If you are someone who grows cannabis, regardless if it is for personal use or to sell for profit, you are more than likely always interested in learning a new way to make sure you get as much as you possibly can from the cannabis plants you grow. Taking a look at means that may be more effective over the techniques you are already using.
This is especially true when you hear of something that might make your growing process more efficient without causing unnecessary harm to your plants. There are plenty of cannabis growers who are using the grounds leftover from their coffee as a fertilizer. By doing this, they not only increase the amount of their yield, but they also make their growing process easier and more efficient.
You are unable to see the potential benefits within the grounds of coffee while you are dumping them into your collection bin. Rest assured, these grounds still have plenty to offer if you are someone who is growing cannabis. While many see these coffee grounds as useless with nothing to offer, more growth will be sustained by your plants compared to an artificial fertilizer. On top of this, you won’t have to deal with the drawbacks an artificial fertilizer produces. Even more, by using coffee grounds, you will also be given the benefits of not dealing with pests and your cannabis will not be attacked by various parasites.
Coffee grounds are not only beneficial for the cannabis plant, they also play a role in regenerating and sustaining the soil used to grow the plant. Coffee grounds are easy to access, easy on the bank account, all while benefiting the ground for the next crop that will be planted. Even after their initial use, the coffee grounds are packed with caffeine, helping the cannabis plant fight competing plants for light, space, nutrients, and other factors that play a role when it comes to a plant’s growth.
There has been plenty of studies completed showing coffee grounds provide benefits for the process of growth within a plant. Here are a few of the benefits you can expect to get from growing cannabis plants with coffee grounds:
Coffee grounds serve as compost
When you ask cannabis growers who are using coffee grounds with their plants why they do it, the most common response you will hear is that the coffee grounds will serve the plant as compost. By thinly sprinkling the coffee grounds to the soil in order to sustain the plant. However, in order for the coffee grounds to be most effective, place the plants in compressed storage. This will allow nutrients to build up, making the grounds more beneficial to the plants when they are applied.
Instead of applying the coffee grounds directly to the plant, add them to the bin you are using for compost. This adds benefit to the soil through “green waste” when the grounds are finally added. The compost will become even more beneficial when wood ash and straw is added to the mixture. The growing process’s nitrogen level is increased when the coffee grounds have spent time as part of the compost bin. This produces food for the plant and is also significant for chlorophyll and photosynthesis. Any nitrogen deficiency that could affect the growth of the plant will be improved.
Improves acidity
The acidity of the soil is increased with the addition of coffee grounds. If one of your goals is to produce a thriving yield, this is a huge plus for a cannabis plant. The acidic pH environment for a cannabis plant needs to be between the range of 6.0 – 6.5 in order to flourish and thrive. By using coffee grounds, it’s not nearly as difficult for the soil being used to reach these levels.
If the alkaline level is too high in the environment of the soil. The pH is reduced with the grounds, adding additional benefits to the soil being used. The grinds can also be a huge help if the soil is not acidic enough, ensuring the cannabis plants will grow the way they should be.
Pest control
Along with benefiting both the plant and soil, another great benefit of fertilizing cannabis plants with coffee grounds is that it acts as a major defense against pest invasion. Parasites end up starving to death as a result of the additional acidity created by the grounds being used. They provide added security for your plants against several types of nature’s critters.
Because the nature of the grounds is micro-abrasive, it aids in repelling insects that would naturally be attracted to the plants. The coffee grounds also act as a defense against infections created by fungi such as sclerotinia. This goes back to the caffeine that is still present in the coffee grounds.
Wormfood
Vermiculture has always gained prominence in the cannabis growing industry. This is because worms are a huge benefit for the growing system. The worms are able to eat coffee grounds as food. This results in compost being produced by the worms, sustaining the growth of cannabis plants. The worm castings become beneficial to the compost, making in the best quality compost you can find. This being said, you will want to go out of your way to make sure the worm’s diet is balanced with other organic materials, making their diet more complete.
These are just a few of the ways in which cannabis plants benefit from being fertilized with coffee grounds, resulting in a solid increase in production. Let us know of any results you get if this is something you decide to try.