Tomatoes are a favourite for many home gardeners, providing fresh, juicy fruit all summer long. However, growing these fruits requires more than just sun and water. According to a gardening expert, it’s important to feed these crops too to get the “best yield”.
While tomato plants are known for being heavy feeders, they can quickly drain the soil of its nutrients. This means feeding them regularly throughout the season is key, but commercial feed can be expensive. Surprisingly, according to LeAnne Samuleson, gardening expert from Prestige Botanicals, one of the best feeds is probably in your kitchen.
The expert said: “Tomatoes absolutely love coffee grounds. If you brew your coffee at home, save those used grounds and use them to give your tomato plants a nutrient boost.
“Tomatoes will grow bigger and sweeter when you use coffee grounds, and the best part is it won’t cost you a penny.”
You can even use the leftover grounds from coffee pods, recycling them to fertilise your plants.
The magic behind coffee granules lies in the fact that tomatoes thrive in slightly acidic soil.
According to the expert, coffee grounds are naturally acidic, which helps to create the perfect growing environment for these plants.
The grounds also contain nitrogen along with phosphorus and potassium, three essential nutrients that promote the growth and vitality of tomato plants.
LeAnne said: “To use coffee grounds effectively, simply take about a cup of used grounds and sprinkle them around the base of your tomato plant.
“Then, work the grounds into the top two to three inches of the soil. This method helps the grounds break down and release their nutrients, enriching the soil over time.”
For gardeners looking for a more convenient option, you could always add coffee grounds straight to a compost bin.
Over time, this compost can be used as a fertiliser, although the gardening expert warns that coffee grounds should make up no more than 20% of the compost material.
The pro added: “Excess coffee grounds can make the compost too acidic, which could end up harming your tomato plants rather than helping them.”
Gardeners could also make coffee ground tea by adding grounds to water and letting it sit overnight. This can then be used as a liquid fertiliser for the garden.
