Coffee Grounds Compost

Composting with Coffee Grounds

Compost is a mixture of decaying organic matter used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients. Examples of compost is coffee grounds,  a mixture of leaves, twigs, branches, grass clippings, garden waste and manure. Coffee grounds have  a pH of 3.0 to 5.0 making them great for a mulching additive to help feed rhododendrons, azalea and other acid loving plants.

Composting is a great way to cut waste as landfill space becomes scarce and expensive while at the same time producing your own fertile soil mixture and additive. A compost pile consists of a large number of microorganisms. These microorganisms will assist the organic matter to breakdown and become compost. To ensure your compost is full of nutrients, there must be two vital parts in your mixture. Nitrogen-rich materials and carbon rich materials help produce a good fertile compost.

There are a variety of materials that could be used in the mixture of compost, coffee filters, tea bags and coffee is not wasted and thrown away. Leaves, branches, plants, green sprouts, vegetables and fruits remains will be placed for use in your compost mix.

Dead animals, animal, animal manure company and diseased plants are materials should not be placed in your mixture to include bread grains, meat and fish, dairy products and oil since they do not decompose very well.

Compost can be used for maintenance of plants, gardens and lawns, but it not always a good substitute for fertilizers.  While compost will contains nutrients, they may not be balanced for your plants or tree needs.

Compost Uses

  • Compost can be used for soil improvement to be added to fertilizers which contain balanced nutrients. Composting in your garden once a year, could increase the growth of your plants.
  • Compost can be used as a packaging vehicle to assist in the transfer of plants into a container.
  • Compost can be used as mulch. Mulch mixed with compost could contribute to water conservation in soil and could lead to the prevention of slugs and snails.

There a number of easy ways to produce compost. Compost must have:

  1. Air. Composting microbes are aerobic meaning they must have air. Without air, compost will putrefy and smell like decaying garbage. It is important to make have air passageways into your compost pile.

  2. Moisture. Ideally, your compost pile should be moist with a thin film of water coating every particle in the pile, making it very easy for microbes to live and disperse themselves throughout the pile. If your compost is too dry, the composting break down process will not work. If your compost pile is too wet then the mixture may start to rot.

  3. Food. This is the organic matter which makes up the compost mixture and is what breaks down when the proper air and moisture is present.

There are many compost bins and systems available which help keep the balance of air and moisture from many garden centers and online retailers.

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