MOLDY COFFEE GRINDS

Is mold on used coffee grinds harmful in ANY way to the garden environment or compost piles? Please respond ASAP, because I've been collecting 5-gallon buckets of grinds for a plant swap in July and don't want to haul an unacceptable product all the way there with no takers...Thanks.

IMO it would be next to impossible to know with certainty without a lab analysis. Some molds can be beneficial and others possibly harmful. And some molds that might harm one plant type might boost another one. At different times in the past I have added moldy grounds to compost bins, but I think the heat of decompostion possibly altered the chemical structure. Odds are the stuff is okay, but no guarantees.

Gee, I have moldy grinds in my houseplants, they don't seem to mind. I hope it's not bad.

The use would be for outdoor garden beds and compost bins. No indoor plants would receive these moldy grinds.

I think you will find that damp coffee grounds that have been sitting around for a month in a closed bucket are going to be pretty disgusting. If the coffee grounds are dry (or you can dry them out) and provide some ventilation then they might be okay.

- Brent

That seems to be my experience with them. Once they dry, no more mold!

Thanks! I only covered them to protect them from the rain. I'll take the covers off.