It seems that soil, sun, and water are all that is needed for the plant to grow at home. But for your plant to always please you and those around you, you simply cannot do without top dressing.
Folk fertilizers have been used for this for a long time. So what is coffee grounds: fertilizer or just cake – waste from a drunk invigorating drink? And what are the benefits of coffee grounds?
Let’s analyze in detail how coffee grounds are useful for houseplants.
What is valuable in the remains of coffee for plants
Coffee as a fertilizer for indoor plants is very valuable. It contains many useful vitamins. These include calcium, magnesium, copper, and carbohydrates. In the thick are also present: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Therefore, it can successfully replace mineral fertilizers. Nitrogen is very important for normal growth, the presence of phosphorus improves plant nutrition, and potassium helps to retain moisture, which is necessary for photosynthesis.
How to collect coffee grounds for plant nutrition
There are several ways to store and use coffee grounds for houseplants as fertilizer.
As you know, in the autumn-winter period, plants do not need to be fed. If you collect coffee residues during the winter, then by spring a fairly large amount of this valuable fertilizer will accumulate.
In order to prevent the thickness from becoming moldy, it is dried in the oven and put in plastic bags. You need to store the thick in a dry place. If you live in a private house, then you can send the leftover coffee immediately to the compost heap.
If the aromatic drink is brewed in a coffee maker, then you can put the leftovers together with paper filters in a compost heap. You can get a separate container and collect the thick in it.
How to fertilize coffee grounds for houseplants
Some inexperienced flower growers bring in coffee grounds just by flooding the flower.
But in this way you can harm the plant, mold and small pests – midges – may appear in a flower pot. Coffee grounds must first be dried. Then the coffee grounds are mixed with the soil.
You can make compost from coffee grounds. The acidic environment of coffee grounds contributes to better suppuration.
Believe it or not, coffee grounds are even used to spray plants. To do this, the thick is stirred in water. Coffee grounds also serve as a deterrent against some pests.
All the methods that we have listed above are great for a summer cottage but are practically not justified for home flowers. The tasks here are somewhat different, home conditions do not contribute to the formation of a dense crust on the surface of the earth, but place high demands on the introduction of nutrients.
Coffee grounds as a fertilizer for indoor plants are certainly useful but contain too little nitrogen, magnesium, and potassium. Therefore, flower growers prepare compost, which then goes for top dressing.
The composition can be varied, but a combination of 50% coffee grounds, 30% straw, and 20% leaves is considered optimal. You can also use cardboard and grass. The main difficulty is that the compost must mature in a special pit.
You can use just a large tank, you just need to place it in the most protected place from rain and wind. The rest is a matter of technique. We put coffee grounds, straw, leaves, and dried grass in one pile.
After that, add a little bone meal, mix well and cover with a layer of fertile soil. After that, the compost must be watered (it should be slightly damp) and holes made with a stick.
Air access is necessary for the formation of a microclimate. Literally, in 3-4 weeks the compost will be ready.
Now you can use it in the form of nutritional supplements, bringing it into pots, or mulching the surface when planting.
Coffee grounds against pests in the garden
The smell of coffee grounds introduced into the soil repels many types of pest insects from plants.
When it is applied, for example, when sowing carrots or radishes, it is possible to scare away larvae and insects that live underground and feed on root crops from root crops and prevent the appearance of a carrot fly on carrots.
Ants and slugs try to stay away from beds sprinkled with old coffee because of its pungent smell.
For which plants are coffee grounds suitable as a fertilizer?
- For flowers. The benefits of coffee waste in flower beds are twofold: soil improvement and pest control.
- Use in rosaries. A thick water solution will protect roses from snails and ants, and the specific smell of coffee will distract flying pests from buds.
- For variegated plants. Tulips, peonies, hostas, and lilies will bloom faster and longer if coffee fertilizers are applied to the ground.
What mistakes are made when using coffee for indoor plants
The flower grower always wants the methods he uses to be useful to plants, so you need to listen to the recommendations of experts.
Coffee grounds are not a substitute for organic or mineral fertilizers, their use is mandatory for plants.
An excessive amount of cake is unacceptable since the caffeine contained in it can inhibit plants; if milk was added to coffee, such cake should not be used so as not to create an environment for the development of pathogenic organisms.
Waste should also not contain sugar or fruit additives. Ground coffee as a fertilizer for flowers is not suitable for all plants, before using it, you need to clarify which green pets benefit from such feeding.
Coffee waste is used to fertilize domestic palms, ferns, indoor roses, poinsettias, azaleas, and some types of rhododendrons, hydrangeas, violets, asparagus, and other plants.
So flower growers have the opportunity to use an easy and affordable way to care for indoor plants – use coffee cake as a fertilizer.
In conclusion
Use the thick as you like and see the results. With so many myths swirling around, the only way to really know what’s good for your garden, plants, and the situation is to try it and see what happens.
Coffee grounds are very useful and rich in trace elements composition. But this does not mean that you need to use only it. Coffee is a good support blend. But it cannot replace traditional organic and mineral fertilizers.