You can spread them directly on the garden if you want. You can also spread them on the lawn, although I think I'd limit that to the grounds (no filters, shells, peels) for aesthetic reasons. The only caveat I'd mention is that you don't want to pile grounds more than about 1/2 inch deep because they can repel water once they dry out.

There's no need to worry about acidity. Coffee is acidic, but the grounds are pretty close to neutral. Adding these ingredients should tend to bring your soil closer to neutral whether it's currently acidic or alkaline.

You can spread coffee grounds directly on garden soil. Apparently the acid in coffee beans is almost entirely removed when the coffee is made, and the grounds are nearly neutral in pH.

One caution: depending on your local rainfall and/or watering habits, it's possible for a thick layer of UCG (3/4" to multiple inches) to dry out. If it does, it can be difficult to re-wet, like any very dry mulch. And the granular nature of UCG can also encourage surface water to flow off instead of sinking in, when very dry.

I haven't had this problem in the three years I've added hundreds of pounds of UCG to my gardens but other posters here who garden in drier climates have mentioned it. If you do run into issues with overly dry UCG, topping off a layer of grounds with fall leaves or a wood chip mulch, or mixing the grounds lightly into the top inch of soil, should fix it. Plus the combination of UCG and fall tree leaves or leaf mold can really work well as a mulch. Earthworms love it.

Adding kitchen scraps right on top of a garden may cause problems with rodents and other scavengers, depending on the local wildlife in your neighbourhood. I do it, but usually toss a large green garbage bag of wet UCG on top, then cover with a few inches of leaves, paper, and/or cardboard. The combination of coffee and a thick layer of high-carbon materials seems to hide the scent of decomposing produce.

Shame about the problem with breathing around compost. Hope it doesn't interfere with your other garden projects. :)

All the best,
-Patrick

As for the breathing problems -- if it's only the particulat matter that aggravates your nose bleeds, you could try using a painter's mask.

About the egg shells, because they can harbor salmonella I've taken to baking them at 200(F) for 20 minutes before using them in my compost / garden. I also crush them into a powder with my mortar and pestle because I also sprinkle them out on the bird-feeder as the birds will enjoy using it as gullet gravel for it's high source of calcium and in spring time, will encourage them to build their nests closer to your home as they need a calcium rich store to replenish that which is lost while laying eggs.

:shrug:

I can't make my own traditional compost, breathing around it makes my nose bleed (weak veins in my nose, cauterized, but for some reason this still bothers even the scarred areas).

My husband get an asthma attack if he breaths in the compost dust.

We solved this by he turns the pile and I stand next to him with a fine mist nozzel on the hose and keep wetting the pile and the piles hes turning it into. It works like a charm. No dust.

You could also use a dust mask.

Where there is a will, there is always a way!

Is buying your compost an option? Continue doing the lasagna method.

If not guess you can buy your veggies.

Good Luck,
Gumby_CT

Potato plants will sprout from the potato peels unless you microwave them first. Of course, if you want some potato plants, this would be an easy way to get them. Pulverize the egg shells first - they take eons to break down.

Deanna

Spreading any, and all, vegetative waste on your soil is better than throwing it out in the trash, however, depending on what you have you may want to mix it in the soil, or maybe bury it, this process is called sheet composting. I would look into the cause of your nose bleeds closer, but I would suspect that the cause is the exertion in handling compost rather than anything in the compost. I can understand an asthma attack from handling that should be more easily controlled with a dust mask, that is how I do it. This time of year most any yard work will trigger an attack unless I wear that dust mask.

Do you have enough carbon in your pile? I have found that since I am tossing more napkins and bits of paper into the compost it certainly has cut down on the smell and rankness. This is another thing I have learned from this forum.

Coffee grounds, tea, eggshells, and veggie waste would be called mulch, rather than compost, if I understand your question and use correctly. If the turning over of the materials causes breathing problems; perhaps a variation of composting such as trench or pit composting might be preferable.

Rather than spending energy digging, perhaps putting down a thin 'green' layer, then a layer of leaves, and topping with a few layers of burlap or landscape cloth. Then just resist the urge to turn it.