Are coffee grounds good for plants? 3 easy ways to use coffee grounds as fertilizer

Your morning brew surely helps you get through the workday, but you may have also heard that coffee can help plants grow. 

But how does it actually work?

Nutrients in coffee grounds

You probably drink coffee Coffee for the caffeine (or maybe even the taste ;). But coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous, each of which is an important nutrient for growing plants.

While each type of plant is very different, they all require these nutrients in varying amounts.

3 easy ways to use coffee grounds as a natural fertilizer in your garden

If you’re anything like me, you get excited whenever you learn that something that you deem to be trash can actually be reused to help your plants grow!

There are a few different ways that you can reuse your coffee grounds:

1. Sprinkle coffee grounds on the soil around your plants

You can incorporate coffee grounds into your garden by simply sprinkling the grounds around your soil and lightly raking the grounds in. This helps add organic matter to your soil, and as the coffee grounds decompose your plants will have access to the vital nutrients they need.

2. Diluting coffee and giving your plants a drink

Giving your plants a sip of coffee will make them feel great too! I’m just kidding — kind of. Dilute one cup of leftover brewed coffee with in one gallon of water and allow it to sit overnight. Then, water your plants with the diluted coffee.

3. Incorporate coffee grounds into your compost

If you’re at all like me, you drink coffee every morning, which means that you have coffee ground waste every morning! Instead of tossing the used grounds into the trash, set them aside as compost with your veggie scraps, and then take them to your compost pile. After 6-9 months, you will have fresh, wonderfully nutritious compost ready to feed your plants.

Reducing waste around the house is always a great idea, but if you can double up and make your plants happy, even better! The easiest way to use coffee as plant food is by simply tossing it in your compost pile, but if you suspect your plants need a boost of nitrogen you can also apply the grounds straight to your soil.