Expert reveals the kitchen waste item that can help you create a green and healthy lawn

News
By published

This one morning pick-me up can do wonders for your lawn

Striped lawn
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

If you’ve already given your lawn its first cut of the year, you may think it’s seen better days. The winter months can leave our lawns looking underwhelming with yellow and brown patches rather than a lush green carpet.

But before you get out your normal lawn care products, take a look at your kitchen waste. There’s one item in your kitchen compost that will provide the essential nutrients your lawn needs to kickstart its growth after the dormant season.

Turf Technologies explains how coffee doesn’t just revitalize us in the morning; it can boost our lawns, too. However, where we benefit from the caffeine hit, our lawns gain from the minerals, nitrogen and phosphorus that coffee contains.

How do coffee grounds benefit your lawn?

Coffee grounds on wooden spoon

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The coffee grounds work as a fertilizer to add essential nutrients to your lawn, and the real benefit is that they are released slowly, unlike the instant hit we get from caffeine. Turf Technologies says this is the opposite of most synthetic products, while coffee grounds give sustained nutrients for longer, ensuring stronger turf.

The coffee grounds work as a fertilizer to add essential nutrients to your lawn, and the real benefit is that they are released slowly, unlike the instant hit we get from caffeine.

The company also explains that this natural approach is also much kinder on your lawn, as coffee grounds don’t have any adverse effects, “unlike a synthetic fertilizer, where the incorrect application can have disastrous effects like burning the lawn and contaminating the water runoff.”

And apart from the coffee grounds benefiting your lawn, the worms love them, too.

“Earthworms eat the coffee grounds and, in return, aerate your lawn and encourage beneficial microbial activity,” say the experts at Turf Technologies.

Amazing Stuff for You Garden Gloves (2-pack)
Amazing Stuff for You Garden Gloves (2-pack): $9 at Amazon

These garden gloves are made of nylon and nitrile and come in three sizes — small, medium and large. They offer excellent non-slip properties, are comfortable around the wrist, breathable and machine washable. At Tom's Guide, we recommend them as the best overall gardening glove.

View Deal

Recycling your waste

Coffee grounds sitting in a white container

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

So, whether you own one of the best coffee makers or best espresso machines, save your leftover coffee grounds for your lawn.

“Coffee grounds are an eco-friendly, no-waste lawn product,” adds Turf Technologies.

How to apply coffee grounds to your lawn

Coffee grounds on garden trowel in garden

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The best approach is to scatter them. Turf Technologies suggests, “Simply throw them out there and let them lay where they fall. The worms will work at them to break them up, or they’ll eventually get spread when you mow.”

You can also rake them across your lawn to avoid any clumps.

Another method is to mix the coffee grounds with water when you irrigate your lawn – adding about 500g per 20L of water. Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, Turf Technologies recommends drilling ¼-inch holes into the bottom of a small bucket, adding the grounds, and walking back and forth across your lawn spreading the natural fertilizer.

The coffee grounds can be applied every month or two to encourage a thick turf.

You might also be wondering if you can still plant grass seed in June - here's what the experts say.

More from Tom's Guide

Camilla Sharman
Camilla Sharman
Staff Writer, Homes

Camilla is the Homes Staff Writer and covers everything to do with homes and gardens. She has a wealth of editorial experience, mounting over 30 years, and covers news and features, tests products for reviews and compiles buying guides. 


Her work has appeared in business and consumer titles, including Ideal Home, Real Homes, House Beautiful, Homebuilding & Renovation, and Kitchen & Bathroom Business. She’s even appeared on the cover of Your Home, writing about her own house renovation.


Although she’s obsessed with decorating her home, she also enjoys baking and trying out the latest kitchen appliances. But when she’s not inside, you’ll find her pottering about in her yard, tending to her vegetable patch or taking in her prized hydrangeas.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.