When taking a couple of cups of coffee every day, you should think about collecting coffee grounds for use as fertilizer, because an amazing source of organic matter was right at your fingertips. It is a valuable natural raw material with a large number of useful properties. The coffee fertilizer will help make your garden plants stronger and healthier. Plus, it's a great way to use a product that should end up in the trash can. Not to mention the fact that the reuse of raw materials is beneficial on the budget.
Properties of coffee grounds in horticulture
Coffee as a fertilizer has been used for a long time, but in the countries of the post-Soviet space, they learned about it recently. A distinctive feature of the well-known organic fertilizers is the need to boil the ground grains, and only after that carry out any manipulations to create an organic fertilizer.
Due to the change in the chemical composition after brewing ground coffee, the cake becomes suitable as plant nutrition.
Many trace elements appear, useful compounds that will help crops to strengthen the immune system, develop rapidly, filling with energy. In grains, even after processing (boiling), acids, tannin, and caffeine remain in large quantities. In smaller doses:
- calcium and organic acids;
- B vitamins;
- phosphorus and potassium;
- magnesium and iron.
But the main thing is nitrogen. Albeit in small volumes. There are enough of them for the plant to fully develop.
Brewing ground coffee is a must. Due to heat treatment, acidity is removed from it (from Arabica, including). Therefore, the use of cake has variations. Sleep coffee can be used as:
- fertilizer in the country;
- mulch in horticulture;
- top dressing;
- compost and insect repellent;
- structuring additive.
Waste coffee from a coffee machine is suitable, Turks. It is recommended for use not only outdoors, but also for indoor plants, greenhouses and other places where vegetables and fruits are grown.
Dangers of use
It is not recommended to add instant coffee to the grounds, as it contains a large amount of chemicals that can damage plants.
It is impossible to cover the ground with coffee powder in a dense layer, otherwise a dense film will form there that does not allow air to pass through. Therefore, the soil is always loosened.
When adding it, the measure is observed, otherwise, due to an excess of caffeine, the plant may die. It is better not to get enough sleep than to oversleep.
Coffee cake as fertilizer
The useful qualities of coffee are proven in practice in the garden, in the garden, if you use the remains of the aromatic broth correctly. Coffee cake acts on a plant, in almost the same way as on a person. Gives you the opportunity to cheer up, replenish the energy supply. But you shouldn't expect a quick result from organics.
If there is a need to quickly restore the strength of the culture, then coffee works gradually. Complex fertilizer produced in production, with the addition of chemicals, also cannot replace. At the same time, application to the soil will have a beneficial effect on 90% of the crops.
Residues from coffee grounds decompose in the soil, become biologically active, saturate the earth with nitrogen.Surprisingly, the smell of coffee and the cake attracts earthworms.
Sleep coffee for seedlings
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Using drunk coffee when growing seedlings, you can achieve amazing results. First you need to consider that the root system of the seedlings is weak. In order for it to develop, the soil must be light. Coffee helps to dilute it, make it aerated, water-permeable, which has a positive effect on the development of roots.
Sleep coffee for seedlings
In addition, sleeping coffee saturates the soil with nutrients that are needed for the growth of seedlings. As a result, the seeds germinate faster, the seedlings are distinguished by their resistance, strong immunity, and beautiful appearance.
Coffee grounds for seedlings are usually introduced directly into the ground, even before sowing the seeds. This is the simplest and most effective method. Add it to the ground in proportions 1: 1 and mix well.
Important!
The soil with the sleeping coffee dries up much faster than the simple one. So more frequent watering is needed for it.
Coffee dressing methods
You can use coffee fertilizer for most crops. Suitable for garden and indoor flowers. Before applying the cake for the plant, one should understand not only the principle of operation, but also the options for preparing top dressing.
A prerequisite for all methods: the coffee grounds are well dried. Dry mass storage is allowed in any container. But it is better to opt for glass containers. Watering with raw coffee grounds should not be carried out.
Coffee top dressing will simply grow moldy indoors. When open, it forms into a dense crust, preventing beneficial organisms from penetrating into the root system. Thus, it will cause significant damage to the plant. Dry mix does not give negative results.
Method number 1 (mulch)
Coffee grounds can be used for more than just watering plants to replenish nitrogen. This process is slow and not suitable for all types of crops. Therefore, experts in the agricultural business recommend using the leftover coffee in the form of compost, mulch. The methods allow you not to wait for the complete evaporation of the liquid from the rest of the drink.
Since a crust may form on the soil, the thick is dug into the trunk space. The depth of the pits is shallow. Mulching is like mixing coffee slurry with soil. The same option is being considered for seedlings:
- Mixing soil with used coffee residues.
- Multi-layer top dressing. The first layer can be not only soil, but also sand, peat, sawdust. Then mulch with coffee and clean soil.
Method number 2 (compost)
The compost mixture made from coffee beans allows you to add:
- manure (bird, cow);
- sawdust and branches;
- straw bedding from animals and pure straw;
- herbs (finely chop before adding to the compost).
