Absolutely!
First the "coffee soil" mixture.. I started out with mostly coffee grounds.. since they're fairly dry, they have a nice light texture that feels like it would be great even as a seed-starting mix... (hmm.. another experiment?
) To this, I added about a handful or two of peat, and then about a handful of perlite. Finally, a tossed in some fresh grass clippings for a little body. Here's how it looks:
Looks pretty good, huh?
I had two seedlings that are pretty much identical, left over from my spring planting.. both of the same cherry tomato variety, so I figured they would make good guinea pigs for this experiment:
Now, for pots I wanted something where I could keep an eye on root development as well as above-soil growth.. so I chose some plastic cups.. small, I know, but they give me a good view of the root area, and I can always pot up to something larger later.. :
Can you tell which one is the one with coffee in it?
As you can see, the 'soil' color in both is a nice dark brown, but in all reality, the 'coffee soil' felt lighter, healthier, and more uniform.. plus it really sets up nicely when wet...
The other soil: dirt from my backyard (crappy stuff too), Peat, Compost(Kellogg's Amend) from a bag, a small amount of 10-10-10 granular fert, and just a pinch of coffee grounds for the N value.
...and yes, it does leak.. seems to me that it's got lots of nutes still in it
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I checked both plants this morning, and they're both still in great shape, so I would wager that means the coffee is NOT too strong for the seedling.
I plan to take pics in 3 days and 7 days to compare growth.
