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Coffee has complimented our breakfast table for years, but did you know it can also compliment your plants? Coffee contains nitrogens, potassium and other organic acids that plants thrive on. Most importantly, coffee belongs to a group of substances known as the alkaloids family. Alkaloids are compounds that exist in a plant as a salt.

Coffee grounds can be used in compose in lue of manure. Compose is commonly started with soil, grass, straw and manure. However, and much to your neighbors releif, replacing manure with coffee grounds can give you the same results. The coffee grounds heat up and get moldy just like manure would.

This heat helps the compose cycle. These grounds also help turn the soil slightly acidic, which help promote a health ph balance in your soil. One of your biggest benefits is this compose can be used for your indoors plants because it is not manure based.

Coffee grounds can also be used for wormbins without producing any harmful effects to the worms. Wormbins are bins of compose where earthworms are used to turn the soil. This method also has an added benefit of, well, worm-poo.

For plants that thrive on highly acidic soils like blueberries, hostas or elephant ears, the coffee grounds can be applied directly to the dirt at the base of the plant.

Also a note to gardeners, unroasted coffee grounds ward off ants. Some gardeners have thrown coffee in with their seedlings to discourage ants from stocking up for winter.

Coffee is the perfect pick me up for you and your plants. So don't feel quilty about that second or third cup, just think how good your columbines will look the comming year.

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