# Growing in COffee Grinds



## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

I'm not the type to buy soil too often. I had a a KG or so of coffee beans this term, that I milked the coffee out of through brewing it over a few times. None the less I had some grinds left and thought I would see if some loose quinoa would grow in the grinds... well I was suprised. Not only is it growing but they are growing fairly quickly.






Has anyone else here tried growing anything in pure grinds?


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

It doesn't surprise me. Plants will sprout in any media that stays moist, using the fat, carbs, etc stored in the seed. It's when they get larger that the various nutrients found in soil becomes necessary.

I've not used coffee grinds for anything but between the tracks on my model trains when I was a kid.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

For best results mix in a little bit of wood ash or lime to adjust the PH levels. Coffee grounds alone are acidic and also contain nitrogen. Plants that love acidic soil like Azaleas love a bit of coffee grounds. However, vegetables like tomatoes or peppers might grow fast but may not bear fruit.
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/coffee-grounds-gardening.htm



Will2 said:


> I'm not the type to buy soil too often. I had a a KG or so of coffee beans this term, that I milked the coffee out of through brewing it over a few times. None the less I had some grinds left and thought I would see if some loose quinoa would grow in the grinds... well I was suprised. Not only is it growing but they are growing fairly quickly.
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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

Coffee grinds are great for roses , just loosen the dirt around them and spread the grinds .


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Slippy said:


> For best results mix in a little bit of wood ash or lime to adjust the PH levels. Coffee grounds alone are acidic and also contain nitrogen. Plants that love acidic soil like Azaleas love a bit of coffee grounds. However, vegetables like tomatoes or peppers might grow fast but may not bear fruit.
> Coffee Grounds & Gardening: Using Coffee Grounds As Fertilizer


That is because they get all jacked up on the caffeine, then crash after it wears off. Kind of like me when I do too many shots of "5 Hour Energy".


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## hag (May 19, 2016)

Will2 said:


> I'm not the type to buy soil too often. I had a a KG or so of coffee beans this term, that I milked the coffee out of through brewing it over a few times. None the less I had some grinds left and thought I would see if some loose quinoa would grow in the grinds... well I was suprised. Not only is it growing but they are growing fairly quickly.
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No I've never milked coffee so I could grow something in the grinds. I usually plant stuff in dirt. Do you know what dirt is? Of course you do, I've seen a picture of you


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

hag said:


> No I've never milked coffee so I could grow something in the grinds. I usually plant stuff in dirt. Do you know what dirt is? Of course you do, I've seen a picture of you


It'd be a damned good idea for you to log off.


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

Never tried that. What I do is I burn paper and mix the ash into the soil before I plant and it works for me


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## Boss Dog (Feb 8, 2013)

Milking the coffee? Do you drink coffee? If not, just ask your friends that do to save their grounds for you. If you do drink it, I guess you could brew a few times to dilute the acidity. As others have said, some plants will like it, some won't. 

It would probably be great to mix with real soil and I've hear of tearing up newspapers and adding them to the dirt but not burning them first. If you burn them doesn't that produce more acid? It seems there would be plenty in the coffee grounds. 

After I make coffee I spread the grounds out flat to dry and then put them in an old coffee can to save for the spring. I've read not to apply the grounds when your plants are flowering, due to high acid in them it is very easy to over do it and burn up the blossoms. Best to add before the buds open up or after they are done. 

The only thing I've used the grounds for is my azaleas and they do love it!


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

Yeah, well the dirt around here is frozen currently due to ice and snow. Also not really appropriate for me to be dragging soil in here. However, this is an experiment, I could grow in soil but I probably would not post it on here due to the no -brainer factor.


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

Boss Dog said:


> Milking the coffee? Do you drink coffee? If not, just ask your friends that do to save their grounds for you. If you do drink it, I guess you could brew a few times to dilute the acidity. As others have said, some plants will like it, some won't.
> 
> It would probably be great to mix with real soil and I've hear of tearing up newspapers and adding them to the dirt but not burning them first. If you burn them doesn't that produce more acid? It seems there would be plenty in the coffee grounds.
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> ...


This was just an experiment as I had to dispose of the grinds, and I swept some quinoa seed off the ground doing routine cleaning in the kitchen and was going to throw it out so I thought I would experiment to see if 1. quinoa would grow in coffee grind and 2. if coffee grind can alone support the growth of a plant.

I drank tons of coffee this term, between work, school, extra curricular society stuff, krav maga, and training programs I was regularly running 50 hour days.

I won't be landed in the forseeable future for growing. Really SHTF times for me when school ends probably in April, my upgrade on my degree should be done, and I don't yet have plans for May. I won't go into detail here but, no, I won't be doing any growing in the near future. I am way too mobile for that right now. My houses still havn't sold but it is very unlikely I will remain in Ontario after finishing school. I am either going to go for work overseas or likely move to BC because it is better weather.

So no, not attempting to grow anything, just experimenting, and I was surprised that it grew so fast. This was organic quinoa seed, not sure if that has to do with how well it grew. (however I just remembered that I had some cinnamon, very small amount, in with it too, so that may have effected the growth rate "Cinnamon as a rooting agent is as useful as willow water or hormone rooting powder. A single application to the stem when you plant the cutting will stimulate root growth in almost every plant variety.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Benefits Of Cinnamon On Plants: Using Cinnamon For Pests, Cuttings, & Fungicide http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/using-cinnamon-on-plants.htm"")

I brew my coffee about 3 times on average. I don't have the bitter gene.

Yes I drink black coffee and add cinnamon to it occassionally.


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## Boss Dog (Feb 8, 2013)

I take my coffee black as well.


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## Kat404 (Nov 24, 2016)

I have been thinkingabout testing out this, thanks for sharing!

I have been mixing up some of my plant soil with bark and charcoal.
So far, there has not been any problems


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## Stick (Sep 29, 2014)

Mushrooms usually do well in a bag of coffee grounds. Of course, you could wet down a paperback book and grow mushrooms in that, too.


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