if the grounds are good...

if used coffee grounds are good to apply around roses or other acid-loving plants, what would be wrong with doing the same with my leftover coffee, diluted w/ water 1:5 or so?

The liquid would leach out of the soil quickly in comparison with coffee grounds which are there for quite some time. There would be very little the liquid would give to the soil.

hmmm, but it you dump the liquid every day, wouldn't that be a constant soil amendment? Just curious, trying to recycle.

why don't you try saving it for a few days, then diluting it with water, and do a foliar spray? nutrients are absorbed more quickly that way. always test the spray in a small area first...

hey, this might not work, but why not try? i suppose you could also make less coffe LOL

I dump old coffee on. How it leaches out will depend on your soil. Things stick around in mine because it's clay.

I thought about this some more, trying to come up with an answer. Is it the texture of the ground coffee that amends the soil, or is it the actual chemical composition of the coffee that helps. If the latter, then diluted coffee would be fine. TamaraaFaye I think the foliar spray would be great, assuming it is the chemicals in coffee that do the trick. Keep talking to me. thanks

well, do a test on some seedlings * let us know. try some that prefer acidic & some alkaline... i know peas like coffee

I think I heard Paul James (on Gardening by The Yard, HGTV) say before that it is useful to recycle leftover coffee (drink) by diluting it, using it on acid-loving plants. The grounds themselves are high in nitrogen is what I've been told, one of the reasons they are nice to add to the compost pile.

well, i will try that and report here. thanks maggie.

Coffee grounds contain some NPK and the values vary widely so the real value of coffee grounds is organic bulk and some (varying) nutrient value.

Coffee foliar sprays might not do a great deal of harm but I'm not entirely convinced they will do any good either.

Coffee grounds are good because earthworms love them and they add organic matter to soil. They are not acidic and can be added to compost or put directly around plants. I do both. Left over coffee is acidic and can be poured around acid-loving plants. I'd dilute it first, if I ever had any left-over ;-)

Barbara

thanks everyone.