One kitchen scrap can not only boost the growth of your roses, but could also deter pests and critters from venturing near your garden beds
Roses – like hydrangeas – are among the numerous garden plants that thrive on kitchen scraps.
One leftover ingredient that provides roses with a tremendous boost is coffee grounds. You can simply dig them directly into your garden beds, offering your plant a nutritional enhancement or assistance against unwanted pests – no composting necessary.
Regarding coffee grounds, over on the Gardening UK Facebook group, Helen Skinner asked about how to best make use of a box of them that she’d grabbed for free from her local café.
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Seeking advice from fellow gardening enthusiasts, she said: “The coffee shop down the road has let me collect a box of grounds. How is it best to use though?”
She wondered whether to blend it with water or incorporate it into the earth near the roots of her roses, rhododendrons, and azaleas, reports the Express.
The post triggered a wave of replies, with Frances Reed contributing: “I’m getting some from my local coffee shop for my roses. Been using it for years. Never fails me.” Meanwhile, Jim Saunders suggested: “The best way to use coffee grounds is to dig it into the soil around your roses using a fork.”
Garden lovers have been exchanging their top recommendations online, with Sandra Ferguson disclosing: “I sprinkle them around the base of my roses to give them a boost and they flower so much better and for longer. I then fork it in and water.”
Sandra also maintained that utilising coffee has another advantage: “Found that the coffee has even worked to repel cats and rats I’ve seen entering my garden.”
Sheryl Worthy shared her own strategy, stating: “I scatter mine throughout the whole garden. It’s great for keeping the slugs at bay too.” Rosemary Martin simply added: “And cats.”
Tracey Mclellan also revealed her method: “I just sprinkle mine over the top of the soil have done for 15 plus years now used tea bags too, and my partner drinks a lot of ground coffee.”
It’s not merely hearsay as both used and fresh coffee grounds are loaded with nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and plenty of micronutrients, making them an ideal DIY garden fertiliser.
These kitchen scraps have earned a loyal following among gardening enthusiasts, who find them effective against garden pests like slugs and snails while deterring rodents and preventing cats from treating vegetable patches as their personal toilets.
Rich in potassium, banana peels also make an excellent addition to rose plants and the peel can also strengthen the plant’s stems and produce glossier leaves.
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