Just read about coffee ground use in the garden and had some questions...

[Ruby Reason]

The link was posted in the household spot, but I thought gardeners would be a better reference in this case...
It stated that overall grounds are a great fertilizer for most plants, but not tomatoes. What other plants don't care for coffee grounds?
Also, we have been working on compost which is ready to be spread this spring. It has a lot of coffee grounds in it. Will this adversely affect any of our plants such as the tomatoes?
Coffee grounds were listed as a deterent for slugs and ants as well as for cats. Does it also work for rabbits?
I'd like to try some of the gardening ideas without harming my plants.
Thanks!

[CottonBear]

1. Coffee grounds can repel moles.

At the botanical garden in my area, the horticultural staff use coffee grounds (from locally roasted beans which were freshly ground right before brewing) and tea leaves as an organic method of repelling moles which have damaged shrubs and bulbs in the display gardens.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. I don't think of them as a fertilizer so much as good for the soil structure -

I just dump them into my compost bin as one of the components. Great stuff - I always look for bags of them at Starbucks.

[randr]

3. I throw them off the deck into the yard

Greenest spot around the whole house.

[ge26252se]

8. +1

[HopeHoops]

4. Compost them. Nightshades don't like them directly applied. As for rabbits...

... we've got them everywhere, including one in our bedroom. I got a sugar shaker (the kind they used to have in diners) from Dollar Tree and make a mix of cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. None of them are acidic. I shake it around the plants and it generally works. I also get big bottles of cheap (and not very flavorful) hot sauce, like Texas Pete's, and put that around the perimeter. Do NOT let that get on the plants and don't spread it too close to them because it is vinegar-based. They don't like the smell.

Rain is the biggest problem with those deterrents. Fortunately I have two dogs that love to chase bunnies (other than our own). Both can catch them, but they don't hurt them - just scare the shit out of them. The dogs know to use the walkways and not run through the beds so it works out well.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Coffee grounds are acidic,

so any plant that does not like acidity will have problems with coffee. If you have plants, just check to see if they prefer an acid soil or not before you use them.

With that said, I have not had any problems with compost that has coffee grounds in it. It is possible that the composting leeches some of the acid out. I find that grounds are great for working into the soil to give it more texture and it keeps my clay soil looser and easier to work with.

[Ruby Reason]

6. Thanks for all the great ideas and information.

It should at least be interesting to try using them. I'm getting very excited to be outside and working this spring.

[Kolesar]

7. Coffee grounds are the only source of nitrogen and potassium for my vegetable garden

Well, almost, I do use greensand for more potassium. I will use horse manure, but transporting manure in a compact car has been a problem .

Coffee grounds and other seedmeals are a potent fertilizer. The garden center sells Espoma brand cottonseed seedmeal that serves the same purpose as the coffee grounds I get at Starbucks. For free

I use about one bag of coffee grounds from Starbucks per each 70 square feet of raised beds.

[JDPriestly]

9. Kolesar, is your soil high or low PH, alkaline or acidic?

[Kolesar]

10. We over-limed it and it became alkaline, pH = 7.5 on the last test

When I scuffed off the sod from the lawn to create a new planting bed, the soil measured acidic at about pH=6.0. However, we overlimed the old beds. So, acidic coffee grounds would not be a problem.

The soil was so alkaline that some potatoes developed the "scab" infection, so for the next few seasons, we will be applying fertilzers that are carefully selected to *not* add any calcium or magnesium. That means synthetic nitrogen, and potassium, and no coffee grounds/seedmeal. I am using a soil consultant/agronomist.