Palms and coffee

[garrin]

I have always added my used coffee grounds to my compost --earthworms love them. But recently a close friend who is a brilliant plant pathologist with a real green thumb for plants (we were coworkers some years ago and were actually engaged for marriage for almost three years, so I know her well and trust her judgement) has told me that she has been discarding the used grounds around her special plants with super results for their health. So I have begun doing the same in my potted palms when the soil level gets low, so far with good results. Have any of you out there had experience with this, especially long term?

Garrin

[virtualpalm]

Garrin, I know a little about this topic with respect to cycads and less with regard to palms and other plants. My understanding is that used coffee grounds lower the pH of the soil, thereby making it easier for plants to uptake nutrients. As you said, coffee grounds also make great compost, but I know a guy in central Florida that uses 95% pure coffee grounds as his soil for growing coonties (which is our native cycad) with great results. There is also the pest control aspect of coffee that is coming to light now more than ever. It seems coffee plants have literally hundreds of alkyloids (one of which is caffeine), and some of these chemicals give them natural insect resistance. Being ground seeds of the coffee plants, coffee grounds also have many of these same alkyloids with pesticidal properties, and when used as a fresh topdress or incorporated into soil, can kill pests on contact. There is also some anecdotal evidence that some of these alkyloids may actually be taken up by some plants, thereby confering some level of systemic insecticidal properties. Below is a link to an article written by a good friend of mine for the Cycad Newsletter on the use of coffee to kill Cycad Aulacaspis Scale and other pests of cycads.

http://www.cycad.org/documents/Broome-Coffee-2007.pdf

Jody

[Palm Hound]

Garrin, I use it occasionally with my acid loving palms. I was told it wards off ants, but I have seen ant crawling over the grounds, so I am not sure it is effective for ant control. It is fast draining substrate too which is good.

David

[garrin]

We have finally (well, a couple of years ago) encountered the nasty Cycas scale here in Hawai'i; it has actually killed a lot of local cycas. But one of our palm growers fron UH Hilo has found that the scale will not cross coffee grounds on their way back up from their larval stage in the soil to the green leaves. It works! But I do believe that there is an ingredient in the coffee, perhaps caffeine or the acidity in the coffee grounds, that will protect the plants, and it seems to last much longer than the coffee grounds themselves. I think something is being taken up by the cycas roots that gives some protection. I started the coffee grounds treatment almost two years ago, then discontinued, but my two or three cycas species here are still now putting out healthy dark green fronds with no sign of scale.

Garrin

[merrill]

Hi, Garrin et al.:

There have been quite a few posts agreeing with you re' coffee grounds. I'm certainly going to start if I can find an easy source.

Best Wishes,

merrill

[virtualpalm]

Every Starbucks packages up their used grounds and makes them available for anyone wishing to use them in their garden. You don't even have to buy anything to get the grounds. They usually put them in a silver bag inside a metal bucket somewhere in the store. You can also ask the barista for grounds, and they usually give you what they have behind the counter.

Jody

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I've also noticed decreased snail activity when I use coffee grounds.

[bigal954]

  garrin said:

We have finally (well, a couple of years ago) encountered the nasty Cycas scale here in Hawai'i; it has actually killed a lot of local cycas. But one of our palm growers fron UH Hilo has found that the scale will not cross coffee grounds on their way back up from their larval stage in the soil to the green leaves. It works! But I do believe that there is an ingredient in the coffee, perhaps caffeine or the acidity in the coffee grounds, that will protect the plants, and it seems to last much longer than the coffee grounds themselves. I think something is being taken up by the cycas roots that gives some protection. I started the coffee grounds treatment almost two years ago, then discontinued, but my two or three cycas species here are still now putting out healthy dark green fronds with no sign of scale.

Garrin

I read this on here a while back. I have 2 cycads in my garden, one of which I have been fighting that scale for years and barely winning. Since I first read about coffeegrounds helping kill the scale I tried it and for the first time in years I have minimal scale on the larger of the two cycads.

Allen

[Phil]

Garrin and Jody,

Great topic and I'm sure it will reappear many times over the years. Tom's work with the coffee has been exciting. I think we should all consider it a "soil or nutritional additive" rather than as an insecticide. As an example, if I'm drinking a cup of Starbucks and don't want to finish it and just throw it on the plants to get rid of it, that's ok and legal. If I throw it on the plants to see if it kills the mealybug, that's using an insecticidal material that may not be licensed as such. It's the same with dishwasher soap solutions. Crazy world of rules/reg's. An agriculture inspector told me that anything used to "kill insects" falls into the insecticide group and needs all the environmental research, regulations and laws to be used. If you dropped some of your Borax soap while washing your hands, no problem; clean it up. If you dropped it while treating for ants, the HazMat officials would be waiting for your call.

