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There's been a surge of urban farmers and gardeners using coffee grounds as compost. While coffee is acidic, the coffee grounds are not, which makes them ideal for using as a fertilizer. Not to mention, coffee grounds are a good source of nitrogen, according to The Compost Gardener.
This science was put into practice most recently in Seattle, a city known for its coffee consumption. A few months ago the city was home to a pop-up urban mushroom farm that used coffee grounds as compost.
The [storefront] Mushroom Farm was a collaboration between the city's Olson Kundig Architects and CityLab7. It housed a huge tent where over 200 bags of oyster mushrooms grew. The urban mushroom farm produced more than 200 pounds of mushrooms, which were donated to local needy families.
Beautifully designed, the urban mushroom farm served as an educational space and makeshift museum where visitors can learn about urban farming. The compost was made from the coffee waste collected from Starbucks, Caffe Umbria, Makeda Coffee and Zeitgest.
Seattle is just a fine example of what can be done on a larger scale for creating sustainable urban agriculture. But others across the United States are doing the same. A while back we featured Back to Roots, a social enterprise from Oakland, California that sells kits for growing mushrooms at home from recycled coffee grounds.
It's really exciting to see the innovative ways people are integrating farming into urban areas. Do you know any urban farming/gardening projects? Fine Dining Lovers would love to hear from you.
Seattle's urban mushroom farm
Via Design Taxi
