“I drink a lot of coffee, and a gardening friend told me I should use the coffee grounds in my garden. I was wondering if that is a good idea. Other friends have said not to bother, so I’m puzzled as to what to do.”
— Darlene Felde, Plainfield
Different gardeners will generally have varying ideas as to what is best for their plants and gardens, resulting in recommendations that can conflict at times.
I recommend adding used coffee grounds, the filters, along with kitchen scraps, and plant debris to your compost pile. A plastic compost bin, which houses the pile, has worked very well for me. You can add a small amount of grounds to the pile each day. And it’s a simple way to reduce waste going to a landfill. The paper filters decompose rapidly, too. The finished compost enriches the soil in our vegetable garden.
Working coffee grounds directly into the soil around plants is not very practical, as one household won’t generate enough grounds, and traveling to a coffee shop to ask for theirs is just another errand to complete.
A finished compost made from a variety of organic sources will be more beneficial to the soil and your plants in the long run. Focusing on improving soil creates a foundation for a successful garden and is often not given enough attention. Used coffee grounds are near a neutral pH, and many gardens in the Chicago region have soils that are high in pH or alkaline. Used coffee grounds will have very little, if any, effect on lowering the soil pH to improve growing conditions for plants that prefer a more acidic soil.
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Go ahead and try using coffee grounds in your garden and track the results. Personal experience is a great way to gain gardening knowledge. There is very little risk of harming your garden.
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at [email protected]. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.