Yes, it is a company policy to make used coffee grounds available for gardeners. Sometimes you have to call ahead. Some places just put out their grounds in a bucket for anyone to stop by and pick up. Caffeinated UCG will repel slugs. UCG is a good organic fert, but where it really shines is when you put it on a compost pile. A source high in nitrogen, it will really heat up a pile and speed up the decomposition process. Read the Composting and Soils Forum for more info.

Steve

The *bux here bag them up and set the bags inside the door, you can just walk in and pick them up. If there are none left, you can blame the gardeners that tell each other and they have gotten them all first, lol! Sometimes if there are none, you can ask, and they will bag what they have on hand for you. I pick them up on a pretty regualr basis, about twice a month.

So, how do you use them to repel slugs?

Ring around the hosta? Sprinkle them all around?

Can it go on top of mulch, or should it be scratched in?

Info please???

Rings on top of the mulch. But it only lasts for a short time. The caffeine is what repels and that eventually leaches into the ground. In the UK they sell a spray product that provides a concentrated amount of caffeine. You spray it on the ground and on the plants. Has to be reapplied after rain.

Here is a link that might be useful: Slug Snub

You can often go to other coffee shops and ask them to save their grounds for you. My son and I do this at a Caribou Coffee and get about 1/2 a garbage full after they collect them for 1 day.

Awesome. We don't drink enough coffee in our household to go around my hosta beds. I'll have to visit the local coffee shops.

The link below has the nutritional specs on used coffe grounds. The only caveat is not to put it on too thick as it will repel water after they dry out. I've been using it for years as a slug control and it seems to work best if refreshed once a month. Just sprinkle it around the base of the plant. BTW the program is called 'Grounds for Gardeners'.

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: UCG Breakdown

Thanks for the link & extra info. My hostas will be slug free this year!

I'm a gardener and I love growing trees and shrubs year round. Local Starbucks told me they sell spent coffee grounds to their special customers. I wasn't special enough to get them for free or even buy, since all their coffee grounds were already set up for their IPs.

We get a big bag everyday when my DH picks up my Shaken Green Tea Lemonade. I put a circle around the the base and pat it down. I fill in the space between the mulch and the hosta. It also keeps the clover from growing. They also save the used filters for us. I put it under the mulch to keep the weeds from coming through.

Gesila