Am I completely wasting this stuff?

Bryan24 · January 13, 2007

I am a coffee drinker. I make coffee fairly regularly. I have heard of people using coffee grounds in their gardens. But, now I have to admit, I'm not really certain what it really does. I'm not opposed to recycling them this way, but Bryan is suspect of what it will accomplish.

Also, I have two (both male) bunnies. What, if anything would need to be done to their waste to make it garden friendly? I figure I can just change up the bedding I currently use (ground corn cob, to maybe Yesterday's News) if it's necessary. Yes, the buns are indoor pets.

Thanks
laurel-tx

amideutch · January 13, 2007

Bryan, Run a google search on rabbit manure and there is a wealth of information out there. And also composting. Also you can use the Tomatoville search and enter either coffee or rabbit and you will get some hits. Ami

feldon30 · January 13, 2007

Rabbit manure is prized by Gardeners as just about the only manure, besides earthworm castings and perhaps sheep manure which can be added DIRECTLY to the garden with no concerns about being too "hot" with nitrogen.

A quick search of the Soil forums at GW will reveal that Starbucks coffee ground raids are commonplace, under a corporate program that requires local Starbucks stores to give spent coffee grounds to anyone who asks for them. Bring a bucket.

Coffee grounds, orange peels, manures, newspaper, straw, etc. etc. make fantastic layers for lasagna gardening and making compost.

Coffee grounds (along with spritzes of citrus oil, derived from the orange peel) are also documented to discourage fire ants from staying in or moving into garden beds.

Suze · January 13, 2007

Besides just adding organic matter, another bonus is that worms seem to really be attacted to areas where coffee grounds have been put down.

I keep a small plastic pail next to my coffee maker and dump all spent grounds in it. There's a fork left in the pail that I use to occasionally stir the grounds so they dry fairly fast. It's easier to fling them around then.

Of course, the grounds can also go in the compost pile, filters and all.

Worth1 · January 13, 2007

We have a fancy stainless bucket that the coffee grounds and all of the other food scraps go in.
Not many scraps with dogs around though and I have a cat that loves fresh coffee grounds, ‘he’s a wild one he bites me all of the time.

But anyway all of this goes out back in a wire cage to compost.
Hasn’t killed a plant yet!

(((Compost is the very best way to fertilize lavender and rosemary)))

As for rabbit droppings, rabbits chew a cued so their food is digested in a different way.
Now I don’t claim to know much about this sort of thing but we used to have a LOT of rabbits I mean a LOT.

We used to slaughter about a hundred a year for food.

of the droppings where shoveled up and spread on the garden, of course it had time to break down.
So I would put them in the cold pile too as yours is an indoor pet and I KNOW you don’t let it pile as high as ours did.
Rabbit manure is very good stuff.

Worth

flowerpower · January 14, 2007

You can use both sheep and goat droppings fresh. I also will take the fresh goat poop and make a nice manure tea from it.

barkeater · January 14, 2007

Worth writes, "I have a cat that loves fresh coffee grounds, ‘he’s a wild one he bites me all of the time"

Are you sure he's wild and not "wired" from all the coffee ?

January 13, 2007	#1
Bryan24 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 176	Am I completely wasting this stuff? I am a coffee drinker. I make coffee fairly regularly. I have heard of people using coffee grounds in their gardens. But, now I have to admit, I'm not really certain what it really does. I'm not opposed to recycling them this way, but Bryan is suspect of what it will accomplish. Also, I have two (both male) bunnies. What, if anything would need to be done to their waste to make it garden friendly? I figure I can just change up the bedding I currently use (ground corn cob, to maybe Yesterday's News) if it's necessary. Yes, the buns are indoor pets. Thanks laurel-tx

January 13, 2007	#3
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Rabbit manure is prized by Gardeners as just about the only manure, besides earthworm castings and perhaps sheep manure which can be added DIRECTLY to the garden with no concerns about being too "hot" with nitrogen. A quick search of the Soil forums at GW will reveal that Starbucks coffee ground raids are commonplace, under a corporate program that requires local Starbucks stores to give spent coffee grounds to anyone who asks for them. Bring a bucket. Coffee grounds, orange peels, manures, newspaper, straw, etc. etc. make fantastic layers for lasagna gardening and making compost. Coffee grounds (along with spritzes of citrus oil, derived from the orange peel) are also documented to discourage fire ants from staying in or moving into garden beds. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

January 13, 2007	#2
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	Bryan, Run a google search on rabbit manure and there is a wealth of information out there. And also composting. Also you can use the Tomatoville search and enter either coffee or rabbit and you will get some hits. Ami

January 13, 2007	#4
Suze Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 3,027	Besides just adding organic matter, another bonus is that worms seem to really be attacted to areas where coffee grounds have been put down. I keep a small plastic pail next to my coffee maker and dump all spent grounds in it. There's a fork left in the pail that I use to occasionally stir the grounds so they dry fairly fast. It's easier to fling them around then. Of course, the grounds can also go in the compost pile, filters and all.

January 13, 2007	#5
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	We have a fancy stainless bucket that the coffee grounds and all of the other food scraps go in. Not many scraps with dogs around though and I have a cat that loves fresh coffee grounds, ‘he’s a wild one he bites me all of the time. But anyway all of this goes out back in a wire cage to compost. Hasn’t killed a plant yet! (((Compost is the very best way to fertilize lavender and rosemary))) As for rabbit droppings, rabbits chew a cued so their food is digested in a different way. Now I don’t claim to know much about this sort of thing but we used to have a LOT of rabbits I mean a LOT. We used to slaughter about a hundred a year for food. of the droppings where shoveled up and spread on the garden, of course it had time to break down. So I would put them in the cold pile too as yours is an indoor pet and I KNOW you don’t let it pile as high as ours did. Rabbit manure is very good stuff. Worth

January 14, 2007	#6
flowerpower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Catskill Mountains, NY Z5 Posts: 94	You can use both sheep and goat droppings fresh. I also will take the fresh goat poop and make a nice manure tea from it.

January 14, 2007	#7
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	Worth writes, "I have a cat that loves fresh coffee grounds, ‘he’s a wild one he bites me all of the time" Are you sure he's wild and not "wired" from all the coffee ?