this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
19 points (91.3% liked)

Soil Science

553 readers
1 users here now

Welcome to c/soilscience @ slrpunk.net!

A science based community to discuss and learn all things related to soils.



Notice Board

This is a work in progress, please don't mind the mess.



Subdisciplines of soil science include:

These subdisciplines are used by various other disciplines, particularly those related to reclamation, remediation, and agriculture.

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Be kind and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. Please use a tag.
  4. No spam.
  5. Memes are welcome, but the focus of this community is science-based


Resources

Blogs

Careers

Chemistry

Classification

Maps & Datasets

Canada

Europe

United States

World

Soil Contamination:



Similar Communities


Sister Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Plants and Gardening

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Memes



Find us on Reddit

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I've recently tried mixing the used coffee grounds in baking soda, and I'm seeing a very visible chemical reaction. I haven't tried putting it in the ground yet though.

top 12 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Coffee grounds aren't very good fertilizer, they still need to decompose. Better to mix them in your compost pile and wait til the compost is finished to use it.

Regarding acidity, like the other guy said, used grounds aren't very acidic. But ultimately, the pH question is going to depend on lots of factors, including the pH of your existing soil and the optimum pH of the plants you're growing. Sometimes you want to add acidic amendments. Where I live, there's so much calcium carbonate in the soil, no amount of acidic compost would even make a dent in the pH

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Alright, I'll find a way to compost them

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Sounds like the acidity doesn't need to be neutralized. It's recommended here that you compost them or just mix them into the soil. When I worked in coffee shops we would compost them and then someone picked that up. Also says some plants react better to coffee grounds but you shouldn't have to apply baking soda because "Fresh coffee grounds are acidic. Used coffee grounds are neutral."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Hmm but there was a visible chemical reaction when I mixed the coffee grounds and the baking soda, and when water was added it bubbled up. But thanks I'll look up composting coffee grounds

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Just compost them. No need to add baking soda unless you want your soil to be light and fluffy like pancakes.

They're high in nitrogen and when mixed with carbon based materials will make excellent compost/soil amendment in 6-12 months. Shorter if you hot compost or bokashi.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I've mixed hundreds of pounds of used, fermented grounds into my 1100 sq ft. of loamy clay soil over the last three years. Some plants love it, a few don't. I had the soil tested at the beginning and end of the three years and it didn't change the pH significantly. The grounds start to sour, ferment and grow fungi as soon as a day after being stored, so get it out in the garden as soon as possible.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Oh that's interesting. I noticed the mold as well when I leave it out. Could I grow mushrooms on it?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I don't know enough about myco propagation to answer. I know they need rich organic matter. I always mix my grounds with composted cattle manure, food scraps and straw.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sorry I've been asleep at the wheel for this community.

Anyway, there is a lot of good info here in the advice you already got.

Coffee grounds aren't acidic, and their pHs are typically 6-7 which is fine. pH usually doesn't start becoming an issue until it approaches 5.

Further, grounds have a great C:N ratio, which means they will decompose relatively fast in the soil, and won't tie up N like other amendments do.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago