Coffee Grounds

[FigMania]

I've seen numerous posts on using coffee grounds for earthworms, etc. I go to a local coffee shop and got bags of spent coffee grounds for my garden. They are good once spent as probably 99% of the acid has been washed into the coffee we drink. That leaves a pretty sterile, pH neutral, leftover that has some nice nitrogen content. I usually spread that on the top of my veggie garden and rake in lightly. Also, the coffee grounds along with all kitchen plant based scraps go into my worm factory.

That said.. What are your thoughts on using coffee grounds as a growing medium for starting cuttings? I don't see a downside. It has nutrients, it's porous and it retains a level of moisture.

Thoughts??

[Bidlack78]

Not sure but worth a try to see.

[GregMartin]

Seems like something fun to try...another excuse to drink lots of coffee!
Would be interesting to see how it stacks up. It won't come preloaded with fungus gnat eggs like some of the potting and garden soils.

[Backyard_Fig]

Very interesting, I will be following this thread.

[don_sanders]

I'd be interested in seeing your results. I've never heard of anyone trying to root in them.

I'd be concerned about mold, moisture, and air movement. Coffee grounds can be very fine textured and compact easily.

They will mold for me when waiting to be thrown in the compost if I wait a while.

On limited tests as a mulch, it seems like they can get kind "muddy" in thick layers.

[WillsC]

My two cents......think on their own it would not be porous enough, not enough air. Mixed with perlite might be better. Far as mold that would not worry me. I sometimes am a little careless with the fish food and a few pellets ends up in the pots. The pellets mold overnight but it never spreads to the cuttings. Mold on cuttings is almost always a result of insufficient air flow/exchange. Even dead mushy cuttings dont mold if there is enough air exchange.

[bigbear]

This was my initial thought. When they get wet, the grounds get pretty compacted. I would think a sand or perlite mix would help.

[FigMania]

Thanks Wills.. I believe that's what I'll do. The coffee is pretty consistent in grind from Peet's. Very little fines. But, the peat moss I've been using is really fine and I believe I need more perlite in it. I think this might be just a great combo. We'll see. I have access to a lot of cuttings from local trees I can use as an experiment.

[Rusty]

My guess; getting grounds from a coffee shop is not a good idea for cuttings. The bag of spent grounds will have more than a fair share of espresso pucks which will pack like concrete even with a coarser material added. If it were a bag of French press grounds, I'd be more supportive of the idea.

[Backyard_Fig]

FigMania please post updates