Native Plants
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Thursday - February 05, 2009
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Compost and Mulch, Soils
Title: Coffee grounds as mulch into vegetable beds
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Can you put too much coffee grounds as mulch into vegetable beds?ANSWER:
Good grief! How much coffee do you drink? Seriously, we have used coffee grounds as a top dressing for rose bushes and added them to compost. We have no experience with using them on vegetables and just about all vegetables are heavily hybridized and/or non-native to North America, so out of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center area of expertise. We found this article from simplegiftsfarm.com on Coffee Grounds and Gardening. The fact is, coffee grounds are slightly acidic, and in our alkaline Austin soil, that is always a plus.
From Seattlepi.com we found this site Give your garden a jolt with coffee grounds, which specifically says that you can't have too much coffee grounds mulch. And, it says that ground coffee is high in nitrogen, making it a very good mulch for fast-growing vegetables.That would appear to answer your question so, go on, have another cup of coffee.
More Non-Natives Questions
Coloration problems with non-native nandinas and queens wreath in Taylor, TX
February 25, 2009 - This year my nandinas are extremely red and my queen's wreath blossoms deepened in color before the first freeze browned them out. What would cause this?
Thank you.
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Yellow jackets on non-native crape myrtles
September 25, 2008 - Hey Mr. Smarty Plants I have only 1 question. I have several Crape Myrtles that have numerous amounts (alarming) of yellow jacket bees on them. who what where when why etc? Should I be concerned? tha...
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Response to previous answer on non-native cacti
March 15, 2008 - Hi Mr. SmartyPlants,
Santa Barbara here, again. Thanks for all your effort, especially as it falls outside of the Center's general expertise. That Cacti.com is amazing and I found the answer in the...
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Failure to bloom of non-native lilac in Plymouth MD
July 18, 2009 - My five year old lilacs are not blooming, WHY?
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Native or non-native hibiscus for Kansas
August 13, 2005 - I recently purchased a 10" Hibiscus flowering plant and would like to know how to care for it. How much water and sunlight does it need and how long I can expect it to live? It is a beautiful plant a...
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