My Plants and I Had Coffee Together
Posted: Friday, June 12, 2009
by Ronyae
Writings by Ronyae
Who would have ever imagined giving houseplants coffee? I'm sure anyone short of being a genius wouldn't. A genius probably wouldn't have imagined it either. And although my friend is very short of being a genius, she was one the moment she showed me that sprinkling coffee grinds in a houseplant will energize them just as it does for some people. HA! Imagine my surprise when her droopy, nearly dead houseplants started rising to attention after she had given them coffee.
After I seen her plants stand to attention, I was sold. I immediately knew that I had found the solution to helping my Mother's 'sad' houseplants. Ever since my moms retired and moved to 'Bama, her plants have wilted and shown just how much they miss 'their' mommy. I was at my wit's end with trying to make sure they were watered properly; I even talked with my Mother's houseplants, trying to reason with them, and say that I empathize with the loss of 'their' Mother. It was horrible. But my salvation came in a natural, safe and recycled manner. Ordinary coffee grinds would be my hero.
Before I left my friend's home in a rush to save my Mother's wilting houseplant-children, she made sure that I knew exactly how to 'have coffee with my plants'.
Make a fresh pot of coffee, and save the used coffee grinds. You have an option of using the grinds straight from the brewing cup, or you can allow the grinds to dry out. I usually do this, because I store the dried grinds to use as I desire; and the fact being that I make a fresh pot of coffee every morning, and feeding them that much coffee on a daily basis will more than likely destroy the houseplants, rather than help them stay fresh and vibrant.
Using the grinds from the brewing cup has its benefits of having moisture combined with the feeding process. But this does not replace your ususal watering schedule for your plants. I repeat: feeding your houseplants with freshly brewed coffee grinds does NOT replace your usual watering schedule for them! Since my Mother's watering schedule is twice a week, I generally sprinkle the coffee grinds on one of the two days, then water them on the second of the two days. And I must say, my Mother's houseplant-children are almost looking like they may be okay, yipee!
Photo taken by Ranya E. Snowden(c) 2007
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Top-level comments on this article: (10 total)The key is using coffee infrequently for plants and people. Tannic acid should not be used continuously or in high quantities ad it slows down the absorption of iron and possibly other trace minerals, a main cause of bone loss in people. Something Star Bucks doesn't want anybody to know. I stopped drinking coffee 15 years ago, along with alcohol which damages the system in many ways.Jeff,Here. Here. You have stated much truth. Thanks for reading and sharing valuable information as your comment (smile).
Was a good read, not exactly my point on interest but i enjoyed it all the same.Thanks Anonymous for reading and earning points for leaving a comment.
Hi Ronyae.Very interesting article. Well written. Great suggestions. Anything that would help "sad" plants "happy" again, I am more than willing to try. Thanks for sharing this information.May your day be filled with sunshine and laughter.Best regards,NenitaGreat comment, Nenita!Thanks for reading and sharing a comment.
Great article. Well done.I have a theory how this may work. I do not think that it is anything to do with the caffeine - lots of plants use caffeine as an insecticide.I do think that if you look at the (Empirical) formula - C8-H10-N4-O2- the N stands for nitrogen which is one of the three main chemicals in fertilisers.That is a possible explanation. Though I would recommend you use other fertilisers as you only get one of the three chemicals plants need. But coffee will work - just not as well as fertilisers.WOW, Connor! You go boy (smile). That was great information, and thanks for sharing it with us. Wow. I'm asking myself, "is this guy a genius?"Carbon is naturally absorbed by plants and converted to oxygen so I doubt either carbon or oxygen will cause any problems. The 4 parts nitrogen as you rightly pointed out will do them good, much as the nitrogen found in fertilisers and liquid plant food. That leaves 10 parts hydrogen, no idea if that will cause any problems for plants, but it sure works well in balloons (so perhaps coffee works even better on rubber plants). *smile*.Even more great information, thanks Ben!
Another great job. Your title's are quite catchy :-) Thanks for sharing your experience and explaining the "how to's) of feeding plant-children.Very enjoyable read. Blessings! TeresaThanks, Teresa! I'm LOL, because you have such great comments (smile). Thanks for reading and keeping a smile on my face.
Very well done. I have given my plants coffee for years and it certainly doesn't hurt. I have so many the joke is I live in a rain forest! Coffee in moderation does help the soil (believe it or not) and livens the plant. Thanks for sharing.Thanks Michael! I appreciate you taking the time to read and share such a great comment.
As I love plants and use mostly water and top soil with fertilizer (If I think about it). I find if I do drink coffee and I am outside early in the morning walking around the house, I may give them coffee...smile... However, it was enjoyable reading.Thanks for the smile! Oh, and thanks for reading and sharing your comment. :)
Oooh, pretty, happy plants! Maybe that is what I needed all along. I have a tendency to kill plants or at the very least, they get a little angry at me. Perhaps, they were just lacking a little caffeine. Thanks for the article. Tracey :)Tracey, I see we are of the same kind (smile). I don't know either, whether or not I'm killing the poor things, or they just don't favor my kind. LOL.Thanks for reading and sharing your comment.
Great article, Ronyae. I (being no genius) heard that a certain amount of coffee was good for plants several years ago. However, since I kill all in-door plants for some reason, I never had a chance to try it.Thanks for sharing the info.SandraMs. Sandra, sorry to hear that. I'm sure you are a 'trooper', and nothing scares you away! You'll soon have another houseplant to experiment on this time! Thanks for reading and sharing a comment.
Hi Ronyae,Thanks for a fun and interesting article.I once heard that newspaper can be good for plants so I started taking my morning paper out to them each day. Truth be told though, they rarely got past the first page; I always assumed human news bored them. Now I realize they were just waiting for their morning coffee before they got stuck into it. Thanks for the heads up!Kind Regards,Ben.Ben, good one! Your plants wanted what you were having with your morning paper as well (smile). Best Regards
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