[Aunt Sally]

I do apologise for not knowing your life history and academic achievements zazen999 

I too worked in soil science at East Malling Research Station for a number of years a while ago (they've dropped the "station" now which I always though made it sound like polar exploration  ) - on how soil management affects fruit production.  A very big subject I agree but I sometimes thought that we were just documenting what the farm workers on the station already knew 

[evie2]

So is the coffee still ok to put in the compost

[Aunt Sally]

It certainly is

[evie2]

Thanks Aunty

[bigben]

While not claiming any qualification to back up my observations. I had also heard that digging in uncomposted stuff high in carbon into the soil could rob plants of nitrogen which was "borrowed" from the soil to help stuff rot down. The nitrogen would eventually be returned with interest but in the short term the depletion could cause problems. A friend told me how he managed to put one of his raised beds out of action for a year or so by digging in the sawdust and woodchip he got when one of his trees was taken down. He thought it would help improve drainage - it did but for the next year or so everything he tried to grow looked yellow and rather sorry for itself.
I guess coffee would not rob or borrow as much nitrogen as woodchip and sawdust. I am sure someone could base a Phd on this.

[Aunt Sally]

Good observations Ben

There are good reasons why gardeners invented compost heaps

[stentman]

My neighbour gave me two more bags tonight here is the exact wording on the *bucks label that is fixed to each bag. All the bold bits are as the label.

"GROUNDS FOR YOUR GARDEN.

Here’s how it works

Coffee grounds are a nutritional additive for your soil. During the brewing process, most of the acidity is removed, leaving grounds with an average pH of 6.9 and a carbon-nitrogen ration of 20 to 1.
Add the grounds directly to your garden. Apply this “green” material as a side dressing to nitrogen loving plants, including most perennials and allium plants. Balance the nutrition of your soil with “brown” materials such as leaves or dried grass.
Or to your compost. Combine with “brown” materials in your compost pile. Use the grounds within 2-3 weeks of brewing to capture the most nutritional value."

As is my usual practice some has gone in the black dalek the rest has been scattered the beds in a small handfulls until it's all gone.