WIth all due respect to previous commenter and to Dr Linda Chalker Scott-
I'm not buying the requirement that coffee grounds (and everything) has to be officially composted before putting 'in the garden'
. "Nitrogen rich compounds.. break down quickly, releasing plant available nitrogen.." Why not let that happen right around the plants I want to grow?
'..earthworms pull coffee grounds.. into soil.. may account for improvements in soil structure..' Again, why not have that happen right away under my chosen plants?
"Be sure to allow coffee grounds to cool.." Seriously? How hot can my filter full of grounds be by the time I drop it in my compost? (Or are we talking about the WAWA folks dropping 2 pounds of fresh brewed grounds right on their compost bin out back lol)
' .. no more than half an inch.." Has this really been studied experimentally, versus an inch? Probably not, it sounds hard to get a decisive result. Therefore, I feel like that's a guess. So why phrase it like a strict rule? (Because many people want a quick rule, not a long explanation of how to make a judgement call) (It is the strict rules around composting that I rebel against. The world is full of microbes, and the degree to which I can manage them by my actions is, I think, very limited.)
There's what this article says, and there's what Urbanwild reports from real life.
I have been 'composting' for decades. Literally about 50 years.
My main goal is to keep organic matter on my land where it supports life, not using gasoline to haul it and bury it in a landfill aka garbage graveyard. If I have lots of dry leaves, then the wet kitchen stuff like grounds may help that get rotting. And Some kitchen waste looks too garbagey to me if I dump it on open garden ground. So I will always set aside a place for it, or bury it.
How anyone handles grounds will in part depend on what daily or 'batch' quantity they have, as well as what type of garden or land they have to play with.
But I'd encourage anyone who can use grounds to do so. And tea bags- but seriously, do not expect miracles from the tiny amount of dried washed leaf matter in each tea bag.
