Garden30 minEasy
Prepare garden beds for winter
Autumn is the best time to give something back to the soil. Coffee grounds add nitrogen to compost and attract earthworms that loosen the soil over winter.
What you need
- Collected coffee grounds
- Autumn leaves
- Grass clippings or vegetable scraps
- Rake
Step by step
- 1
Clear the beds
Remove diseased plant material. Healthy remains and spent perennials can stay as winter protection.
- 2
Mix leaves with grounds
Mix about one part grounds with three to four parts leaves. Brown leaves and nitrogen-rich grounds balance each other.
- 3
Mulch thinly
Spread the mix 3–5 cm deep on the bed. Never apply pure grounds thickly, or they form a hard crust.
- 4
Top up the compost
Add leftover grounds, filter paper included, to the compost. By spring it turns into rich soil.
Good to know
- Let the grounds dry a little first so they don't go mouldy.
- Keep grounds below about a fifth of your compost volume.