Often, gardeners add food waste to the compost pit. This does not interfere with obtaining high-quality fertilizers. When composting, the coffee grounds should be at least 1/5 of the total mass (20%).
The collected ingredients are mixed. Add water if necessary. The compost heap is infused for 21-30 days. It is mixed, moistened periodically so that drying is not observed. The maximum ripening time is 45 days. Then you can fertilize vegetable, fruit and berry crops.
Indoor and garden flowers
Leftovers from drunk coffee are recommended not only for tomatoes and other vegetables. It will be of great benefit as a fertilizer in the cultivation of flowers (indoor, garden). Main purpose: use during the growing season. This will help nourish the flowers throughout the growing season.
The raw materials used are applied in the above ways for flowers that need it more:
- anthurium,
- azaleas (indoor species);
- decorative fern.
But this does not mean at all that coffee grounds are not needed for roses. It just needs to be applied in a smaller amount. The cake helps to increase looseness, air and moisture permeability. It will help seedlings develop quickly, while increasing immunity.
For flower beds, coffee dressing is needed periodically. It is advisable to alternate with complex fertilizer mixtures.
It is not permissible to use all methods of application for cacti and other succulents. Such species do not need an increase in acidity. They need calcium.
Coffee dressing is useful for large palm crops (dracaena, ficus). But feeding can be carried out no more than 1 time in 60 days. In this case, a dry mixture is introduced (1-2 tbsp. L.)
Where and how to use
The substrate from coffee in vegetable gardening is used not only as fertilizer, top dressing. With its help, the soil is treated from parasitic insects. It can be used dry and mixed (wood ash is used). The dry mixture is scattered over the foliage and around the plant.
In addition, it is:
- magnesium supplement. Application: berry bushes;
- protection for root crops (potatoes are also included in this list) from wireworm;
- an effective way to eliminate mice that cannot tolerate the coffee smell.
It is noted that coffee grounds help to increase the yield of onions. It is used as a mineral fertilizer. Onions not only increase in mass, but are also stored longer. Method of application: dry. Calculation: 1 sq. m = 400 g of coffee.
This method of adding coffee substrate is possible for herbs, lettuce and spinach. Nitrogen fertilization helps to increase the yield.
Spraying
Coffee liquid is an option to protect against all types of flying insect flowers. The strong smell discourages the desire to eat the buds of petunias, tulips, roses, peonies. Spraying takes place during the period when the flowers are just waking up (April - May). The regularity of pouring or pollination occurs every 18-21 days.
Help cosmetics
The thicker removes the garlic odor from the skin of the hands. Women use the component to eliminate cellulite in peels, masks for the skin under the eyes. The product washes the hair, strengthens the hair. Paints certain fabrics, eggs for Easter, paper for gifts.
Coffee residues - a stimulating component for the growth of trees, garden plants, indoor flowers, planting flower beds. It is used as an air freshener, odor elimination for refrigerators. It is used to combat fleas in dogs by rubbing the component into the animal's fur after a bath. Added to flower vases as an air freshener. The tool is used to clean the dishes from burnt inclusions.
So do not rush to throw away the coffee residue by treating yourself to a cup of aromatic natural coffee in the morning. This is the best natural fertilizer.
Cooking the substrate correctly
The coffee fertilizer is collected over several months so that there is a sufficient amount of the substrate by the beginning of the spring field work. It is worth starting in the fall, so that there is no temptation to use it in practice.
After brewing, each portion of the residual material is filtered through cheesecloth to remove liquid. Then sent to a paper napkin or flat plate. The thick is left on the sunny side or left on the batteries. Stir the cake periodically to check the readiness of the fertilizer and the absence of moisture in it.
After receiving a completely dry material, it is sent to a glass container, tightly closed with a lid (to avoid moisture ingress). A new portion is poured into sleep only after complete drying.
5 mistakes that are often made
The most common mistake newcomers make was to use instant coffee as fertilizer or other method of application.Which is strictly prohibited. It does not give the desired result, but it is able to change the taste of the fruit.
In second place is the lack of soil testing. An increase in the acidity of an already acidic soil leads to rotting of the root system. This applies to both horticultural crops and flowers (indoor, garden).
This is followed by the introduction and incorrect distribution of the cake. It is not necessary to simply pour on the surface to dry. It is advisable to distribute the cake evenly, without the formation of lumps.
In such formations, mold often forms on the inside. Which is not immediately noticeable. After composting or other coffee mixtures, mold spreads quickly over the surface of the ground. At the same time, slowly destroying the plant.
When applying to the soil, one must remember the recommended dose (100-400 g per 1 sq. M.), Which depends on the need for acidification, the type of culture. The excess prevents the formation of new shoots of the root system.
In the last place is the carelessness of gardeners, the florist to the "wards". Regular application can oversaturate the soil. This is noticeable by the change in the color of flowers and fruits. If this happens, it is recommended to abandon soil application. Just leave the watering with coffee infusion.
