Can you use instant coffee instead of coffee grounds on plants?

[Panda]

When looking up how to care fo gardenias and other acid loving plants it says to add coffee grounds, is instant coffee too strong even if it's extremely diluted? I don't know where to get hold of coffee grounds, I do have peat moss that I use to make a potting mix for all of my other house plants is that generally enough acid until they are repotted or is it still beneficial to add coffee periodically?

 

[alp]

Some people say that coffee grounds should be composted first instead of being used neat. I do know that coffee grounds turn to happy breeding bed for mould.

Costa or Starbucks give away their coffee grounds. Apparently they have a label on the coffee grounds for gardeners to take away. Some reader even said he/she reused the grounds to make a free cup fo coffee! LOL!

Coffee is reported to raise the acid level and I was told that it could benefit acid loving plant such as blueberries, camellias, rhodos..

 

[TeamAquaLeader]

I'm pretty sure processed instant coffee has been treated and had too much alteration to work as well as coffee grounds.

 

[MaryMary]

Panda, please, believe me when I tell you that instant coffee is not coffee!!

When they tell you to use coffee grounds, they mean used coffee grounds. I'm sure if you were to ask at a local coffee shop, gas station, or even at a restaurant, they would probably save coffee grounds for you.

I found this, which may be helpful!

Use a fertilizer containing ammonia. In a lot of cases, all you need to do to acidify soil is use an ammonia-based fertilizer. Many of the fertilizers which are used for acid-loving plants contain ammonia sulfate or sulfur-coated urea.

• Calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate should not be used as fertilizers, even if they do contain ammonia. These fertilizers actually raise the pH of your soil.[10]

https://www.wikihow.com/Acidify-Soil

 

[Chuck]

Yes, you can, but, it is VERY fast acting and doesn't work long. I would not use it except for a quick pick me up on plants. I definitely won't drink it.

 

[Marck]

Any coffee grounds I obtain, I scatter throughout my in my garden. It is an excellent nutrient-rich organic matter.
Of course, when fresh it is not composted, but it does break down fairly quickly. People who hot compost should treat coffee grounds as a Nitrogen-rich 'Green', despite its dark brown color. Inquire at any establishment that sells brewed coffee, they may have grounds they can give you.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Sorry for the question, but does anyone have contacts from a coffee packaging company?

Not sure why you asked that. We are talking about recycling used coffee grounds, so a coffee packaging company would not be much use to you. They only have fresh coffee.

This is a good use for spent coffee grounds and there is a lot of it. The only other use I know is for making compressed fire logs. Smells great when they burn!