Perk Up Your Plants

Four smart ways to use coffee grounds in the garden

- MELINDA MYERS

Once you've enjoyed your morning brew, consider putting the coffee grounds to work in your garden. These four ideas for recycling coffee grounds keep a valuable resource out of the landfill -and your precious plants will reap the benefits.

Compost 

Dump the daily discards-both the paper filter and the grounds - right into your compost pile, but be sure they're cooled off. The microorganisms in the compost will help turn them into a rich soil amendment. Moderation is important when composting coffee grounds. Your pile should contain no more than 20% grounds in the overall volume. Once decomposed, the coffee-rich compost is ready for use in your gardens and containers.

Mulch