Everyone who knows me, knows that one of my favorite things to do when coming back to LA is to work in my Mom's garden a little bit and see how my plants have been faring and add new ones when the infamous Family Brown Thumb strikes again. This time has been no different, and I've already cleared out a few old and dead plants and begun to replace them with new ones.
One of my biggest struggles when looking for new plants is trying to find plants that are native (non-invasive, aggressive or otherwise) to California and will thrive in my climate and the limited sunlight I get in my garden. Unfortunately, it's rather hard to get native species without going to highly specialized nurseries where costs can be prohibitive - especially for those not gifted with the touch of an angel.
A second struggle is fertilizing. Most gardening websites will give suggestions on regular fertilizing schedules and pest control measures. However, wanting to be as environmentally friendly as possible, I continuously try to encourage my mother to not use fertilizer. Her sisters tend to do the opposite. It's an uphill battle, but one that I'm making headway in. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this page when searching on what I can use to replace commercial fertilizers.
Apparently, used coffee grounds are some of the best fertilizers around. Most websites say they are especially good for acid loving plants (although I've also read that this is just a common myth). Whatever the details may be, it's almost universally accepted that tossing some coffee into your soil (amend in garden-speak) is a good thing for plants. Its easy too. Just save your coffee grounds. Or, if you don't have enough or don't drink coffee, run out to your local cafe and get them to stop dumping their grounds and take them off their hands. For all the Starsuckers out there, take it easy on them - Starbucks has a corporate policy to give away coffee grounds to anyone who asks for them. Coffee grounds apparently also makes for great compost.
So don't add those used coffee grounds to your local landfill - use it for your garden, your plants, your compost, or give them to a neighbor. Or apply it to your hair. (See the first link!)
One of my biggest struggles when looking for new plants is trying to find plants that are native (non-invasive, aggressive or otherwise) to California and will thrive in my climate and the limited sunlight I get in my garden. Unfortunately, it's rather hard to get native species without going to highly specialized nurseries where costs can be prohibitive - especially for those not gifted with the touch of an angel.
A second struggle is fertilizing. Most gardening websites will give suggestions on regular fertilizing schedules and pest control measures. However, wanting to be as environmentally friendly as possible, I continuously try to encourage my mother to not use fertilizer. Her sisters tend to do the opposite. It's an uphill battle, but one that I'm making headway in. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this page when searching on what I can use to replace commercial fertilizers.
Apparently, used coffee grounds are some of the best fertilizers around. Most websites say they are especially good for acid loving plants (although I've also read that this is just a common myth). Whatever the details may be, it's almost universally accepted that tossing some coffee into your soil (amend in garden-speak) is a good thing for plants. Its easy too. Just save your coffee grounds. Or, if you don't have enough or don't drink coffee, run out to your local cafe and get them to stop dumping their grounds and take them off their hands. For all the Starsuckers out there, take it easy on them - Starbucks has a corporate policy to give away coffee grounds to anyone who asks for them. Coffee grounds apparently also makes for great compost.
So don't add those used coffee grounds to your local landfill - use it for your garden, your plants, your compost, or give them to a neighbor. Or apply it to your hair. (See the first link!)
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Dude, start a compost for your mom! Coffee grounds, fruit & veggie scraps, egg shells - get all that stuff composted and it will do wonders for the garden.
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