You may have heard once or twice that you shouldn't throw away coffee grounds, but rather use them for your plants. But what about seeds and pupils? Are coffee grounds suitable as growing soil?
Are coffee grounds suitable as growing soil?
Pure coffee grounds arenotgood as potting soil or sowing soilsuitable. However, a certain amount of it can be added to the potting soil.
Why are coffee grounds not suitable as growing soil?
Coffee grounds are not suitable as growing soil due to theirnutrient compositionandnutrient density. It contains lots of nitrogen. It is also rich in phosphorus, potassium and other nutrients, which in this abundance do not form a beneficial basis for freshly sown or rooted plants.
In addition, coffee grounds have anacidic pH value and are therefore unfavorable or even harmful for lime-loving plants, for example.
What happens when coffee grounds are used as growing soil?
The plants would grow quickly, butnot he althyandstrong. Germinating and growing in pure coffee grounds usually quickly leads to the plants shooting up, not developing stability and also not having a secure and well-branched root system.
How much coffee grounds can be mixed into the potting soil?
If you want to make your own potting soil, you can add abouta third coffee grounds to the mixture. But be careful: plants such as carrots, onions, Mediterranean herbs, etc. do not like coffee grounds due to their low pH value.
A potting soil mixture could, for example, consist of 1/3 sand, 1/3 garden soil and 1/3 coffee grounds. However, before using this potting soil, it is advisable to sterilize it. This reduces the risk that the young plants will suddenly become ill with fungal pathogens.
Can coffee grounds be added to the potting soil later?
Youcan Add coffee grounds to the potting soil later. Then it serves as fertilizer. As such, it can be used for houseplants, vegetable plants, but also roses.
The perfect time to fertilize the potting soil with coffee grounds for the first time is when the young plants are around 10 to 15 cm tall.
Tip
Coffee grounds at the right time, in the right amount
You can collect the coffee grounds, dry them and, if necessary, simply sprinkle them on the soil of the young plants. At first, about a teaspoon per plant is enough. When you water, the ingredients penetrate into the soil and the plants can gradually use them.
