A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2003 Watering Plants with coffee?

Could somebody please tell me if this is a good or a bad thing to do. Our water supply is from a well and I'd rather not waste any more water than need be. It seems every morning there is a little coffee to be tossed out and I wondered if there is anything good or bad in regard to putting it on the plants. I don't know the correct names for my houseplants ... there is a spider plant, an ivy with a varigated leaf and a couple of very tall "trees" that have leaves that look like corn, but I simply call it "Henry"!

Using coffee on potted plants is definitely not a good idea. Coffee will make the soil more acidic. As that happens, the essential nutrients are "bound up" and no longer available for use by thr plants. Then the plants start to suffer from anemia and that cannot be remedied by adding fertilizer, only by making the soil less acidic.

It is great for azaleas outdoors though!

If you are trying to conserve water, try putting a pail in the shower with you. It'll catch some of the water and if you are careful not to get a lot of soap or shampoo in there it works great. Water from hard boiled eggs is safe, too. I am not on a well system, but I try to use 'greywater' as much as possible when safe, to conserve water resources.

I use coffee all the time to water my pythos plants in my office. I also use coffee grounds to sprinkle on the soil in my outdoor gardens.

The pythos are looking great!

Kahrah,

Eventually the coffee will catch up with your pothos and the leaves will start to turn a pale yellowish green.