The summer season has officially arrived in the UK and thanks to the warmer temperatures, gardens are coming into full bloom. While the hot weather is great for spending time outdoors, it can actually be bad news for your lawn as the heat can cause dehydration and heat stress that leads to discolouration, patchiness and reduced growth. As such, it’s important to keep on top of lawn maintainance during the summer. This involves regular watering, avoiding mowing during the hottest part of the day, and raising the cutting height of your lawn mower as this helps the grass to retain moisure and protects the soil.
Using a summer lawn feed can also help to keep your grass looking healthy at this time of the year, but if you want to avoid forking out on expensive fertilisers (which often contain chemicals), gardening experts say you can get your grass looking lusciously green with one natural ingredient that you probably already have knocking around in your kitchen.
Coffee grounds are beneficial for lawns as they are rich in nitrogen which is essential for healthy plant growth. They also contain other important nutrients, including potassium and phosphorus, which can improve the overall health of your lawn.
Not only coffee grounds nutrient-rich, they can also improve soil structure by making it looser and more aerated which is good for root growth, and they also help with water retention so even in dry spells, your grass should have enough moisture.
Gardening Known How explains: “It isn’t the caffeine that stimulates healthy grass growth, but rather the nitrogen, phosphorus, and trace minerals that coffee grounds contain. These nutrients are released slowly, which is a big benefit over quick release synthetic fertilizers.
“The nutrients in coffee grounds are slowly broken down, allowing the turf to have a longer period of time to absorb them ensuring stronger turf for longer.”
Coffee grounds also act as a natural deterrent for some garden pests like slugs and snails which don’t like the caffeine or gritty texture, so it helps to keep these at bay. Plus, if you have a problem with weeds in your garden, coffee grounds can suppress them by acting as a barrier and preventing further seeds from germinating, helping to stop weeds from spreading further.
Lilydale Instant Lawns adds: “Coffee grounds are an excellent, eco-friendly way to give your lawn a nutrient boost. They are rich in nitrogen, which is a crucial element for grass growth. Applying coffee grounds to your lawn is straightforward, but it’s important to do it correctly to avoid any potential issues.”
Experts say coffee grounds need to be dry before they are applied to lawns, so if you’re using used grounds then you’ll need to allow them to dry out first. Once they’ve dried, sprinkle the grounds across your grass evenly to avoid clumping and then lightly rake them into the soil to help them integrate.
Lilydale Instant Lawns adds: “By incorporating coffee grounds into your lawn care routine, you can enjoy a greener, healthier lawn while also recycling waste.”