# What can you do with the used coffee grounds ?



## omega

Hi all may have been asked before but What can you do with the used coffee grounds ?


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## DavidS

Spread em in the garden, I heard they're good for the plants









Same cafes are quite happy to offload them to you if you want. I know we dispose of a whole bin full every day, shame really, could be put to much better use...


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## DonRJ

Add to your compost bin if you have one, let them compost for year with all your other organic waste and then use in the garden


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## Glenn

Wasted grinds (not brewed) can be used in the refrigerator to absorb smells - just 14g in a small uncovered dish keeps the smells at bay

Used grinds are great as slug repellant too, and as they are fairly abrasive can be used to scour things

Great as a body scrub to get tomato stains off fingers


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## ozgreen

Discovered this list on a local coffee blog:--

We can all probably say that we throw away a lot of coffee grinds at the end of the day. Did you know that there are numerous ways to put this waste to good use? A few common (and some not so common) ways to recycle your grinds:

* Touch up furniture and other wood scratches with grounds and a cotton swab.

* Sprinkle around areas where pesky insects, slugs and snails dwell to drive them away.

* Mix with soil as a natural fertilizer for plants.

* Dye clothing or paper.

* Rub into your dog as an organic flea dip.

* Fill old nylons and hang in your closet or fridge to repel odors.

* Scrub away grease and grime from pots and pans.

* Throw on ashes before cleaning out the fireplace to reduce dust from spreading.

* Feed to worms to help with your garden.


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## sandykt

Last year I went through a phase of putting my grounds on the garden. That soon stopped when the front garden started to look like one big knock box!! The grounds now go in the composter with the peelings etc.


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## vintagecigarman

They're great at keeping cats off the garden (- and I don't mean throwing the pucks at them!). Spread the usedgrounds in the areas the cats visit and they'll soon push off.


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## omega

vintagecigarman said:


> They're great at keeping cats off the garden (- and I don't mean throwing the pucks at them!). Spread the usedgrounds in the areas the cats visit and they'll soon push off.


All sound good will work for dogs as well as cats ?


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## vintagecigarman

I don't know. We don't have a problem with neighbours' dogs coming into our garden and pooing all over the place - just cats! (Don't get me wrong - I'm a cat lover, but our cats don't leave our own garden.)


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## DavidS

Glenn said:


> ... just *14g* in a small uncovered dish keeps the smells at bay


That's convenient


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## scrufftyguy

Mine go in the compost too....excellent source of Nitrogen apparently!


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## coffeebean

Mine are used to get rid of slugs in the garden in the summer


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## Swifty

I smear mine all over and run along the beach naked during a full moon!! lol


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## MonkeyHarris

Swifty said:


> I smear mine all over and run along the beach naked during a full moon!! lol


You too? Must be a Southern thing.


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## Swifty

Yarp!! on a weekend I will often smear honey on my top lip and stick the grinds on to make a distinguised moustache!!


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## mike 100

Our local Sainsbury's store coffee shop will gladly give you all the used grounds you want for composting!


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## vintagecigarman

It works the other way round with S******** - they'll happily take all your old grounds from your compost heap and make coffee with them!


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## Swifty

PMSL!

Aint that the truth, we should lobby the UN to have them tried for crimes against coffee!!


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## seeq

I compost mine too, although the missus complains that i'm going to dent the fancy compost bucket in the kitchen as the stubborn grounds dont like coming out of the puck! Oh well.... i take that as permission to spend more money on a knock box


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## MikeHag

Our rose bush is looking great thanks to the brown stuff


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## coffee fan

I've heard conflicting things about putting them down the sink to help keep it clear? Anyone tried this and does it work? Not clean on blocking up the sink! Currently compost them.


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## hyperactivemind

If the doggy doo's on the lawn keep on bugging you, then I heard that a plastic bottle filled with with water does the trick...but that could be an old wives tale. But worth a try anyway.

An old colleague of mine used to take old grinds home and use it to exfoliate her face. I gave it a shot and have to say that it made me smell like 3 day old coffee. And the oils in the grind made my face greasy and break out. So my wise words to you is to not use it to exfoliate...your face.


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## mike 100

We have a fox problem (urinating on the lawn) which causes the grass to die. Read somewhere that used coffee grounds will act as a repellent, seems to work for a while, now I think they like it!


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## forzajuve

It obviously varies but I have read spent coffee to have approx 1.5% Nitrogen content as well as useful other major nutrients Mg, P and K. This is quite high and can act as a good N boost for plants, especially greenhouse grown ones. Try adding used grounds to a watering can and filling up with water before watering tomatoes etc.

Of course you could always recycle in your food bin, but why let someone else get the benefit?


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## AlIam

I mulch around my herb bed with them. They do a pretty good job of suppressing weeds and feeding the plants.


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