"Anthony Ward" wrote in message
...
The canteen at my workplace wants to improve their recycling
statistics and so is bagging up the used coffee grounds from the
machine and offering this free to customers for their garden compost
bins.
A colleague has said this is not a good idea because the grounds are
too acidic. I would appreciate knowing the thoughts of experienced
gardeners on this please. I am not particularly wanting to grow
acid-loving plants.
I have also heard that one should not add citrus peel to the compost
bin for the same reason. Does the group agree?

I have used coffee grounds for years for acid locing plants I use as a
mulch and the nitrogen does wonders....also add to the compost heap along
with all other 'odds and sods' and most times the finished product comes out
barely on the acidic side....composting tend to balance out the pH....just
to be sure I give a quick pH test and add a spot of lime if needed....never
had a problem....I suppose if it was too heavily loaded with coffee grounds
the final result might be more acidic than some plants would like....theere
again a 'neutalizer' is cheap enough....same applies to citrus peel.....as
far as I am concerned anything that comes out of the ground can go back into
it.....H