Perk Up Your Soil

As a youngster, I remember my grandmother putting used coffee grounds in her flower beds. Can you tell me why?

—Judy Dupre, Alpine, California

Melinda:

Past generations have provided many wonderful examples of Earth-friendly gardening. Recycling plant scraps and coffee grounds into the garden is a great way to improve the soil, while decreasing the amount of reusable materials entering the landfill.

Coffee grounds add organic matter and small amounts of nutrients to the soil. You can work the grounds into the soil, spread them onto the surface as mulch or mix them, filter and all, into the compost pile. Some gardeners even use coffee grounds as a slug deterrent. They spread the grounds on the soil around hosta and other slug favorites.