Coffee Grounds

 
Yes, if you are careful.
 
 

 
Absolutely not.

 

If this is true I'm leaving out the chicken shit from now on.

Twas Ever Thus!

 

I built a 5 yard compost pile last spring. I would add 5 gallons of coffee grounds from a local organic coffee shop to it everyday. Coffee has a 20:1 C:N ratio. So it only takes a small amount of sawdust, leaves etc. to get that perfect 30:1 ratio.
 
I added a myriad of other materials to my pile. It reached 150F. A 30gal smartpot full of worms was added at the very top of the pile. By fall, there were shovelfuls of worms, the most worms were among old cannabis branches and pockets of coffee grounds that had not yet been broken down.

 

 
Very common to compost it the way Rancho described.  No one said it's bad for the plant.... but it will not, ever, make a plant smell or taste like coffee

 

I wouldn't add it directly to my soil mix or anything. If it was the main source of N in my compost, I would consider adding oyster shell etc... to negate the acidity. Worms love coffee.

 

I noticed the same thing with the worms massed in un broken down grounds when my wife inadvertently added 3-4x the usual amount of grounds to the bins. Was on top and when I went to mix some of it into the bedding, the whole pile of it was teeming with worms.
 
Changed some notions I had about worms and coffee and feeding and stuff.
 
The bedding is peat based and well limed with no acidity problems.
 
Wet

 

Tons of coffee at work. Too bad we can't have any.

 

 
I follow the compost as bedding deal for the fastest turn around...the bins I've played with adding grounds, egg shells and other assorted materials seem to encourage more proliferation of the worms over just using the compost I've been sourcing. 

 

So... Coffee n eggs makes em breed? Worm style wake and bake.
I'm giving them lots of coffee, a horny worm is a happy worm.:lol:

Twas Ever Thus!

 

coffee, egg shells and cardboard seems to be the ticket, lol
 
I dk, maybe it's just because they were in plastic bins rather than my wooden one. They always seem to breed out more regardless of what I do. I'm thinking I don't supply enough water in the wooden one maybe...

 

 
I totally agree with the coffee and cardboard, but quit the eggshells years ago. Unless super finely ground, I kept finding chunks years after they were added to my bin. I now just use calcitic lime. While comparatively expensive (~$15/40#bag), it is about 420% less labor intensive. The bag lasts for several years at least, just scooping out a cup or so at the time.
 
Anyway, it's just easier for me. That and the fact that my wife threatened serious harm if I ever put eggshells in her coffee grinder again. 
 
Wet

 

Yeah I have no issue crushing them up and rarely use them, as it takes a while to get enough. I still have a bunch of oyster shell flour left over so I've been using that while I gather up eggshells.

 

I'm saving my eggshells to make liquid calcium with organic vinegar.... can't hurt to have a Ca boost ready-to-use.... and I plan down the road to use Sul-Po-Mag teas, and LD often said when you add liquid Mg, you should also add liquid Ca.

 

Thnx Gimik, you answered my question. I put half a cup of oyster shell flour and half a cup of rock dust in my bin, good to know I'm on the right track. I figured the minerals and Ca would be good for them as well as the grit for thier craws. I think I'm gonna like raising worms for itself, the castings are nice bonus.

Twas Ever Thus!

 

Big +1 on the OSF and rock dust. I wish the OSF was available locally since the product costs about the same as the calcitic lime. The shipping puts it out of reach. The two are pretty much the same in composition, but I'd still like to try the oyster.
 
My bedding is pretty much my mix with very low levels of N-P-K. A bit of alfalfa meal and kelp meal is about it along with a bit of fresh vermicompost to get activity going. Of course, lime and rock dust and a handful of playground sand for grit. Humus (pine bark mulch), and perlite also get added, but at lower levels than the regular mix. Rice hulls are on the list to try instead of perlite, soon.
 
That sand has lasted forever, still have most of the bag after 4 years. What I do now, is top dress the new mixed bedding when I set it out to cycle. No reason other than to make it look different from the regular mix around it. Everything is in 5 gallon buckets. Later, it gets moved into the basement with the worms and used.
 
Wet

 

You may like this then GtG, it helps a bit in understanding why he recommends doing so.
 
View attachment Calcium and Magnesium.pdf