Coffee grounds and lime...

[AcidRain23]

I recently received a large bag of spent coffee grounds (from Starbucks)-
I plan on digging them into my soil directly (should give them a few months still to break down a little). I know they will raise the PH of soil slightly so I plan on adding some dolomitic lime to the soil to compensate. How much though? I have about 3 gallons of coffee grounds.

[rocket]

Actually, I think the coffee grounds would slightly lower pH. And the lime would then raise it. But I don't think the coffee grounds have that strong of an effect. So unless you already have fairly acidic soil, I probably just wouldn't worry about the lime.

[karlkatzke]

Have you considered getting a pH test done on your soil? The kits you can buy aren't really all that accurate, but anyone with a little lab knowledge can do it...

Well, maybe it's just me that has a bunch of friends that work in university labs. :-P

[TennOC]

Coffee grounds are acidic, so they lower pH. (smaller number=more acid). I think you'll be OK to just turn them under your soil. A bit of dolomite will be ok too if you haven't added lime for a while.

[AcidRain23]

I've never added lime, so I will throw some in anyways, also going to dig in some peat which is acidic. I dug the grounds in last night, with the added benefit of making the whole back yard smell like fresh brewed coffee!

[lorna-organic]

Used coffee grounds are more of a soil conditioner than anything else. Their addition of acid is pretty negligible.

[peterskeepers]

Starbucks did a study of coffee grounds and they suggest 1 teaspoon of lime or woodash for 5 lbs of grounds

[AcidRain23]

Aha. Thanks PK!

[peterskeepers]

Aha. Thanks PK!

You're welcome
For anybody interested, Starbucks is more than happy to give away coffee grounds.
My wife has been collecting it all winter about 4 buckets a day, 5 days a week, on her way home from work.
ITS AWESOME!!!!
Just google free coffee grounds and they come up like ten times.
They studied the stuff and have a whole break down of grounds on their site.
It would be a good non smelly way to do vermicomposting.
You'll need about 10 5 gallon buckets to swap each day.
take home the full, leave the empty...
If you bring one bucket, they'll probably laugh at you.
They are very friendly about it and happy to do it, and we've never bought a thing there. They might have lost a couple buckets, we're not really sure, but whatever, small price to pay.
My basement smelled like coffee all winter.
So load up folks, the land fills don't need it.
Just don't try collecting from concord NH. They're all mine!
WAAHAAAHAAAAHAAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AcidRain23]

My tomatoes are going to be highly caffeinated! :D

[jadek]

Can coffee filters be dug in with the grounds?

I've been saving the grounds all winter by dumping the grounds & filters into gallon-sized ziplocs. There's a whole pile of the bags sitting by the garage, but the thought of trying to remove all those filters....yuck. Anybody know?

[kellygirrl]

Starbucks did a study of coffee grounds and they suggest 1 teaspoon of lime or woodash for 5 lbs of grounds

1 tsp woodash=1 tsp lime? That's good to know. Would it be appropriate to ask how much wood ash/lime to peat, to alkalize peat moss? Ie, is peat moss more, less, or same acidity as coffee grounds? Re, mostly, seedstarting when a bag of peat and a little compost and Turface mvp was all I had this winter when I heard about Winter Sowing, and I couldn't find out a darn thing online, about how much ash to use.

Thanks for the informative and entertaining thread.

[peterskeepers]

Can coffee filters be dug in with the grounds?

I've been saving the grounds all winter by dumping the grounds & filters into gallon-sized ziplocs. There's a hole pile of the bags sitting by the garage, but the thought of trying to remove all those filters....yuck. Anybody know?

Yes, mix them right in. They'll disappear.
Star bucks said today the grounds production will be slowing for the summer due to peoples switch to iced coffee for the summer and that we should come in every other day.

[jadek]

Thanks, peter! That's a relief. Those grounds start to stink after a while...

[Nastarana]

My roses have been highly cafeinated for years. Application of coffee grounds really does seem to deter ants somewhat, and that means fewer aphids.