Phil

[osideterry]

I saw something recently on TV about how the coffee plant itself fights off pests because the caffeine works like a systemic pesticide. Can't find the source I saw, but this is from wikipedia article on caffeine:

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the beans, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants.

[newtothis]

is there a general guideline or rule of thumb for how much per plant? Per foot of plant height? Potted plants?

[realarch]

Interesting thread, too bad I'm a tea drinker. I wonder if tea leaves have the same sort of qualities although one would have to drink one heck of a lot of tea. I do discard the tea leaves and bags in the compost pile.

I've also been hearing that coffee grounds and a weak coffee solution spray is a deterrent to the coqui frog. The reasoning being the caffeine is either ingested or absorbed through the frogs skin causing what is basically a heart attack. I have some skepticism, but some people swear by it.

Tim

[edric]

I put my grounds on my acid loving plats to lower PH, I wouldn't worry about using to much, just don't go crazy, Ed

[mlovecan]

Our main local pests are the ferral cats. This year, they developed a habit of using my crownshafts as scratching posts. I was told coffee grinds warded the little buggers off.

Did the trick - nice to know my palms will benefit also!

[garrin]

  virtualpalm said:

Every Starbucks packages up their used grounds and makes them available for anyone wishing to use them in their garden. You don't even have to buy anything to get the grounds. They usually put them in a silver bag inside a metal bucket somewhere in the store. You can also ask the barista for grounds, and they usually give you what they have behind the counter.

Jody

Thank you, Jody, for your info about Starbucks' used coffee grounds. I'm sure a lot of people don't know about that. Cycad growers here get bags of grounds at our local Starbucks for free also. That info might save a lot of nice Cycas species! Apparently the scale does not persist in areas with cold enough winters. The big old ones in Japan are totally scale free.

Garrin

[ghar41]

Ive been using it for a couple of years, so its still early to tell in my yard on palms and cycads. Early indications are very good....and I do notice lots of earthworms.

Around perrenials and annuals Ive noticed an immediate improvement. The best example has been with Gardenias. They've been difficult at best for me...in my alkaline soil. I put a inch thick layer around them late last year. Currently they are covered with flowers.

[PalmGuyWC]

Glenn,

That's good to know about Gardenias. I plant them and they go into decline no matter how much fertilizer and trace elements I give them. In two years their dead. I'll try once again with coffee grounds.

Dick

[Kris]

Very intreasting topic,though this kind of thread pops up quite often..but every time i learn something new.And i do not drink coffee ot tea,but my wife's mom drinks coffee and i have aksed her to collect the used up coffee powder.And i have used it gently on the top soil of cycads,palms & ornemantal plants...i do not see any difference,but one that there are no ants or visible pests in the pots where i have tried this powder.

Love,

Kris

[GREENHAND]

I use alot of coffie grounds, i get them in large bags from Starbucks that is in my office bldg. 30 to 40 lbs at a time, good stuff!

[ghar41]

  GREENHAND said:

I use alot of coffie grounds, i get them in large bags from Starbucks that is in my office bldg. 30 to 40 lbs at a time, good stuff!

Good point, Greenhand. My local Starbucks gives me the trashbag right out of the trashcan. It saves them the time of bagging it into the small silver bags.

[ghar41]

  PalmGuyWC said:

Glenn,

That's good to know about Gardenias. I plant them and they go into decline no matter how much fertilizer and trace elements I give them. In two years their dead. I'll try once again with coffee grounds.

Dick

Good luck with them. Ive found its also helpful to plant them in the acid formulation compost, full strength. This generally gives mine a good start...then the coffee grounds help them now that they are a few years in the ground. I have read that the grounds are closer to nuetral in PH, despite popular belief, so their role in helping the gardenia is likely, solely, as a soil amendment.

Also, as Im sure you know, they like full sun and HEAT!

[John Max]

[ mediterranean basin] Southern coast of the Republic of Türkiye and some basin floras. Uncovered coffee tree cultivation.
Harvesting 7 year old coffee tree. He's not in the Sera, and he's been through January in good health many times. He survived and gave quality coffee cherries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqSo6qjs7Mg

[Darold Petty]

John Max,  Welcome to Plamtalk ! 

[John Max]

 

TÜRKİYE MEDİTERRANEAN COFFEE