Coffee Grounds

My husband is a BIG coffee drinker, so we always have a lot of used coffee grounds at the end of the day, which would normally be chucked in the bin. That was before I found out that used coffee grounds are an excellent recycling product!

I actually first discovered this at my local Starbucks, where I saw they were giving away used grounds in cute bags labeled “Grounds For Your Garden” (okay, I’m a sucker for packaging).

“..Coffee grounds can provide a valuable source of nutrition for your garden. The proper amount to be used depends on the condition of your soil and what you are growing…”

Thank you, Starbucks! So since then, I’ve been using the black stuff in my garden, yielding excellent results, although I admit that I haven’t gone as far as to use them for vermi-posting (worm composting), but I really should, once I get over my squeamishness with the little crawlers.

There are a whole host of other things you can do with used coffee grounds, some of which I wouldn’t really recommend, like putting it on your face as a mask/exfoliant (wouldn’t it stain?) or on your pets as a deodorizer, grooming aid or even for fleas (I read somewhere that it the caffeine could be toxic to animals).

But here are the things worth trying:

1. Touching up scratches on wooden furniture – use a q-tip to scrub it on.

2. Use as an insect repellent - sprinkle on areas to keep ants and other garden pests away.

3. Use as a natural dye (not on your face!) on fabric or paper (I actually used this when making treasure maps and “olde” invitations for my kids’ pirate party)

4. Use as a fridge or closet deodorizer (some suggest filling an old nylon stocking – but I find that a bit strange)

5. Use it in your fireplace as a dust guard when cleaning.

Photo via INeedCoffee

This is not as impossible as you may think, even if you live in the city. If you have a plot of ground in the backyard, you’re good. If you don’t, then get yourself some plastic containers which you can use as your “garden.” . If you are using a container, make sure that you punch holes at the bottom. This will allow the excess water to drain.

An important thing is that you place your garden in a location which has full access to the sun. Make sure that you garden has access to at least 6 hours of sunshine everyday. You also have to make sure that you have enough rich soil to plant your vegetables in. You can go to your local gardening center to get some.

When you have your plot ready, you can go ahead and plant your vegetables. Of course, before you do this, you have to know which vegetables you are going to plant. Some ideas for this summer are peppers, corn, squash, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, and all sorts of different beans.

With a vegetable garden of your own – whatever its size – you can save some money and lessen your carbon footprint as well!

If you think about it, the Obamas are not exactly pioneers in this. Past presidents have shown their own initiative during their terms. There was Jimmy Carter. There was Bill Clinton. Both of these presidents cut back the energy consumption in the White House while they were there. Even George W. Bush used a photovoltaic system and installed solar water-heating systems.

It’s Barack Obama’s turn, and he and his wife are wanting to green up the White House; walking the talk; living an example. Early on, the First Lady started with her very own organic garden containing vegetables, herbs, and fruits. They are now upping the stakes. The Obamas are planning on making the White House the first White House to be LEED certified.

This certification is actually a system that was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The aim is to take stock of buildings and see how they measure up to their standards with regard to green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance.

The project is not a small one and the results, if fully attained, will really turn things around. It might even be a great example to others who want to become LEED certified.

To start off, hopefully you would have used the pumpkin “pulp” to make a pumpkin pie, curry, fry, soup or whatever you fancy. And now that Jack has done his job adding a festive spooky atmosphere in our homes, he can still do more good in our garden.

According to our friends at Earth 911, there are more than enough reasons:

” Every year, one billion pounds of pumpkins are produced in the United States alone, including at least 100 million pounds in every state. Unlike many other aspects of your Halloween experience, pumpkins don’t come in difficult to recycle packaging, which should make proper disposal a no-brainer.

….Pumpkin seeds themselves are a strong source of nutrients, including zinc, iron and phosphorus. These are all great additions to a compost pile, assuming you don’t want to absorb these nutrients yourself in a pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie. So now that you know why to compost, let’s discuss how you do it.

Compost piles rely on a mix of nitrogen-rich greens (which will include pumpkin components) and browns (leaves, paper and other carbon-rich materials). So, Halloween is the perfect time to compost because you’ll have a bunch of leaves falling before winter that need to be raked anyway.

What you’ll be left with after the bacteria take over is a nutrient-rich fertilizer substitute for your garden. You’ll also get two stages of pumpkin compost, first when you gut it to create a jack-o-lantern and again when you smash up the shell in November.

The last benefit to composting pumpkins is that the product you’re creating is ideal for growing your own pumpkins. Lots of communities have pumpkin growing contests in October, so you might as well have an advantage based on what you’re growing with.”

If you’re somewhat intimidated by composting and have never tried it before, the 911 people have you covered, with the best resources on composting on the net. Click here and start composting today!

Welcome to Yurto, the blog about eco-friendly living in the home. Inspired by the yurt, an ancient circular dwelling place built in tune with nature, we hope to explore the ways we can all make a change for the better in the world that we live in – beginning from our homes.

Why is it so important to go green? Al Gore, who woke up the world with his now-famous documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, puts it succinctly:

“…Some of the leading scientists are now saying we may have as little as 10 years before we cross a kind of point of no return, beyond which it’s much more difficult to save the habitability of the planet in the future…”

10 years??? Now that’s a scary thought.  If you have children like me, that’s enough reason to stop procrastinating and do something about NOW.

So from plastic to canvas, wasting to conserving,  lets find ways to care for the earth while we can and live healthier, happier lives.