coffee grounds in iris beds

does anyone use coffee grounds in their iris beds? thanks kevin

have always heard coffee grounds are slightly acidic, so I put them in the composter and use the compost a few months later. the acidity has lowered by then. I have bearded irises and acidic soil - they like neutral to slightly basic soil - so I have to add lime here.

also there is nitrogen in the grounds, but dont know if its enough to make the rhizome rot

By the time you have that cup of hot java in front of you, the acid has been leached out of the grounds. I have done the experiment. An additional leach of the expended grounds for one hour constant stirring yielded a pH very close to 7, about 6.8. The pH of your cup of coffee is around 4.

I have read that the nitrogen level of coffee grounds is 2-3%. My mother always threw them out on the iris garden along the side of the house (not right on top of the plants). I prefer composting them because they attract the worms almost immediately.

my sis raises worms, and boy do they love them!

My co-workers save them for me, filters and all. It all turns to compost in the end. I never could figure out why they didn't understand the value of grounds. Then again our secretary quit bringing them to me and I am sure now that she has figured it out!

starbucks gives coffee grounds away for free

you can use them without composting on top of the ground as a slow release fertilizer, but only in small amounts. The grounds will get moldy if they are piled up too high.