"Jill S" wrote in message ...
Heya, I'm back for the season now that school's out, and I stumbled across
something interesting my mom picked up the other day so I thought I'd post.


If you have a Starbucks nearby, stop in and see if they'll give you their
used coffee grounds. Ours is handing out bags full of them free for
fertilizing plants, and it seems to be doing a good job. Or, I suppose you
could save your own used coffee.
According to the label, the brewing process removes most of the acidity so
it's got a pH of about 6.9, and the carbon-nitrogen ratio is 20:1. You can
add it directly to the garden near nitrogen-loving plants, along with brown
materials like leaves. Or, you can add it to your compost and use it within
two or three weeks.

Lucky you.

I used to go by the local Starbucks daily, politely inquiring about
the offer. The answer was always, "Sorry, we just gave away our last
bag." After a while it became, "You again?" Yes, it's me again! I
still haven't got my #&@!^!)( grounds!

There is another thread along these lines (on a Composting message
board) where I spell out my sob story, but the bottom line is that I
am not impressed. The corporation has done the right thing with the
idea, but there is no mandate to the local stores to do this, and that
translates to "do it if you feel like it." Tell that to a teenager
that serves $5 cups of coffee for a living, and whay would you expect?

It's surprising because other stores that serve coffee and do not
advertise anything of the sort go out of their way to give you used
grounds when you ask for them.