If you have a coffee habit, you may be wondering if those spent coffee grounds are good for anything other than the trash can. As it turns out, coffee grounds can actually be quite useful for your lawn and garden due to their being rich in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.
There are many benefits to using coffee grounds as a lawn fertilizer. I’m going to discuss these with you, as well as explain how to apply coffee grounds to your lawn.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Coffee Grounds On Your Lawn?
As you know, a healthy lawn needs a fair dose of nitrogen to keep it that way. The good news is that coffee grounds are packed full of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other trace minerals.
But these healthy minerals aren’t available to your lawn immediately. This is also good news. Slow-release nutrients are far more beneficial in the long run than quick-fix synthetic fertilizers.
Another benefit of using coffee grounds is the fact that, in order to release nutrients, tiny microbes in the soil are put to work. These microbes also help the roots of your grass to take up nutrients far more effectively.
Additionally, the worms in your soil will jump for joy over your coffee grounds. They will eat them and, in turn, produce castings. These castings help to break up the soil and aerate it. Well-aerated soil will produce lovely, lush green grass. Plus, the castings are also full of vital nutrients that your grass will love.
Why Are Natural Fertilizers Such As Coffee Grounds Better For Your Lawn?
As I mentioned previously, the nutrients available in coffee grounds are slow-release. This means that they feed your grass over a long period of time. So, if your grass is constantly getting a small number of nutrients, it will grow strong and lush as it’s getting all the goodness it needs.
On the other hand, when you use quick-release synthetic fertilizers, you’ll definitely get fast results but without the long-lasting benefits of organic fertilizer. Plus, there are disadvantages to using synthetic fertilizer incorrectly. These include:
- Burning your grass if you add too much. Synthetic fertilizer contain salts that when exposed to sunlight, can burn the blades of your grass.
- Washing out into neighboring wetlands and waterways. Once again, if you apply too much synthetic fertilizer, the excess will be washed away into local waterways. This can have a detrimental effect on the natural environment.
- Synthetic fertilizers can also promote diseases if they’re applied incorrectly or at the wrong time.
This is precisely the reason why so many more people now prefer to adopt organic gardening practices. Using natural, organic materials to fertilize your lawn has so many benefits. Plus, it’s quite often cheaper too.
How To Apply Coffee Grounds To Your Lawn
There are a number of different methods that you can use to apply coffee grounds to your lawn. Firstly, you want to ensure that the grounds are dry as you don’t want clumps sitting on top of your grass.
You can dry your grounds easily by spreading them out onto a tarp in the sun. You can use a rake to rake over the grounds to ensure that they’re drying completely. Expect the drying process to take a day or two depending on the weather.
Once you have a good amount of dry coffee grounds you can apply them in the following ways:
- Spread or sprinkle them over your lawn. You can do this by hand or use a bucket with holes cut into the bottom. You could also use a commercial fertilizer spreader.
- Shovel heaps of coffee grounds over your grass and then use a rake to distribute the grounds evenly. You want to ensure that they get down into the soil and not sit on top of your grass. If left to clump, coffee grounds can create a crust that is impervious to water. You want to avoid this.
- Mix your grounds in a watering can (with the rose removed) with some water. You can then apply this ‘liquid’ fertilizer straight onto your lawn.
- You can also mix your grounds with some compost and then top-dress your lawn. Be sure to rake in well so that the mixture is not sitting on top of the grass.
- If your soil is quite acidic, your lawn will also benefit from mixing the coffee grounds with some lime in a ratio of 1 part grounds to 4 part lime. Make sure that you mix the grounds and the lime really well first.
Once you’ve applied the coffee grounds to your lawn, give it water. This will encourage the grounds further down into the soil. When you’re doing this, you only want to wet the top 2 inches of soil as you don’t want to leach the coffee grounds out.
Do Coffee Grounds Prevent Weeds?
Some gardeners swear by using coffee grounds to prevent weeds, while others say it doesn’t make a difference. So what’s the truth?
Coffee grounds may offer some weed-prevention benefits, but they’re not a cure-all. Here’s what you need to know about using coffee grounds in your garden.
When it comes to preventing weeds, coffee grounds can be helpful, but they’re not always effective. If you’re dealing with an already weedy garden, coffee grounds might not make much of a difference. But if you use them as part of a multi-pronged approach to weed prevention, they could be helpful.
Here are a few tips for using coffee grounds to prevent weeds:
- Spread coffee grounds around the base of plants that you want to protect from weeds.
- Mix coffee grounds with compost or soil to create a weed-resistant barrier.
- Use coffee grounds as mulch in garden beds and around individual plants.
Keep in mind that coffee grounds can also attract animals, so be sure to use them in a way that won’t attract unwanted guests to your garden.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I sprinkle coffee grounds on my lawn?
You can, coffee grounds are a good source of nitrogen, which is one of the main nutrients that plants need to grow. However, coffee grounds are also very acidic, so they can actually harm your lawn if you use too much. It’s best to use them in moderation and to mix them with other organic matter to balance out the acidity.
How do you know if your grass needs fertilizer?
The common signs that your grass lacks enough nitrogen are yellowing blades of grass and slow growth.
Will coffee grounds kill ants?
Coffee grounds won’t kill ants but they will repel them.
How often should you apply coffee grounds to your grass?
You can apply coffee grounds once every couple of months to encourage strong and healthy growing lawn.
Final Thoughts
Coffee grounds are the ideal fertilizer for your grass. They’re full of nutrients that will break down over time and feed your lawn on a constant basis. They also attract earthworms to your soil and these can be highly beneficial in aerating your lawn over time.
Have you used coffee grounds on your lawn? Please feel free to share your success stories with us in the comments below.
