After a long, scorching summer, many gardens have been left with lawns looking parched, patchy and barely clinging to life. The prolonged dry spell has taken its toll, leaving grass brown and sparse while also encouraging weeds to take hold.
However, with cooler temperatures arriving and winter still some way off, there's still time to restore your lawn to its former glory. According to gardening enthusiasts, one kitchen waste product that most people simply bin could prove invaluable – coffee grounds.
Why coffee grounds help lawns
Jim and Mary Competti, boasting over 20 years of hands-on gardening experience and the voices of This Is My Garden, have highlighted that coffee grounds can “improve your lawn” during the autumn months.
They said: “Coffee grounds are perfect for raking into lawns to help fertilise the grass and add organic matter to the top layer of the soil.”
“Spent grounds are filled with phosphorus, nitrogen, and other trace minerals. These minerals are vital for healthy, green, lush lawns.”
“When raked into lawns, the grounds slowly break down, leaching these nutrients into the soil – much like a synthetic fertiliser would be, but without all the chemicals.”
Furthermore, coffee grounds are also tremendously beneficial for earthworms. As the worms burrow through the soil, they consume the easily digestible grounds, producing worm castings while simultaneously aerating the soil in the process.
How to apply coffee grounds to your lawn
There's no need to stockpile vast quantities of spent coffee grounds. Simply scatter them on a daily or weekly basis to start feeding your lawn.
Simply allow your used coffee grounds to cool and dry out slightly before getting started. Scatter them across the lawn, aiming to use roughly a cup per square yard of grass.
Give the area a gentle watering once you've spread the grounds. This will help them work their way through the thatch and down into the soil beneath.
Take care to distribute the coffee grounds as evenly as possible, rather than leaving them in clumps on the lawn. Alternatively, you can deposit the grounds in several small piles and use a rake to spread them across the desired area.
