Guide to Using Coffee as Homemade Fertilizer for Plants

Using coffee grounds to fertilize our plants is a great way to recycle this type of organic waste and keep your home flora in perfect condition.However, it is important to know how to do it correctly, as although we have often seen that it is enough to put the used ground coffee on the surface of the soil, there are ways to make it more effective.To begin with, you need to know the benefits of coffee as fertilizer for plants. The main and most well-known is that ground coffee contains approximately 2% nitrogen by volume.Additionally, coffee grounds, as they are also known, are not acidic, as the acid in coffee is soluble in water, so it mainly remains in your coffee.On the other hand, ground coffee has a neutral pH (between 6.5 and 6.8 pH), improves soil structure, and is an excellent source of nitrogen for composting.And although it is not proven, anecdotal evidence suggests that coffee grounds repel slugs and snails in the garden.How to Use Coffee as FertilizerUsing coffee as fertilizer is very simple, as you can simply spread it directly on the soil. But here are more tips to make the most of it for your plants.-Spread it over the soil and cover with dry leaves or compost.-Make a compost pile by layering the ingredients with 1/3 leaves, 1/3 fresh grass clippings, and 1/3 ground coffee.-Mix used ground coffee with shredded paper or dry leaves to have an equivalent source of carbon.If you incorporate ground coffee directly into the soil, add a nitrogen fertilizer at the same time. Coffee grounds stimulate the growth of microorganisms in the soil, which use nitrogen for their growth and reproduction. As the coffee grounds decompose by the microorganisms, the additional nitrogen in the fertilizer will provide a nutrient source for your plants.You can also add paper coffee filters to your compost as a source of carbon. Just tear them into small pieces to speed up decomposition.The best part of using coffee as fertilizer is that coffee waste does not spoil, so you can store it for later use and apply these tips in your small home garden.