Coffee grounds are fantastic for tomatoes

by Amber
(Mobile, AL)

This is our first real attempt at growing a garden. I skimmed an article that said to use coffee grounds. So, I've been putting out our daily coffee grounds plus some from my husband's office around each of the plants, at least once per week. The plants are huge, with plenty of fruits. I don't know if the grounds have something to do with it, but they certainly haven't hurt the growing process.

Thanks for this site,

Amber

Tomato Dirt responds:
Glad to hear coffee grounds are working for your tomato plants!

Many gardeners have had similar success, even though the jury is still out on whether or not used coffee grounds are a magic bullet in the garden. Nevertheless they're often used on acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries ... and tomatoes.

Be careful, however, not to overload tomatoes with too many coffee grounds. Tomatoes like slightly acidic soil, not overly-acidic soil. Used coffee grounds have a pH of about 6.8.

If in doubt, throw them on the compost pile! There's no question that nutrients are released during composting as organic matter breaks down.

But if you want to try out used coffee grounds directly in the garden, pop them into the microwave to dry them out first. This makes them easier to spread. Then scratch grounds into the soil surface around plants.

Coffee grounds contain nitrogen, potassium, potassium, magnesium, copper, and other trace minerals.

They also have a reputation for repelling ants and slugs.

Thanks for sharing your experience with our readers!

Happy gardening!
Your friends at Tomato Dirt.