There are many ways to use wet or dry coffee grounds in your garden. Coffee grounds can be a great addition to soil or top dressing and are a great addition to your compost pile or bin.
During the growing season, you can sprinkle wet or dry coffee grounds on the surface of the soil or layer or mix them into the compost.
So what can you do if you have too many coffee grounds to use right away? How to manage coffee grounds in winter? What is the best way to store them?
In this article, we’ll explore these questions and share six ways to store coffee grounds for use in the garden. Read on to find out more.
6 ways to store or use coffee grounds in the garden
1. Chill
For short-term storage of the day’s coffee grounds, you can simply empty the basket of your coffee maker into an airtight container (eg an old yogurt tub or coffee can) and store it in the refrigerator.
This will prevent the grounds from becoming moldy before you can use them in your garden or add them to your compost. You can keep them like this for about a week.
If they develop white, blue, or bluish-green mold, you can still add them to your compost, but don’t use them directly in your garden.
2. Freeze
You can always freeze wet coffee grounds for longer storage. To do this, you can simply collect them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and then transfer the entire container to the freezer or store it in the freezer.
When you’re ready to use the grounds or transfer them to compost, you can just thaw them and treat them as if they were fresh.
3. Dry the large batch
If you don’t have room in the fridge or freezer, you can dry fresh coffee grounds and then store them in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to use them.
Be careful not to dry the coffee grounds that have started to form mold. Store only fresh coffee grounds in this way.
Drying is a good option if you can collect lots of fresh coffee grounds from a local coffee shop or similar facility.
To dry the coffee grounds, you can spread them on newspaper (thickness of 6 sheets) placed on perforated or slotted baking trays or grids with very closely spaced bars. Make a layer of coffee grounds a few centimeters thick.
Place the containers in a sheltered, dry, sunny location with good air flow. Check it once or twice a day, stirring it each time to ensure all the coffee grounds are well exposed to light and air.
When the coffee grounds are the consistency of unused grounds (completely dry), you can pack and store them. Drying in this way usually takes a few days, and can last up to a week.
If you are absolutely sure that the sediment is completely dry, you can store it in hermetically sealed containers in a cool, dry place.
If you doubt their dryness, pack them in paper bags with only the ends closed. This way you can check and stir or shake them from time to time to make sure they are aerated and prevent mold growth.
Coffee grounds stored in bags should be stored in a cool, dry, ventilated place.
4. Bake a small batch
You can use your oven if you have a small amount of residue to dry. In that case, you would spread the grounds in a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake at a low temperature (200°F), stirring occasionally, until completely dry (about an hour).
A convection oven is really good for this because it not only heats, but also spreads warm air. Coffee grounds that have been completely dried in the oven can be stored in any airtight container.
5. Throw them on the compost pile
Just keep composting during the winter. Even if you can’t garden or even turn your compost pile in the winter, you can continue to layer coffee grounds and kitchen scraps (green material), paper, straw, dry leaves or wood chips (brown material) all winter long.
Start turning the layers early in the spring when you can start tilling the soil outside.
Plenty of coffee grounds in your compost can allow you to turn your compost pile fairly early in the spring. This is because the coffee grounds heat up significantly as they break down.
6. Worm compost
If you live in an area that gets deep snow, so you can’t compost outdoors in the winter, try composting worms indoors. To do this, you would place a worm bin or two in an out-of-the-way location (a basement is perfect).
This video provides good information:
We made a Worm Bin for $5, and it was EASY!
Although the video doesn’t mention coffee grounds, realize that it’s very easy to add coffee grounds to worm bins and kitchen scraps.
You don’t have to put the coffee grounds through a blender. In fact, they act as granules that help worms process food and turn it into nutrient-rich worm castings.
Saving and using coffee grounds in the garden is a win-win!
Used coffee grounds are packed with nutrients and trace minerals. They are necessary to improve the condition of the soil by absorbing and retaining excess moisture.
Used as a mulch or top dressing, they provide nutrients and help repel garden pests, such as slugs and snails.
When you store and use coffee grounds in your garden, you’re improving your environment and keeping potential waste out of landfills.
Best of all, it’s all free! Follow the tips here for storing coffee grounds in the garden.