Or you could get lots of free coffee grounds from a local business that makes lots of coffee, e.g., Starbucks. I get about 15 pounds a day of coffee grounds. Then in the fall I collect bags of leaves in the neighborhood, grind them up, and add them to compost piles the next year. _________________ John Henry Wheeler Washington, DC
John. An interesting scavange, free used coffee grounds. What arrangements did you put in place with starbucks to get them? How do Starbucks 'store' their waste grounds and in what receptacle do you get it home? Do you throw them straight in with your existing compost? If so, what do you add to the grounds in the way of carbon (and how much) to get the correct ratio?
Rob
ps have you ever tried drying them and using a bulk amount to brew a cup of coffee?
Nearly 10 years ago, I got the idea from my sister who collects coffee grounds from her local coffee store. I asked the owner of a coffee and juice store near me if he would save coffee grounds and orange rinds for me and he agreed. This went on for about 4 years until he was evicted for not paying rent. Then I asked the manager of the Starbucks 3 blocks from my house if they would save coffee grounds for me, and they agreed. They have a trash can with a trash bag in it behind their expresso machine. So the expresso grounds go right into the can, and is already bagged. I pick up the bags nearly every day except in the Winter and carry them home. It is now the official policy of Starbucks to make used grounds available to its customers. They package it in large empty bags. My Starbucks doesn't often do that because I get the grounds first. I don't worry much about the C/N ratio. I compost in a container called a "Bio Stack." The last batch I started with a "Supercan" of ground leaves,
16 bags of coffee grounds (probably averaging 12-15 lbs/bag), and 8 gallons of kitchen waste I'd collected for several weeks. It's about 3' x 3' x 2.5' I plan on adding more leaves and a little more coffee. Because I get so much coffee, I don't compost it all. Instead I throw some of it directly on my plant beds. No I've never tried to brew coffee from the grounds. Nearly all the caffeine and good flavors are extracted when made. I suspect it would not taste very good. _________________ John Henry Wheeler Washington, DC USDA Zone 7
I don't think it makes much difference to the compost process if the pile is in the sun or shade. Sun will dry it out some, so more water will need to be added. I compost in the shade for 2 reasons: 1) I'd rather work in the shade, and 2) It's an area where fewer plants will grow. I've had 3' diameter piles that were frozen on the outside and 140 degrees on the inside. Turning a pile really helps with complete composting. _________________ John Henry Wheeler Washington, DC USDA Zone 7
Can I take it that you batch compost John, when you do, rather than continuous compost?
rob
Actually it's a combination. Every two months, except now during the winter, I make a batch and then daily add kitchen waste to it until I start the next batch. I've experimented with many different things (e.g., cat hair, cotton clothing, shrimp shells, magnolia cones). _________________ John Henry Wheeler Washington, DC USDA Zone 7
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