THE coffee grounds they are a waste product that we all have available in our kitchens, but not everyone knows that they can be excellent fertilizer for plants. There coffee powder, which derives from the classic Neapolitan mocha or from an electric machine, is an organic substance rich in useful elements. For this reason it can be used as an organic fertilizer for our organic garden.
Using the coffee waste in the gardentherefore, we will achieve a double goal: to recycle waste and obtain a good free fertilizer.
However, it is necessary to take important precautions and not to use the coffee laying as it is. In this article we will give you useful tips on using this simple, but very precious natural product.
Coffee grounds as an organic fertilizer
A used coffee grounds contain numerous nutrients useful for garden plants.
These are some of the basic elements, necessary for the luxuriant growth of crops, in particular: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Nitrogen is used to develop vegetation and make plants grow in strength.
Phosphorus is a nutrient that plants use mainly during the flowering period.
Potassium, on the other hand, is used by plants to make fruits ripen better.
Other important elements contained in the laying of coffee are the mineral salts, often lacking in heavily exploited land from crops.
For these reasons, whoever decides to make a vegetable garden or has plants to take care of, he cannot consider coffee grounds as useless waste. Rather, it is a valuable resource to be used to best effect.
How to use coffee grounds for plants
At this point the question arises: how we can use the coffee grounds in the garden correctly?
Many recommend using the installation directly, mixing it with the soil (or the soil in the case of potted crops). This way of proceeding, however, is wrong and risky.
The coffee used, as it comes out of the filter of the machine, is a fresh organic substance, similar to vegetable waste or dry leaves. It is true that it contains nutrients, but these, in order to be available for crops, must undergo a process of degradation.
During this natural process it is very easy for coffee grounds to develop mold. And these can cause root rot or fungal disease.
For this reason we do not recommend the use of coffee grounds as they are to fertilize the garden. Instead, the advice is to first proceed with a simple composting process.
The composting of coffee grounds
To obviate the potential risk of molds, we can insert coffee grounds in home composting. Compost is a complete organic fertilizer that is formed over time, thanks to the presence of microorganisms, which process the substance during a long degradation process. It takes at least a year to complete a cycle.
In our composter we can putmoreover, most of the organic waste, especially vegetable waste.
Coffee waste is a perfect material for home compost, given the large amount that is produced. Let’s not forget that this residue has an a component acid pH. By ending up in the compost, this creates a balance with the basic components of the other elements present, such as the wood ash.
In this way we will be able to use the coffee waste safely, without risks for the plants.
Coffee powder to ward off snails
Coffee grounds can also have other usesin an organic garden.
A classic use is to remove snails and slugs from plants.
Being a dusty substance, it creates great difficulties for these little animals to move. Since their body is made up of soft tissues, in fact, these are hindered by the presence of coffee powder.
To avoid problems related to molds, the funds should not be scattered near the plants. It is better to distribute them, rather, on the edge of the garden, creating a sort of natural barrier, which does not bother the crops.
Obviously, this surface distribution meets the limit of rainfall, which in a few hours can completely wash away the dust and therefore make this natural remedy ineffective.
The laying of coffee as a natural detergent
Another very interesting use of coffee grounds is as a natural detergent.
In fact, the laying of the coffee has an incredible degreasing power and is able to absorb the grease that remains on the pots like a real sponge. Seeing is believing, with the worst fat residues ever!
Of course, care must be taken not to let the coffee grounds go down the sink drain, as it could easily cause blockages.
But using some special exhaust protectors this problem will be avoided.
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