On a recent trip to Regina, my sweet hubby brought back a fragrant surprise: a bag of coffee grounds!
A popular coffee shop is making an effort to go greener, and bag up their coffee grounds in five pound bags for recycling.
Lucky for gardeners, coffee grounds have a multitude of uses in the garden. So make yourself a cuppa joe (be sure to save the grounds!) and sit with me for a minute!
You know how delicious fresh coffee smells: that was the yummy aroma as I opened the bag of coffee grounds. I top-dressed some of the plants that we have by our back doorstep, and while I'm sure the coffee scent will fade, it certainly was enticing as the sun warmed the plants. I don't know if it's coincidence or a caffeine-jolt, but our sickly-looking basil plant has perked up considerably! The coffee grounds top-dressed among these potted plants looks lovely because of the rich, dark color, and I read that they will slowly release nitrogen into the soil each time we water.
My coffee research yielded other interesting bits of information. Half a pound of grounds, soaked in a five gallon pail of water, will give us a nice gentle fertilizer for our plants. After you have used the grounds this way, you can drain them and us them in other ways. I learned that scattering the grounds around the base of plants will stop pests. When added to your soil, the texture of the grounds is very helpful in soil aeration. Healthy, aerated soil also attracts earthworms. Mom always used to say that earthworms are a sign of a healthy garden. If there are none calling your garden home, perhaps your soil needs some amending. As you know, the castings from earthworms are also very beneficial to our soil, so we have to do what we can to attract and keep these garden friends happy!
One more interesting factoid: I also read that acid-loving plants like roses, rhododredrons, azaleas, and blue berries also love coffee grounds. So gardeners, save your coffee grounds and make use of them in the garden. They're very beneficial, and it's a nice feeling to be able to reduce, re-use and recycle all with one product.
The SHA bus tour is quickly approaching, July 19-21. Gardeners will see beautiful gardens in Nipawin, Tisdale and Carrot River. All you have to do is sit back in the bus And enjoy this mini-getaway! For more information call Liz at 782-2830.
And a reminder about Yorkton in Bloom 2011. This exciting program focuses on beautification of the city. There are all kinds of categories, from best apartment garden to best industrial grounds and everything in-between. There are also categories for the Golden Bloom Award for gardeners 75 years and older. The deadline for entries is Friday, July 15. Call Darren Spelay at 786-1776 for more information. Remember, too, that the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will host a tour of the winning locations on Thursday, July 28. The public is welcome to join this tour.
Till next time, have a good week, wear a hat, and be sure to protect yourself against excessive exposure to the sun and against mosquitoes!
