Coffee with Chocolate Muffins

Last week, I mentioned that I have made a new veggie bed which my dogs have mistakenly thought was a doggie bed.
They love to dig and lie down on it.

I thought it is an ideal time now to apply used coffee ground on the ground and especially on these new beds?

With the strong coffee aroma, the dogs are surely going to leave them alone, at least for a while.

After applying  several packets of used coffee ground all over the ground, even I myself found the coffee smell quite intoxicating.
Sorry neighbours.

Did I just spotted chocolate muffins on the ground?
Coffee with chocolate muffins...

How about some pancakes, pastries, marshmallows and a little lollipop?

While you are here, have some popcorn too.

Happy April Fools' Day!!!

Check out on what others have found "On the Ground" at Roses and Stuff.

If you enjoy macros and mosaics like I do, hop over to Macro Friday at Blogging from Bolivia and Mosaic Monday at Dear Little Redhouse.

Lemon Tree Follow-Up

My dear friend, Andrea has requested that I put up the photo of the entire lemon tree.

I managed to get Clifford to pose in front of the bush so that you could see the relative size.

The 2 photos in the collage below are taken from 2 different angles with the lemon tree behind Clifford.

I must agree with Bangchik that although caterpillars eat leaves, they do not kill the plants like termites.

My initial experience with this lemon tree was very bad.

The tree was bald most of the time.

Sometimes, I removed the caterpillars together with some leaves so that they could eat them elsewhere and leave the rest of the plant alone.

However, I didn't feel very good about that.

Eventually, I found a solution to the problem.

Instead of scarcity, why not think abundance?

I  transferred the plant from the pot to the ground.

This tree multiplied in size pretty quickly.

Very soon, there were too many leaves for the caterpillars.

I also grew a few lime trees nearby.

Caterpillars and lemon tree grew together in harmony.

There were more than enough leaves, even for the grasshoppers.

It began to flower just a few months ago, giving out wonderful fragrance.

Dear Cat, you wanted to know how much coffee ground I used.

I throw in about 5 bucketfuls last year.

However since yours is in a pot like Karin's, I suggest you use only very sparingly, to avoid toxic buildup.

I am no expert in this but just feel that it is safer to use them on the ground as the environment is more natural and balance.

Hope that helps.

If there are anyone experienced with using coffee grounds in the garden, do feel free to chip in.

Used Coffee Ground & Tea Powder

So much has been said about the advantages of using coffee ground as a fertilizer. Is it all true? There seem to be a fair bit of contradictory information floating around? I decided to use them anyway. 

Below are used coffee ground, tea powder and eggshells.
I spread these 3 ingredients around the base of plants and cover them with soil and mulch.
Let me just call this mixture the Coffee Ground Mixture.

I also throw some into the compost pile which seems to become very hot with it.

I have been spreading them in the garden for over a month now. Altogether, I must have saved about 40kg of unwanted stuff that normally would end up in the garbage dump and producing methane gas...

My Experience with Coffee Ground Mixture

1. Bird Nest's Fern leaves seem greener.

2. Red Japanese Rose flower abundantly.

3. Thai Jasmine too.

3. Pink Japanese Rose looks prettier.

(Of course this is just my imagination)

4. Sugar Apple begins to flower.

5. Lawn a little greener
&

6. Creeper growing from the side of the compost healthily.
(This creeper was actually one of the compost material which must have dropped to the side and then took advantage of the rich compost.)

Serious Notes to Ponder:

Is used coffee ground a miracle to the garden or a myth?

Would I say life has become a bed of (Japanese) roses after using it?

The Truth

1. Coffee ground and egg shells did not deter any snails nor slugs as claimed by many. 

I had thought perhaps the big ones are strong.

But the tiny ones are still around too.

2. My darling earthworms are becoming obese which is a good thing.

(Why should we expect earthworms to love coffee ground and snails to hate it?)

3. Coffee ground didn't poison my dogs.

(They didn't even poison the slugs!!!)

4. It does perk up the plants and probably the dog too.

(Please do not intentionally feed coffee grounds to your dogs)

4. A word of Caution here. Do not allow coffee ground to touch the soft stem of plants as it will kill the plant indirectly.

The Verdict

I will continue to use this Coffee Ground Mixture as I believe it is one of the ways to Feed The Earth and reduce wastage. If the earthworms are happy, I must be doing something right.