The NPK of coffee grounds is 2.28:.06:.6. They are slightly acidic, but not much. Their range is 6.2 on the pH scale. This is according to the Soil & Plant Laboratory, Inc.

The test was done, as you'll see, with Starbuck's coffee grounds which are free if you have one near you.

Good green resource, but not a complete source of food for plants.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Starbuck's Coffee Grounds Test

Thanks, again, susanlynne for your help. You are a very knowledgable gardener. Can't help but wonder if you are a Mastergardener. I've never tried the coffee grounds theory on my plants and after reading pros and cons about it, wasn't so sure I wanted to, even though I drink a lot of coffee and have saved quite a tub of grounds. Think I will give it a try and see what happens.

If you don't compost them first, I would mix the grounds in with the soil. I have read too many grounds on top of the soil can repel water. I never, never, never have that many grounds, so I can't really attest to it though!

Banana peels are very good too. I bury them around my roses if I have a lot, or compost them first.

Lisa

Lisa, the one and only rose I ever planted was done so with a banana peel. That little rose grew so well. I bet you could plant them with a lot of different plants, too.

My ground is so dry right now that it repels water! :) We were talking about that in another thread. I am probably going to have to get out there, turn on the hose, sit down on the ground and sift thru the dry soil in order to get the soil to absorb the water.

Thanks so much, Pallida. Very nice of you to say that, but I am just a home gardener that has read a lot, tried a lot of different plants over the years, some successes, a lot of failures, some I keep trying until I hopefully get them right eventually. Lisa is also an excellent gardener and I'm sure you are, too. All it takes is a love for it.

Susan

I used to go to starbucks a lot. Then, after opening their bags, I would walk back ward over my lawn and fling the bag from side to side as I distributed the coffee grounds. Then I moved. Next place I dug up lawn and put in flowers.
Then I moved... and now I am waiting till I get a place of my own before using starbucks again. :)

Oh, lets not forget the bags and bags of them that my worms worked over, when I put them in my vermicompost.

Thanks for the tips on coffee grounds. Hadn't even thought about banana peels. I remember the stories about Indians putting fish heads in the holes when they planted corn. Guess it means there are several natural amendments we can add to our planting beds that will break down and enrich the soil. I don't have a compost pile, but could certainly save scraps such as grounds, peels, egg shells, etc. Fish heads I ain't saving. Don't fish, anyway. HA.

Pruned my roses today. My poor roses and photinias (members of yhe rose family) took a beating this Winter. Here's hoping it will rain soon, and things will perk up!

Thanks,again, for the tips.

Jeanie

Jeanie...

I agree - I pruned my roses and they, too...are looking pretty sad! I'm praying for a few days of nice off-and-on rain to really soak everything WELL. That alone would do a world of good for everyone's gardens.

Sharon

Sharon,
I have this awful "gut" feeling that we are in for a long, hot, dry Summer! Since I live in south Central OK, where rain is scarce in ANY year, this is NOT good. I think I am going to start growing more and more heat and
drought-tolerant plants, such as succulents and wild flowers. They are pretty and don't run up your water bill.
Since you love roses, have you tried Belinda's Dream, Iceberg and Carefree Wonder? I'm leaning to the shrub roses that grow on their own rootstock, the beautiful hybrid teas and English roses don't do well on OK. Guess I will have to move to London. HA

Have you guys ever looked at the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas? Their roses have to grow in adverse conditions and should do well in Oklahoma. I agree that the Tea roses, like the David Austin cultivars for instance, do not adapt very well to our Oklahoma climate.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Antique Rose Emporium