Such a thing as too much coffee?

[Cassandra]

Not for people obviously. That would be silly. People can't get too much coffee. LOL

I mean for a compost pile. I've been working on mine! Y'all would be proud. I started a pile and I'm waiting for my husband to get me some free palets from the newspaper so that I can build a wall around my pile.

My question is: Is it possible to put too much used coffee grounds into the compost bin? And should I put the filters in there as well?

I make coffee at work--four or five 7 cup pots a day. The first pot of the day is regular, the rest of the day we drink decaf. Can I add all of this to my pile or would it be too much? Is this considered green material or brown?

Thanks,
Cassandra

 

[pjkobulnicky]

This may be obvious and I apologize but the answer depends on how much else you are adding to your pile. Coffee grounds are fairly acidic and have little nutrients in them. They will take a lot of nitrogen just to decompose properly. If they are a small percentage of your total pile then no problem but if they are a majority of the pile then you need to think about limits. Do you have any acid-loving plants or shrubs that you can use the coffee grounds to mulch around rather than putting them into your pile?

Paul

 

[Cassandra]

Thanks, Paul. I have been doing a little more research as time permitted today and discovered a lot along the lines of what you said. I will just limit the amount I bring home to match what I can use.

My bigger problem with composting altogether seems to be that I don't have nearly enough brown material. I mean--almost nothing. I do have some oak leaves to rake up, but I had mainly been using those for mulching. And I hope to continue if possible.

I do have access to a few bags of cedar shavings at work I could use. But I have heard that cedar NEVER rots. I guess that would automatically exclude it from composting?? (seem sort of counterproductive, doesn't it?)

What else can I use for brown?

Cassandra

 

[Nifty]

Cassandra, I get lots of brown from the pine shavings I put under my chickens. You may also find a local saw mill, cabinet maker, etc. that want to give it away for free. From my local craigslist:

We generate 6-8 cubic yards per week of all organic redwood sawdust. We put it in large canvas bags that hold 1 to 1 1/2 yards. Looking for someone to take it on a regular basis. Is great for making organic topsil, animal bedding, etc. We have 10 bags available for immediate pickup.
You will need a truck or trailer to transport. We load them with forklift. They will not fit in your car or minivan.

 

[Cassandra]

Cassandra, I get lots of brown from the pine shavings I put under my chickens.

Nifty! I just started doing that because of you (like two days ago I started)

I'm gonna use that, too!

And I will start looking for sawdust. I would have thought that redwood would be like cedar. I guess it is not. Cause I know cedar makes horrible pet bedding.

Cassandra

 

[pjkobulnicky]

I've reported this elsewhere so sorry for the duplication.

We use Good Mews for kittly litter. It is recycled newspaper. We buy unscented. We religiously and quickly remove the fecal matter and flush it. But the urine soaked litter makes great coarse matter for the compost pile and if you are a good composter you can use it in your veggie garden. If you are worried, use it on flowers.

In general, use shredded paper. Office shredders are a great source but try to use white paper as some inks can be a problem. Shredded newspaper (black and white) is terrific coarse matter.

In the fall, save your raked up leaves in bags for use later.

See what your local government has in the way of leaf piles or such. Find out where the local tree pruners who work for the power companies dump their shredded branches. See who keeps horses locally and ask for old bedding.

If you do chickens (as many BYC folks do) and slaughter them, chicken feathers are great and contain a lot of good nutrients.

Hope these are some good ideas.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Coffee grounds are not acidic. If you want more information on using them, read this .

I hear that Starbucks will give you their used grounds for FREE, in a bag, with a sticker on it. Some chains may not, but this is Starbucks policy.

The article I linked to also mentions that you should limit coffee grounds to 25% of the compost pile.

Edited to add last paragraph.