#coffee-grounds

#coffee-grounds

Last week, I was making my morning coffee-you know, the complicated order I'm too embarrassed to say out loud at coffee shops-when I noticed the pile of used grounds in my filter. For years, I'd been tossing these straight into the trash without a second thought. But then I remembered something my grandmother wrote in one of her letters years ago: "The garden teaches us that nothing is truly waste."

Used grounds are slightly acidic and dense. Sprinkled thickly, they can form a crust that repels water and suffocates roots. Instead, mix small amounts into compost (no more than 10%), or add to an outdoor compost heap where worms can break them down properly. Never dump fresh, wet grounds straight on to houseplants. The test I mixed a few tablespoons of dried coffee grounds into the soil

We've shared tips for using coffee grounds before, and this is one of the best ones. Coffee grounds make an extremely effective natural deodorizer. You don't need to waste coffee that you would otherwise drink, either. Used coffee grounds work just as well as fresh ones, so you get double the benefit from them. If you want to use coffee grounds for a specific mess or as a general deodorizer, make sure they are dry.