Coffee Grounds As Nutrient-Rich Mulch

Spreading coffee grounds onto soil as mulch provides nutrients each time you water and continues as they decompose, improving soil structure

Step 1: Dump grounds and filter papers onto soil.

Step 2: Shake grounds from filter papers. Step 3: Spread grounds an inch thick. Step 4: Water.

Dark top section is coffee grounds, lower brown stable bedding mulch went down when seeds were planted

Step 5: Distribute filter papers on top of compost pile just one-layer thick. Step 6: Add greenery on top. Step 7: Water.

Distinction between squash blossoms: Male (straight stem below blossom) on right, female (baby squash below blossom) on left.

Glorious tomato bounty. Critter-munched portions cut off and added back to the compost pile.

Blossoms and baby cucumber.

Amarcrinum's delicate pink blossoms last only 1 day each

Multicolored plumeria has a sweet fragrance.

Droopy chard in early evening will revive fine with watering.

August Pride peach first harvest.

Single monster-sized Cherokee Purple.

     With the popularity of coffee-drink stores like Starbucks and Peet’s and so many others – seemingly on nearly every block in shopping areas – gardeners have nearby and plentiful access to this free nutrient-rich resource.  While it can be composted, its great advantage is that it can be applied directly to garden beds.  
      Spreading the grounds an inch thick and watering in provides slow-release nutrients to the soil and plant roots, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper.  As they decompose naturally, and you incorporate them into the soil between crops, the grounds’ slight acidity also aids the soil structure.
     With many Starbucks, Peet’s and other vendors eager to have their grounds taken by gardeners instead of having to throw them away, they’re available for free, many times already packaged up.  What a bargain!
              
Here’re the simple steps I take
1.      Dump the bag of grounds and their filters onto the soil. 
2.      Shake the grounds off the filters. 
3.      Spread the grounds about an inch thick.
4.      Water the grounds so they’re thoroughly moist.
5.      Distribute the filters on top of the compost pile, preferably only one layer thick since the dry ones will repel water and take longer to decompose.
6.      Add a layer of greenery on top of the layer of filters.
7.      Water the compost pile to thoroughly moisten the filters.
 
Manure Is Another Nutrient-Rich Mulch
       Manure can be applied as a  mulch  directly  onto  globe  artichokes, asparagus,  cabbages and other cole crops,  cucumbers, melons, sweet corn, and squash -- but  don't  let it touch the stems or foliage,  as it will burn  them. 
     Keep high-nitrogen fertilizers away from beans, beets, carrots, parsnips,  sweet and white potatoes, and tomatoes, or there'll be more foliage than fruit.
 
Watering
    Continue   watering  and  feeding  the  entire  garden  with  a  balanced fertilizer  and manure tea or fish emulsion every other week or so for  steady growth  and  food production.   Foliar sprays of liquid  seaweed  help  trees, vegetables,  fruits,  and  ornamentals  withstand heat  stress.  
     Pay  special attention to shallow-rooted plants, which wilt and dry out quickly in hot, dry weather.   Remember to not overhead water late in the day during warm weather, when leaves can't dry off by sunset, as this encourages diseases.
​      Tomatoes  and other large plants in loamy clay soil use about one inch of water  in three days of hot dry weather.   Rinse the undersides of leaves with water to discourage spider mites.
​      Water  and  fertilize melons deeply once a week for  juicy,  fleshy fruits.   Hold  off irrigating melons about a week before they will ripen so their sugars will concentrate.
​     Soak  strawberry beds and fruit and nut trees every other week this month if the weather's especially hot.
​    Keep citrus and avocado trees well-watered through the summer.   Build  a basin  for water to soak in deeply,  but start it one foot away from  the trunk to prevent crown rot.
 
Propping Up Vine Fruits
​       Protect  vine crop fruits like melons and squash from snails and slugs by lifting the fruits or vegetables onto cans,  berry baskets,  or boards.  Metal  cans  speed ripening and  swetening  of  melons  by concentrating the sun's warmth and transfering it to the melons.
    Place  ripening melons onto upside down aluminum pie pans or cans to keep them  off the damp soil.   The reflected heat and light will help  them  ripen evenly and sooner than when they are shaded by foliage.