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western PA

I have a 1/6 acre patch for next year. Organic matter in the soil is 3.6%. I plan on adding many loads of 2 year old manure in the next couple weeks. Now the question on the grounds.

I am receiving about 40 to 50 lbs of grounds every morning from the local starbucks that the girl keeps for me from the previous night. (they used to pitch it in the trash.) Now say I have about 200 days or so till I plow up the patch again in the spring. With 40 lbs/day thats 8000 lbs that will be put on over the course of the winter. That is about 1.1 lbs/sq foot.

I had originally planned to spread the grounds only on the half of the patch where the plants would be planted. So that the main body of the plant would have the benifits of the ground. That would result in about 2.2 lbs/sq foot.

My question is:
Which would be better? the 1.1 lbs of grounds per square foot or the 2.2 lbs of grounds per square foot.

10/6/2006 9:16:42 AM

western PA

And there should not be a 'U' in another.... sorry haha

10/6/2006 9:18:17 AM

President - GPC

Checkout the link at www.Coloradopumpkins.com grounds in the garden for info from starbucks.

10/6/2006 1:51:33 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Depending on your soil's CEC & current pH, too many coffee grounds will eventually acidify or lower the soil pH. But you'll have a lot of big fat earthworms for the effort!

10/6/2006 9:19:52 PM

Montoursville, PA

When the soils biological magic takes place the coffee grounds will be either passed through an earthworm or converted to compost headed for humus and into humic acids.

At the compost stage the PH of the coffee grounds will be about 7.0. It does enter the process a bit on the acid side but unless somehow held to no biological conversion it will work it's way to 7.0 as the natural process proceeds. This is true of all organic additives including manures.

Only careless overloading beyond the soils ability to ferment and converge organic matter will cause any real problem. The problem would be man-made if the patch were not ballanced by spring and not ready to be in a form that plants can use.

10/15/2006 8:33:18 PM