I'm not sure why you'd have to pay for used coffee grounds, but Starbucks is giving away their coffee grounds for free, to be used in your garden. I say, just use your own and avoid that place altogether, but here's some stuff from their website:
Coffee grounds can provide a valuable source of nutrition for your garden if used properly. The proper amount to be used depends on the condition of the soil and, more specifically, what you are growing in your garden. Check with your local gardening expert to see what is best for your situation. Here are a few general tips:
• Applying coffee grounds directly in the garden. Coffee grounds can be applied along with other materials as a side dressing for vegetables, roses, and other plants. Coffee grounds are high in nitrogen, but are also acidic. Adding brown material such as leaves and dried grass to the mulch will help keep a balanced soil pH.
• Mixing coffee grounds in your compost. Coffee grounds act as a green material with a carbon-nitrogen (C-N) ratio of 20-1. They make an excellent addition to your compost. Combined with browns such as leaves and straw, coffee grounds generate heat and will speed up the composting process.
• Using coffee grounds in a worm bin. Worms fed with coffee grounds combined with other materials will flourish.
Whats in coffee grounds? Starbucks commissioned a study in 1995 to better understand the make up of the organic matter we call coffee grounds. The following is the result of an analysis of our used coffee grounds performed by the University of Washington College of Forest Resources:
Primary Nutrients
Nitrogen 1.45%
Phosphorus ND ug/g
Potassium 1204 ug/g
Secondary Nutrients
Calcium 389 ug/g
Magnesium 448 ug/g
Sulfur high ug/g
Michael Stars
gREAT POST! EVERYONE NEEDS KNOW IT! tHANKS!!!!____________________________________________________________________________
1Anyone can have the facts, but having opinions is an art.
Hahaha! I read the topic and was like who the hell wants free USED grinds from Starbucks!! But yeah, I'd have to agree that just using your own would be the best.
2Say what you will about Starbucks, but, they truly seem like a corporation who is taking evironmentally responsible.
Style Before Comfort!
3I've also heard that used tea leaves are great for you garden is that true?? i don't have a lot of coffee but i love tea!
4I put my own coffee grounds and tea leave/bags in our compost bin.
5I have heard of coffee grounds being used but did not realize Star Bucks gave them away. I will have to check my local one here. Thanks for the great added info.
6stylysh: i found this forum about using teabags in compost/for gardening:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/frugal/msg0323332415768.html
and this company sells tea bags just for the purpose of composting: Description:
Give your plants the benefit of a nourishing, freshly made compost tea with our easy-to-use compost tea bags. Just drop a tea bag into one gallon of water, let it soak for 10-15 minutes and water your plants. A mixture of organic compost, sea kelp, water soluble humates and nutrients, our compost tea feeds the soil’s beneficial microbes and adds essential nutrients to grow healthy plants. Good indoors and outside. 12 tea bags per box.
obviously, you'll just use your own but, yeah, i think tea bags would work quite well!
7I think a lot of people must take advantage of this, because last time I was visiting my Dad and went to Starbucks often the basket usually either had like 1 bag or none in it.
8ohh this is interesting and i think it will take advantage of this. great post.
9Wow! that's great
10~ OK SO I WORK FOR STARBUCKS....
11its called Grounds for Your Garden and they are free, in a large copper bucket near the entrances and the grounds are to be mixed in your soil. The program has been going on for over 5 years so I'm not sure why the sudden blog but dont diss Starbucks. They may cost more than most coffee places but they serve the best and finest quality and its not so cheap to do this you know. They are a fabulous company to work for and they do a lot of recycling methods!
savilerow085 -
1)i haven't been doing this blog for 5 year so obviously i could not possibly have mentioned this sooner.
2)i can diss whomever I want to
3)i was merely saying that instead of going into a starbucks to use their grounds that people should use their own, assuming they make coffee at home
4)"best and finest quality"??? please. this is an environmental group so i am going to promote local coffee shops who serve fair trade, organic coffee over a big chain. there are so many other coffee companies that are chains as well: my "diss" is not localized just to Starbucks!
btw: i do not mean to be against people who do go to starbucks or whereever, just saying that i can and will express my own personally formed opinions in my own group that i started.
12tdamji - I think you're always very respectful of other people's opinions and ways while practicing your own. You do a really great job with this group!!
13thanks jen!
i was worried about possible responses to my last response, above.
14Starbucks rocks!!! if you had the money to buy it everyday... do it.
It is not cheap, I like the coffee and the stuff they sell, but I make my own coffee in my house most of the time.
They sell not-so-cheap coffee (ok.. expensive) because people buy it. I dig their coffees and teas.
My mom does this with the coffee grounds since I remember. (sorry for the lateness I just read this)
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