Kitchen Garden Forum

Instant coffee still lives at mine Colin, along with the fancy coffee machines in the cupboard!

We use ground coffee and paper filters (actually just kitchen paper) and all the grounds go into the compost. The worms seem to love them - perhaps it gives them a high?

You have just raised a memory Westi of my grans peculator bobbing away on the gas stove.

This is coming along well. I need to do far more separation of woody material and will chip stuff.

Carolcarrot wrote:I can agree with the thoughts about tea bags! I'm using ground coffee, which remains in my espresso machine after making some cups of coffee. It's really useful, but there is one problem, it takes too much time to collect lots of coffee from a home coffee machine. Anyway, it's much more better than use tea bags.

I agree with you it's better than the tea bag.

ground coffee sounds good to me, I've heard about this a lot of times from different people using coffee as a compost. I want to try this too, but since I have no coffee machine in my house, I think its time to buy one

Hi ElliotM,

Some of the big coffee shops give it away; well more accurately did. Most likely they have realised they can make a £ from it but worth a chat at any of the Hight St ones or find a little private coffee shop.

James Wong talks a lot about the bad effects of caffine on plant growth but I don't know how much caffine is left in coffee grounds. Also, I put the grounds into the compost so they will be further broken down.

Crikey, this is an old thread! I am somewhat obsessed with composting.

Today we received a delivery of bird food, the packing is semi-shredded cardboard and that goes into the compost bin.

Delighted that magazines are now delivered in either a recyclable paper envelope or compostable potato-starch based wrapper. Incidentally, those wrappers keep fruit and veg ever so fresh in the fridge so can be used a few times before going into the compost bin.

Friends down the road have got rid of their compost bin "because they didn't use it". Do you think it would be appropriate if I took them a lidded bucket and asked them to put their compostable kitchen waste in it for me? Might that be the end of a long friendship or maybe they will re-think their own composting? They have lawns front and back - I might as well have their grass cuttings too! And their potato-starch based wrappers. Maybe a lidded bucket won't be big enough. Maybe this isn't a good idea at all!??

Difficult question. Even out here in the middle of nowhere some neighbours pay the annual fee to have their green bin emptied by the council and I think "I could compost that". I have six bins of over a cubic metre each. I have decided not to offer, getting them here would be awkward. If your neighbours are also paying for disposal and the route to your house is easy you could offer to empty them for them. Bear in mind if they are proud of their lawns front and back they may be using nasty chemicals on them.

Geoff, too difficult.

In similar vein, I have spoken to several tree surgeons as I have seen them working, asking if they could dump the day's chipping at the garden where I volunteer as we need stuff for paths and mulch underneath a shrubbery. All are very polite but nothing happens.

As stated by Geoff you have to be aware of what chemicals are being used, which can be difficult.

Used to use neighbors cut grass until saw the gardener spraying something on it.

Thought I had good supply of shredded paper until found the remains of the plastic window from the envelope in compost.

Read the other day that hair is good for composting.
Got to thinking with 6 hair dressers in town I could be onto a good thing then thought perhaps all the stuff used on hair would not be good.

Possible check out the dog groomers, cant see them using the stuff humans use on hair.

Stephen wrote:Geoff, too difficult.

In similar vein, I have spoken to several tree surgeons as I have seen them working, asking if they could dump the day's chipping at the garden where I volunteer as we need stuff for paths and mulch underneath a shrubbery. All are very polite but nothing happens.

They can make a mint on it. Asked one the other week and he charges £60 for a 0.9 cubic metre bag delivered. He can get two on the transit style pickup he was using.

Peter, is the value as bio-fuel? It's an awful lot to pay for mulch or path material.

Stephen wrote:Peter, is the value as bio-fuel? It's an awful lot to pay for mulch or path material.

That is for mulching use.