Used coffee grounds from a cafe are being used to perk up prize-winning dahlias in Swansea.
Trenchers Café and the Gallery Restaurant at the Quadrant shopping centre are handing out free bags of the nitrogen-rich grounds to customers.
And first in the queue to try out the fertilising power of coffee is Chairman of Swansea in Bloom and doyen of dahlias Leighton Evans, from Three Crosses, on Gower.
Leighton, whose ambition is to see the city bloom each year, says that Swansea with its mild, warm climate is the ideal place for growers but he’s happy to get some extra help from the coffee grounds.
He and his son, Richard, have won prizes for their dahlias at top events like the Royal Welsh and the Malvern Shows and he said: “I’m ready to give it a go. It could make all the difference.
“Swansea in Bloom has had plenty of support from the Quadrant who sponsor our Schools Competition and it’s good to be able to come here, have a cuppa and go home with something for the garden as well.
“Perhaps the schools will call in for some coffee grounds as well – the competition will be really keen again this year and we have even put last year’s three winners into a Premier League, just like Swansea City.”
Clif Roberson, owner of Trenchers and The Gallery, says the grounds are a wonderful nutritional soil additive and he’s happy to save the used grounds and bag them ready for green-fingered coffee lovers.
He explained: “During the brewing process most of the acidity is removed from the coffee beans leaving used grounds with an average ph of 6.9 and a carbon-nitrogen ratio of 20-to-1.
“By adding grounds directly to gardens and applying this green material as a side dressing to nitrogen-loving plants, including most perennials and alliums it can have a really beneficial effect on gardens and allotments.
“Grounds can prove particularly beneficial when mixed with brown materials such as leaves or dried grass.
“It also makes a wonderful additive to compost. Combined with brown material, it can really help make a good compost particularly if used within two or three weeks of brewing.”
“The bags of used coffee grounds are becoming increasingly popular with our customers. Bags can be collected from the café for free. It has to be better that our used coffee grounds are used as a good soil conditioner rather than going into landfill sites.”
Leighton, a former medical rep, couldn’t agree more and said: “It seems like a great idea to me and it’s good that Trenchers are giving away the used grounds.
“Gardens are starting to bloom now and we’re keen to get people interested in gardening – and that means starting them young in the schools.
“I began as a buy in Kittle on the Gower where my dad had a grocer’s shop and I used to grow new potatoes and tomatoes for the shop.
“I still do grow onions and tomatoes and things for the kitchen at home but I really love flowers and for the past 15 years we’ve concentrated on dahlias although I also love gladioli.
“This area is wonderful for growing because it’s so mild and gets the Gulf Stream so we hardly ever get frosts and I love to see the city in flower every year for Swansea in Bloom.”
He added: “I enjoy coming to the Quadrant with my wife, Rita, there’s always a friendly atmosphere and Trenchers is a great place to stop and catch up with friends.”
The initiative is helping to underline the shopping centre’s green credentials and Quadrant Centre Manager Ian Kirkpatrick said: “Giving the used coffee grounds to local gardeners is a brilliant idea – no wonder it’s growing in popularity!”
For more information on Swansea In Bloom including details on how to enter go to http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=45063
