Coffee Grounds in Compost?
 

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?

The message
from Anthony Ward contains these words:

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've heard this too, and personally, I'd ignore it. I put rhubarb leaves
on mine...

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?

It's a bit slow to decompose, but not terribly acidic. Chop it up a bit
and bung it on

If you find your compost is a bit too acidic (most is acidic, anyway)
you can always adjust the pH with some ground chalk, often sold as
'garden lime'.

--
Rusty
There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who read binary and
those who don't.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"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

Anthony Ward wrote:

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

IIRC, it all comes out pretty neutral, regardless of ingredients.
Earthworm growers swear by coffee grounds, and I compost mine (admittedly
not that many but still).


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

In article , Anthony Ward
writes
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.

You are unlikely to be creating a compost heap purely of coffee grounds.

But even if you were -
The best compost I ever made used to consist, daily, of a couple of
handfuls of potato and veg peelings, the tea leaves from about 6 pots of
lapsang suchong tea and a bucket of urine.

I have also heard that one should not add citrus peel to the compost
bin for the same reason. Does the group agree?

No
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"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?



Absolute tosh .........I pile in everything from grass cuttings, weeds ,
shredded prunings ,shredded paper, cardboard ,veggie peelings , horse muck
along with tea bags, coffee grounds to citrus peel into my compost bins and
theres no complaining whatever from any of my plants

They can hardly be a high % of the total materials good gardeners would pile
into their compost heap

Kay wrote:
In article , Anthony
Ward
writes
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.

You are unlikely to be creating a compost heap purely of coffee
grounds.

But even if you were -
The best compost I ever made used to consist, daily, of a couple of
handfuls of potato and veg peelings, the tea leaves from about 6
pots
of lapsang suchong tea and a bucket of urine.

I have also heard that one should not add citrus peel to the
compost
bin for the same reason. Does the group agree?

No

Just chuck in everything of organic origin, from tea-leaves to dead
rats. People talk rubbish about this. The desperately thin layer of
this planet which can support life as we know it consists mostly of
the rotted remains of life as we know it: that's how it works. Mix it
up a bit of course: a thick layer of grass cuttings or newspapers
will slow the process down, though it won't stop it in the end. The
compost heap is our promise of immortality! When this planet has
finished with our bits, a new star will gobble them up and make
something bright and new.

--
Mike.

Hello,
Coffee Grounds can help to keep slugs at bay, but must not be used around food crops as crop may have slightly distorted flavour. Add to compost heap in small amounts only.
Best wishes, Gerald.

On Tue, 7 Jun 2005 01:23:21 +0100, "Mike Lyle"
wrote:

Just chuck in everything of organic origin, from tea-leaves to dead
rats.

I thought I read dead CATS!

Pam in Bristol

Thanks for the advice on coffee grounds.
Reassured, I brought more home from work today!
Now for another post about a foxy problem...

The message
from Janet Baraclough contains these words:
The message
from Pam Moore contains these words:

On Tue, 7 Jun 2005 01:23:21 +0100, "Mike Lyle"
wrote:

Just chuck in everything of organic origin, from tea-leaves to dead
rats.

I thought I read dead CATS!

he wuz rong. Dead rats is strictly for the septic tank.

septic sceptic

Only to start it off - and I understand that a wabbit is better.

/sceptic

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/