopefully making them less likely to mold and more likely to be broken down by the soil. Think it'll work?
Have read they are a good source of nitrogen. But have also read about what you have said about mold. And am wondering if anyone has experience using coffee grounds and if it has benefits for the plant
There is a lot of nutrients/minerals in coffee grounds. Worms love them in small amounts, to much will heat up your worm farm. Also, used grounds are mostly PH neutral as all the Acid is in the coffee we drink. Freedom in Sustainable Gardening Freedom in Sustainable Gardening
Easily over 75% of my worms diet is a combo of coffee grounds and comfrey leaves. Been working well for ~8 years now. No experience with adding it directly to the soil. Wet
Coffee grounds work better when composted or run through a worm bin first, vs adding it directly into the soil mix. The mold formed on grounds stored in closed containers will not affect the planting mix when using the composted grounds, this is not a matter for concern. I use 20-25 gallons of coffee grounds a year in my composting and worm bins and it mostly always has mold on the surface from storage and has never caused problems. PW
Not really, the mold is what makes the goodies in the grounds available. At least to the worms anyway. I add banana peels to the jugs I save the grounds in to encourage the mold and make the grounds available more quickly to the worms. Still, it takes damn near a month before they are ripe enough for the worms liking. Dry grounds don't seem to benefit much of anything. Wet
I’ve heard this as well and do use hot brewed coffee grounds in my worm bin but does anyone know if this applies to cold brewed coffee as well?
I’m sure it’s all good man. Just give it to the worms and everything will be fine. Gina Keatley, a certified dietitian-nutritionist practicing in New York City. “Cold brew coffee has less acid in it per ounce as compared to hot coffee,” she says. “This happens because coffee grounds, or more specifically the various oils, acids, and other aromatic molecules, are most easily extracted at about 195-205 degrees.” When you create coffee at room temperature, less acid forms, which is what typically gives hot coffee its signature bite.