I just love it when a large company like Starbucks goes out of their way to do a decent, responsible and sustainable thing to make the world a better place. They don’t have to do it. It doesn’t net them any extra cash, in fact, it probably adds some costs. But they did it anyways!
Many Starbucks locations now keep their spent coffee grounds out of the landfills and into our garden! Which is really smart when you think about it. Used coffee grounds are very nitrogen rich and although some of their acidic properties are stripped away during the percolating process, raw spent coffee grounds are best saved for your acid loving plants. They are however a perfect addition to your compost bins or a yummy treat for your worms (vermicomposting). Once composted, they can be used as a top dressing or a soil additive with the rest of your compost.
Raw un-composted coffee grounds can be used for all your acid loving plants. Or, if you have very alkaline soil (like we do in San Diego), they can be used with more fervor on most any plant species. Roses absolutely adore the nutrients from coffee grounds. So do plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries and raspberries. In fact, you can make a fertilizer “tea” with these spent grounds that will make any berry bush seem to double it’s production and growth rate. Pink hydrangeas aren’t your thing? Lowering the pH with acidic coffee grounds will turn them blue!
There’s also a lot of Magnesium and Potassium, both of which plants really like; but not a lot of phosphorus (the fruiting and flowering nutrient) or calcium, a mineral that many plants crave. So use these grounds carefully and know your soil pH levels before going hog wild!
Before I begin this post, I’d like to say how today was total providence!
I began this project around 9 am as overhead clouds hung low and fat with a promise of rain. After having THE hottest summer in recorded history, getting a day like today to work outside is truly a gift. As I labored away, which you will see below, I would often stop and look up with a ginormous grin on my face as fat drops of water pounded my face.
Exactly when I took my very last photograph after finishing this project, the sun popped out around 2pm and the heat came back with a vengeance. Just as I was slipping in the front door to sit in front of my many fans. My feelings can best be summed up via the masterpiece film A Scanner Darkly, based on the Phillip K. Dick novel. See it. Read it. Now.
I’m calling this a sign that today’s post was meant to be. That said, let’s begin.
My coastal coral tree, which I’ve written about a few times here, has proven to be quite the fast grower. Every year it doubles in size. Much to my immense pleasure. Here it is as a young pup. Also, this specimen was from a branch cutting . You can learn how to propagate coastal corals right over here. Or how to prune this tree over here.
It’s grown so damn fast that the paltry tree ring I placed lovingly around it is now dwarfed in only two years. It looks like a poor geisha girl with feet bound and shoes too tight. That, coupled with some incessant crab grass, has caused me to want to remedy the situation. Just look at this unsightly mess!
Good lord! You can’t even see the ring any more! Something must be done to free up the tree trunk as well as the carnations surrounding it. In case you’re about to cast judgment upon me for the length of my grass, rest assured it is completely intentional. This summers experiment involved some tight state-mandated water restrictions because of our continued drought.
I am proud to say that I’ve maintained a lush and healthy green lawn ALL season long. Using about 30% of the water I used in previous years. The length of the grass is all part of the experiment. A rather successful one at that. Interested in learning more? Go here.
If you’re anything like me and really love to discover new plant species by taking small clippings from their host plants you’ve most likely run into the burning need for rooting compounds. Not every plant can be simply rooted by sticking it into a glass of water. In fact, most can’t.
Now, you can purchase some hormones from The Interwebs and pay for shipping or you can go to your local marijuana… er…I mean hydroponics supply store to procure the magical tincture.
Side note: I feel I’m the only customer in the hydroponics store that’s buying supplies for plants and veggies that you don’t smoke. The aisles are filled with listless dreadlocked hippies slowly dolling out slurred sentences as they look for green cubes and grow lights. You’re not fooling anyone stoner. I like to keep my habits more private and not wear them around as fashion accessories. To each his own. However, there are some inherent dangers when dealing with white people having dreadlocks:
I feel like this joke about people with dreadlocks may be cutting into a large portion of my readership. Sustainable organic gardening and permaculture is their bread and butter. Therefore, I’d like to clarify that this is all done in humor and I have never had any problems letting anyone’s freak-flag fly! Soar into the heavens my little unkempt homies! Like the majestic penguin.
As usual, I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, rooting compounds.
You can indeed spend all this paper money (Twenty five of paper and six of coin!) on some unknown chemical mixture and dip away! Or, you can make a batch of your own natural rooting hormone at home in just a day or two. Witchcraft you say? Not exactly…
Some Science in your face!
You see plants contain certain substances that help them form new growth and save off bacteria, infection and fungi. The mighty willow just happens to be loaded with these substances which is why you can basically stick a freshly trimmed branch into the ground and it will grow into a new tree in short order.
Salicylic and Indolebutyric acids more specifically. They really help to speed up the rooting process.
The chemical structures of Salicylic and Indolebutyric acids
“But, them there chemicals are all trapped in the tree man” you say? I can dig it, but there is a simple way to leech these acids out simply by soaking the clippings!
The Witches Brew:
It doesn’t get any easier than this folks! All you need is a willow tree, or access to one. Weeping willow contains the highest levels of these chemicals by the by. So let’s get started making some homemade rooting hormone!
Here’s a detail of my willow tree. Gracefully sweeping my lovely little babbling brook. I like to trim off the tips that dangle in the water for a cleaner look which gives me exactly what I need for my willow water!
You want to fresh green new growth. The freshest and greenest you can get. That’s where all the magic hides.
You’ll only need a handful, so don’t get to greedy. In this tutorial, we’ll be making a Ball jar’s worth so adjust your needs accordingly if you want to make a large batch. The ratio of willow to water is 1:2.
Clip off the tips of the branches and then strip off all the leaves and put them into the compost bin. Then take those thin little shoots and cut them into smaller one inch segments.
Fill up your jar one third of the way with the willow and then top it off with boiling water.
Pop the lid on and let it sit for at least 24 hours. For a stronger batch, you can put the jar in the sun and let it steep for a few days.
When it’s done to your liking, strain out the willow and store the water in a cool dark place. In a cupboard it will last for about two weeks, in the fridge, it’ll last about a month. Super simple isn’t it?!
How to use the Willow Water:
This will be a little different than your usual overpriced rooting hormone.
For cuttings that can be rooted in water you can use a 50/50 ratio of willow water to regular water and leave it on a North-facing window sill to keep algae growth down. This will speed up the rooting process. You can then plant the clipping once roots have been established.
For hardwood cuttings or plants that are a bit more difficult to propagate, you’ll want to soak the cutting in full strength willow water for several hours so that the nutrients can be taken up into the cutting and then plant it in well draining soil.
for new plantings of young plants, use full strength willow water for the first few waterings to help give a boost to aid in the plant becoming established in its new home. After that, use regular water.
If an established plant undergoes stress or damage, use willow water to help give it that little extra boost.
There you have it folks! Simple, fast and 100% free and natural. It doesn’t get any better than that! And seeing as willows are all over the place, it should be relatively easy to find one that doesn’t mind a little trimming. I’d love to hear some success stories if you give this a try, so keep me posted on your experiments with mad science…er, I mean botany.
