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Stuff to compost Starbucks Fertilizer
We found out that our local brewery was taking their organic malted
barley to the dump, after they cooked it to make beer. We started picking up ~1000 lbs/week of it and fed it to our cattle all winter. (22% protein.) That saved us several thousand bucks, buying (non-organic) grain for the cows and solved the brewmeister's problem of having to run to the dump every few days. Now that the cows are on the grazing lease for the summer, we're composting the grain. Man, oh, man -- that stuff is teriffic in a compost pile, but you have to make sure to keep the pile balanced (for C to N ratio) and stir it, or the barley gets stinky. I caught someone throwing several hundred pounds of newsprint (last year's tourist guides) in the dumpster yesterday and grabbed them for my compost pile. Look around your neighborhood and see what you can glean for your compost pile. You might be surprised out how much stuff doesn't need to go into the local landfill. I won't even get started on a local guy who picks up used fryer oil from restaurants to run his diesel VW Golf with. (Diesel engines were originally run on peanut oil.) He also uses used fryer oil to run the F350 Ford diesel pickup that he uses to gather the drums of used fryer oil with... His exhaust smells like french fries : ) Jan In article , "Compostman" wrote: There's a Starbucks next to my subway stop. For about a year now, on my way home from work, I stop by and pick up the grounds. About 20 pounds a day, from the expresso machine, and no trash or filters. The manager said that in a few months Starbucks will begin putting their coffee grounds in special bags and leaving them by the front door for people in the neighborhood to pick up. But since I'm their regular coffee pickerupper, they'll save the bags for me inside. The problem becomes having too much coffee. Not a really bad problem. Like having too much compost. -- Compostman Washington, DC Zone 7 "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. -- -Jill S. |
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