I don’t drink coffee. I know… how weird, right? Both of my parents were coffee drinkers, but I’ve never developed the taste for it. So, about once a month, I have to take a cup of coffee and a container of coffee grounds home from my office. The brewed coffee is mixed with henna for my hair, and the coffee grounds go into the soil in my garden. My gardenias especially love a bit of coffee every spring and summer.
Craig Morell, the horticulure expert at Pinecrest Gardens, also uses coffee for his garden – not his hair. And now he is looking for restaurants to donate their coffee grounds to Pinecrest Gardens, too. According to their website:
A few months ago, he had a flash of inspiration: “Why not expand my home-garden usage of coffee grounds as an organic soil supplement to a larger scale, say…Pinecrest Gardens?” Gardeners have used coffee and tea grounds for decades on the soil of “special” plants like gardenias and roses, so why not use the artwork of a local barrista to our best purposes?… and so “Coffee for You in the Morning, For Your Garden in the Evening: Grounds for your Grounds” was born.
The local Starbucks have been donating their coffee grounds for the pilot program and Morell has seen “noticeable” benefits already. So if you own or manage a South Florida restaurant and would like to participate, contact Craig Morell by email at gardens@pinecrest-fl.gov
