You know the guy in your neighborhood who spends 16 hours working on his lawn every Sunday?
Yeah, he's probably single. But that's not what we're here to talk about. We're here to talk about how you can be just like him! (Or at least make your lawn look a little more like his.)
Water The Lawn with Coffee (Grounds)!
Turns out coffee can be as good for your lawn's health as it is for yours. Just spread some grounds around your sleepy grass, and it just may perk right up.
It isn’t really the caffeine that stimulates healthy grass growth, though, but rather the nitrogen in the coffee grounds. (Plus phosphorus, and other trace minerals, yada yada.) As you may already know, nitrogen is a key ingredient in many commercial fertilizers. It's also readily available in other common household items, like hair clippings and used kitty litter.
But I'm not about to start recommending that you put used kitty litter on your lawn. Also, if hair clippings are a common household item for you, maybe lay off the flowbee just a little.
Anyway, it turns out that coffee grounds can make an excellent fertilizer for grass.
Just be careful not to overdo it, or you might end up with a burnt-looking lawn. And no one wants that. (Certainly not your HOA—I think they're outside measuring your shrubs with a ruler right now as we speak.)
In fact, before you put coffee (or any nitrogen-rich grass "food") on your lawn, it's a good idea to have your soil tested. That way, you can find out how much nitrogen is already present in the soil, and adjust your application accordingly.
Too much nitrogen is just as bad for your lawn as too little, and can result in unhealthy grass growth. So don't go overboard!
Will Coffee Make The Soil Too Acidic?
Coffee grounds are also acidic, and can lower the pH of your lawn's soil if it's too alkaline. This is a good thing—usually. A lot of grasses and plants prefer a slightly acidic environment, and coffee grounds can help create that for them.
Of course, you don't want to go overboard and make your lawn's soil too acidic. That would be just as bad as making it too alkaline. But a little bit of acidity can be a good thing. Again, this is where soil testing is in order before you go spreading coffee grounds (or any other acidic material) around your lawn.
Using Coffee on Your Lawn
So when you add coffee grounds to your lawn, you are basically adding a source of nitrogen and acidity. This can have a number of benefits for your grass, including:
1. Healthier grass growth - Nitrogen is essential for healthy plant growth. By adding coffee grounds to your lawn, you are giving your grass a boost of this important nutrient.
2. Lush green color - Coffee grounds can help give your lawn a richer, greener color.
3. Improved fertilizer efficiency - Nitrogen is a key ingredient in many commercial fertilizers. By adding coffee grounds to your lawn, you are essentially increasing the efficiency of your fertilizer.
4. Weed suppression - Coffee grounds can help suppress weeds by creating an unfavorable environment for them to grow.
5. Soil improvement - Coffee grounds can improve the structure of your soil, making it more aerated and better able to retain water.
6.Earthworms love it! - Coffee grounds are a great food source for earthworms, or at least one that they really seem to like. This can be beneficial for your lawn, as earthworms help aerate and fertilize the soil, and they'll also leave their casings behind, which are rich in nutrients.
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Now that you know all about the benefits of using coffee grounds on your grass, you might be wondering how to go about it. Here are a few tips:
How to Use Coffee Grounds on Your Lawn
In order to get the most benefit from using coffee grounds on your lawn, it’s important to use them properly—and sparingly. Here are a few tips:
1. Add coffee grounds to your compost pile - Coffee grounds can be added to your compost pile along with other organic materials like kitchen scraps and yard waste.
2. Use coffee grounds as mulch - Coffee grounds can be used as mulch around your plants. This will help suppress weeds and protect your plants’ roots from extreme temperatures.
3. Apply coffee grounds directly to your lawn - You can apply coffee grounds directly to your lawn by either scattering them evenly or concentrated in one area. If you choose to do this, make sure that you rake the grounds into the grass so that they come into contact with the soil.
4. Mix coffee grounds with water - Another option is to mix coffee grounds with water to create a liquid fertilizer. This can be done by steeping a cup of coffee grounds in a gallon of water for 24 hours. Once the mixture has steeped, you can apply it to your lawn with a watering can or sprayer.
5. Make coffee grounds tea - You can also make “tea” out of coffee grounds by steeping them in hot water for a few minutes. This “tea” can then be diluted with water and applied to your lawn as a liquid fertilizer.
Bottom Line: Is it a Good Idea to "Water" Grass with Coffee?
Applying coffee grounds to your lawn is a simple and effective way to give your grass a boost of nitrogen. This can help promote healthy growth and give your lawn a richer, greener color. Just be sure to use coffee grounds properly so that you don’t end up with burnt grass.
Test your soil first, to make sure you're not putting excess nitrogen on your lawn, which could burn your grass. And when in doubt, always err on the side of using less coffee grounds rather than more.
Also, it's often best to do things like this in early spring before the grass starts actively growing. However, depending on the type of grass and soil you have, and what part of the country you live in, and what the Fed interest rate is, you may be able to apply coffee to your lawn in summer or fall as well. I'd ask that guy on your block who works on his lawn for 16 hours every Sunday. You can probably borrow the soil tester from him, too.
Just don't make your lawn look too good, or he'll get jealous. And we don't know exactly what he's capable of. We've seen him mowing his lawn in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain, wearing nothing but a Speedo. And that doormat that says “Fescue Me” is a little sus, too. So just be careful.
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