Hazelnut and Expresso coffee grounds in the garden

There were two coffee shops in the neighborhood who were so gracious to save their grounds for me and I picked up a bucket of coffee grounds from each yesterday.    The grounds were sprinkled over the garden and spaded in.  The whole garden had this unusual aroma of hazelnut and expresso and the bird activity really seemed to pick up - possibly the earthworm radar had gone off, they seem to love coffee grounds and must have started to migrate to the freshly spaded soil.  Coffee beans contain protein, about 12%,  which converts into nitrogen.  Using the protein to nitrogen conversion factor of 6.25:1 we can estimate about 2% nitrogen.

Should we try to use the grounds on the lawn?  Using the old rule of thumb of applying a pound of nitrogen for 1000 square feet of lawn, you would need 50 pounds of coffee grounds per 1000 sf. (considering that 100 pounds of coffee grounds X 2% nitrogen would provide 2 pounds of nitrogen in the 100 pounds of coffee grounds).

Now that's quite a bit of coffee grounds, but hey, they're free.

Alfalfa as lawn and garden fertilizer

The farm supply store was included in my stops yesterday where I picked up a bag of alfalfa pellets.  I don't have horses, but I do have a lawn.  Alfalfa contains nitrogen and in lieu of commercial chemical fertilizers, I broadcast spread the alfalfa on the lawn.  I'm anxious to see how this works, and expect it to take some time as the microbes feed on the alfalfa.

Easy Lawn Waste Composting - the LAZY GUY way

Although fall is a beautiful time of the year as the colors explode everywhere into brilliant reds and yellows, many people see leaves on the lawn as evil and the worst part of having a home. The city picks up lawn waste every week, including bags of leaves, but I stopped putting leaves at the curbs many many years ago.  Here is my "oh-so-simple LAZY GUY compost method".

I may be a bit crazy, but I look forward to my leaf composting ritual.  Why, because I like the win-win outcome --  not only have I eliminated the contribution of my leaves to the landfill problem, but I get to keep and use the outcome, sweet beautiful rich compost. Here's the LAZY GUY method.  Twice in the fall and once in the spring, I rake the leaves over into a long row into the middle of the side yard.  If they are wet, I spread them out and let them dry for a day.  Then, I take the mulching lawn mower and mow over the pile several times until the leave chunks are small, about the size of a quarter or smaller.  Now, put the bag on the mower and mow over the pulverated pile and the mower will suck up the little chunks into the lawn bag.  Take a 33 gallon plastic bag and line a garbage can and dump the debris into the can.  Then haul the can back near the garden and grab the garden hose and fill the plastic bag about half way with water as you push the pulverized leaves down into the water.   Tie the top of the plastic bag in a big knot, tip the can over and let the bag slide out -- you might want someone to help you with this step, the water-soaked leaves are heavy.  Try to place the filled bag in a location where it will receive the maximum sunlight.  I like to use black plastic leaf bags, they absorb the sunlight and help heat the compost in the bag.  In about six months, the material in the bags is the sweetest smelling nicest black organic compost. There is no compost turning or flipping required, i.e. LAZY GUY.  You will be pleasantly surprised with the finished product which can be spread on the garden or used as mulch.

Feed 'em coffee to be perky

I went to a great presentation by an organic farmer yesterday.  A couple of tidbits I'll pass along. Coffee grounds are one of the most overlooked soil amendments for organic farming.  Most coffee houses dump them out and will save them for you if you provide them a bucket.

• Save your egg shells, crush them up after washing, and sprinkle on tomatoes, they love the calcium.
  
• Beware of using grass clippings on your veggies, they could be loaded with toxins.
  
• Alfalfa pellets are good soil amendments, lots of nitrogen.
  

I whipped up a dozen seed starting pots this morning with my crazy new Potterfactory tool that is a newspaper pot maker.   I've been using the Ferry-Morse seed mix from Lowes labeled organic, and wet it down real good right in the bag it came in. The little Potterfactory compressor thing packs the seed mix down really nice, something the old wooden one I had wouldn't do.   The newspaper pots seem to be holding up real well and I'm anxious to plant the pots and watch them degrade.  I can taste the heirloom tomatoes already, eva purple ball (in honor of my mom) and true brandywine.