Did you know that one of the best ways to help fertilize and power your tomato plants to healthy growth and an incredible harvest is to plant coffee grounds right along with them? And that you can keep on using coffee grounds on your tomatoes in all kinds of ways to energize them all summer long?
It’s true! Coffee grounds lend a helping hand to tomato plants in a whole slew of ways. For starters, the grounds left over from making from your morning cup of coffee contain all kinds of nutrients that tomatoes love.
But beyond simply acting as a fertilizer for tomatoes, coffee grounds also help the dirt where your plants grow as well. When mixed into the soil, they help to add soil structure and humus, allowing roots to grow far easier and faster.
Even better, those same grounds also help the soil around your plants absorb and hold more water. And if all of that wasn’t enough, they can prevent slugs from damaging your plants too. All for free!
Why You Should Plant Tomatoes With Coffee Grounds
There are actually 4 separate and unique ways to use coffee grounds to grow great tomatoes. And the very first, and coincidentally by far the most powerful and important of all, is right when your put your tomato plants in the ground on planting day.
Planting Coffee Grounds With Tomatoes
No matter if you grow your tomatoes in a traditional garden setting, in raised beds or in containers, mixing coffee grounds in with the soil of your planting hole will give them a huge boost early on. Why? Because coffee grounds are filled with power!
Coffee grounds contain all three of the main nutrients tomato plants need for strong growth and production. That includes nitrogen for fast stem and foliage growth, phosphorous to help with developing strong roots and better nutrient intake – and potassium for plant health and overall fruit flavor and taste.
Without these three vital minerals, tomato plants simply struggle to grow. But tomatoes also need other important nutrients to grow, flower and fruit. Nutrients like calcium for good fruit development and to avoid blossom end rot. And magnesium to help power photosynthesis. See: How To Prevent Blossom End Rot
In addition, they also use and require small traces of iron and zinc as well. And guess what? Spent coffee grounds contain all of them. Even better, it’s in a form that the roots of tomato plants can absorb quickly and easily.
By simply mixing in 1/4 cup of spent coffee grounds into each planting hole, you can help give your young tomato plants the energy they need right from the start.
Those same coffee grounds also happen to hold twice the amount of their weight in water. That, of course, can be key in helping to keep your young plants hydrated as they hold moisture right near the roots of your plants where they need it most.
Using Coffee Grounds Above Ground – Why You Should Plant Tomatoes With Coffee Grounds
As much as coffee grounds help in the planting hole, they can help plants above ground too. After you finish planting, scatter three to four tablespoons of grounds around the base of your plant. This simple task can actually aid your plants in two great ways.
First, every time it rains or you water, the grounds will leach more of their power down to the roots. It’s the perfect low and slow fertilizer for tomatoes – and again, it’s free!
But don’t stop with just one application. You can actually continue to apply a few tablespoons every three to four weeks all summer. This will keep a constant low and slow supply of nutrients soaking into the soil for your plants.
Not only will this power your tomato plants, but it will help improve your soil. As the coffee grounds break down, they add humus and structure to the soil. It’s a win-win for your tomato plants, and for building healthy soil for future crops as well. And it can help stop a common pest too!
Using Coffee Grounds To Stop Slugs – Why You Need To Plant Tomatoes With Coffee Grounds
When placing coffee grounds on the soil, they also have another benefit. One that can help save your plants from attacks from slugs. As it turns out, slugs struggle to crawl across coffee grounds. The sharp edges can injure their thin outer skin, causing them to dry out and eventually die.
When putting your grounds on the soil, apply a small ring a few inches around the main stem. When slugs try to crawl across to hitch a ride, it can stop them in their tracks.
Using Old Coffee / Weak Coffee As A Liquid Fertilizer
Yes, there is still one more way you can use coffee grounds to help your tomato plants. And in this case, it’s using the grounds to make a liquid fertilizer.
Once the grounds of your coffee have been run through your coffee maker, they are not as strong. By simply running a second pot of water through the old grounds, you are left with a wonderful, all-purpose fertilizing tea.
As it turns out, weak coffee is perfect to water your tomato plants with. In fact, it is great for using on all kinds of vegetable and flower plants to give them a little boost of energy. And if you happen to have leftover coffee, simply dilute it in half to use as well.
Of course, it’s always important when doing this to allow the coffee to cool to room temperature before using. Here is to using the power of coffee grounds to power your tomato plants this year!
Simple Garden Life
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