Coffee buzz...for a green planet!

In the spirit of earth week, I have been looking at ways I can turn my daily waste into purposeful product! While drinking my coffee the other day, contemplating my impact on the demise of the worlds environment, I thought about what is something I throw away everyday? The answer right there in my hand...coffee! There must be over a pound of by-product weekly due to my addiction. Oh man how I go through the stuff!

Without fail, everyday I start out with a coffee, a double-shot made by my live-in barista...thanks honey! I love gardening but my other passion is a good cup of coffee. Plus without coffee, I have been known to be quite the grump. One of my favorite coffee cup quotes... "For human, just add coffee!" Well I guess I can now say, "for beautiful healthy plants, just add coffee grinds!"

After a lot of internet surfing and even more coffee drinking, I finally found some great information...

Firstly this green concept has been around for years, ok so better late than never, right! A number of the big coffee houses (Starbucks, Seattles Best, Tullys) all offer bags of free grinds, just there for the taking!
If I add up all the coffee grinds over the last 10yrs that I have lived here in Seattle "the land of coffee" I would have to estimate at a pound a week (sometimes more), I have contributed over 520 lbs of coffee to the landfills! yikes! Nitrating landfills rather than my own garden....time to change!
 

Secondly, important info...During the brewing process, most of the acidity is removed, leaving used grounds with an average pH of 6.9 and a carbon-nitrogen ratio of 20-to-1. They also contain magnesium, calcium, potassium, and other trace minerals. What a bunch of yummy garden goodness!

 Here is the bag I picked up from Starbucks yesterday...did I mention FREE!! If someone was handing out free bags of garden fertilizer at the store, you'd think it was your lucky day!

Coffee by-products can be used in the garden and farm as follows:

• Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen.
• Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.
• Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer.  Use about a half-pound can of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water; let sit outdoors to achieve ambient temperature.
• Mix into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.
• Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests.
• If you are into vermi-posting, feed a little bit to your worms 

So the next time you make that pot of drip or order an espresso, think of all that by-product goodness that you could be sharing with your garden and making the earth that little more greener! Free fertilizer doesn't come much better than this!!
I am just so giddy with excitement over this, I don't even know which category to put it in? is it sassy salvaging? Penny Pinching? Going Organic...ahhh I love it!!

http://groundtoground.org/  really everything you need to know is here...brilliant site!