What's new

Coffee Grounds

epicseeds

epicseeds

Member
So I am trying to use as much free organic stuff as I can find. I heard spent coffee grounds are a good source of nitrogen.

I just went to star buck and got a bunch. What exactly do coffee grounds provide- just nitrogen? How much should I use and should I just put a layer on top and water normally?

Are there any other easily available free stuff I could snag somewhere?
 
quadracer

quadracer

Active member
Coffee grounds also provide a carbon source for the soil. They mainly provide nitrogen to the mix.

I use them as mulch, worm bin food, compost material, and have made some very fine castings/compost with them. People have also started outdoor oyster mushroom beds with coffee grounds and have had some good results.
 
guest2012y

guest2012y

Living with the soil
Veteran
quadracer said:
Coffee grounds also provide a carbon source for the soil. They mainly provide nitrogen to the mix.

I use them as mulch, worm bin food, compost material, and have made some very fine castings/compost with them. People have also started outdoor oyster mushroom beds with coffee grounds and have had some good results.
Click to expand...
Hey Quad,I have a oyster mushroom bed that's growing/spreading in straw...would it be a good idea to incorporate coffee grounds in the straw?
 
M

MrFista

Active member
Veteran
If the mushrooms are doing well in the substrate I'd be happy with that and not messing with them. As you know though, a substrate gets spent. So... select an area that has flushed the most and is slowing down/stopped and put grounds there and see if activity picks up.

Alternately, find the leading edge of your mycelium and put some grounds there and see if the fungi migrate into it as fast as/faster/or slower than the straw substrate.

I'd hit the leading edge of mycelium with a series of grades of substrate going from pure grounds to pure straw and various mixes between. You'd get the ballpark percentage nailed down fairly quickly.
 
epicseeds

epicseeds

Member
Capt.Cheeze1 said:
Hey Quad,I have a oyster mushroom bed that's growing/spreading in straw...would it be a good idea to incorporate coffee grounds in the straw?
Click to expand...

you have any pics to share?

generally you want to mix it from the get go. you can probably add it to a casing layer - which will give you a bigger pin set. you wont want 100% coffee grounds though for your casing. i have found that the bagged miracle grow moisture control is an insanely good casing material - you only need half an inch or so.

i cant stress how good coir is for mushrooms if you are really interested in mycology. mix some 4 part coir, 1 part spent coffee grounds, 2 part vermiculite, and 1 part gypsum. you can use all the above or mix and match or just plain coco.
 
T

TenToesTall

Member
I have been using coffee grounds in my compost for years. Gets my worms all WIRED! Makes em crazy! I find the bin with the coffee ground worms work excellent for fishing worms too :)
I dont know anything about adding grounds right to your medium but thought id share my experience with em outdoors. PEACE
TTT
 
jammie

jammie

ganjatologist
Veteran
i put them around my azelias and hydrangas to keep the ph down. both plants like acidic soil. as mj is an acid loving plant i'm sure it wouldn't cause a problem
 
guest2012y

guest2012y

Living with the soil
Veteran
epicseeds said:
you have any pics to share?

generally you want to mix it from the get go. you can probably add it to a casing layer - which will give you a bigger pin set. you wont want 100% coffee grounds though for your casing. i have found that the bagged miracle grow moisture control is an insanely good casing material - you only need half an inch or so.

i cant stress how good coir is for mushrooms if you are really interested in mycology. mix some 4 part coir, 1 part spent coffee grounds, 2 part vermiculite, and 1 part gypsum. you can use all the above or mix and match or just plain coco.
Click to expand...
I'll try to get some pix in a few days....
I basically just put the straw that was flushing underneath about 1/4 bail of broken up new straw then wet it well. The mycelium has started to grow into the newer straw so I don't really want to mess with it quite yet to get a peek.. It's the beginning of mushroom season up here in the PNW and I expect it may take off soon.
I may do as Fista suggested and put some grounds in a section the mycelium hasn't reached yet to see if it will grow into it....just curious.
 
NSPB

NSPB

Active member
mean mr.mustard said:
Worm food is the best use of coffee grounds imo.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Coffee grounds tend to be acidic as well...and tend to work much better as a soil amendment with acid loving plants like roses or blueberries.

They also provided a slight amount of calcium and magnesium as well as a few trace minerals...but as stated, is mostly a nitrogen source once it breaks down. HOWEVER, I agree that they are BEST utilized when fed to the worm bins...



NSPB
 
quadracer

quadracer

Active member
Capt.Cheeze1 said:
I'll try to get some pix in a few days....
I basically just put the straw that was flushing underneath about 1/4 bail of broken up new straw then wet it well. The mycelium has started to grow into the newer straw so I don't really want to mess with it quite yet to get a peek.. It's the beginning of mushroom season up here in the PNW and I expect it may take off soon.
I may do as Fista suggested and put some grounds in a section the mycelium hasn't reached yet to see if it will grow into it....just curious.
Click to expand...

Nice! I was going to say if it ain't broke don't fix it. But there is still plenty room for experimenting. As was mentioned, don't use straight coffee grounds (the filters help too).

When I was picking up grounds from the local shop, I definitely had to be creative as to the uses. The worm bin would fill up on the first bag, and I would get around 10 bags a week.

My best batch of compost was made using A LOT of coffee grounds, and even then all the plants had some coffee around as mulch.
 
GrowBox420

GrowBox420

Member
I tried to put some coffee grounds in a grow a long time ago and it molded. Dont think that was to good.
I didnt have the same light I now have a 150w hps could I use a little bit and not risk getting the mold?
I think that I might need some N2.
 
mad librettist

mad librettist

Active member
Veteran
Coffee grounds tend to be acidic as well...and tend to work much better as a soil amendment with acid loving plants like roses or blueberries
Click to expand...
.

sorry, but coffee grounds (USED) tend to be CLOSE TO NEUTRAL. No, I'm not kidding. The acids all went into your coffee pot.

anyone care to check my claim with an actual pH test?

Not only that, because they are ground and so readily broken down by bacteria, the net effect of coffee grounds will be to raise the pH due to bacterial slime. You can magnify the effect by raking it into the soil and grinding finer.

Blueberries like it just fine too, because good blueberry soil is already fungal dominated and it's not enough to tilt the balance.
 
P

PrivateAero

Member
hmm..., maybe some cheap whole beans would be better, but then do they have nasties and need to be organic... I'm very interested in this and thanks for bringing it up, if it works for anyone please comment
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top