Don’t Throw Away Dried Leaves … Do This Instead!
Summary: Don't let your coffee plant's dried up leaves get you down. This is a natural process that actually helps give a nutrient boost to the plant's soil if you make and use them as a form of mulch.
Since dried, fallen leaves are pretty much unavoidable when growing coffee trees indoors in a dry, or colder region, I’ve been using them to make coffee leaf mulch! At first it was an experiment, but now that I know it works I’m top-dressing all of my coffee plants with this mulch.
So instead of throwing those dried, fallen leaves away or letting them to pile up in whole-leaf form in the top of the container (which can lead to pooling water that can cause mold), you may also want to collect them and make a breathable mulch for your plant.
This mulch will not only look nice, but has two functions:
- Helps retain moisture in the soil.
- Feeds the soil, and by extension, the plant itself. (Dried leaves, once broken down in the soil by soil microbes over time, are a source of nitrogen for the plant)
How To Make Fallen Leaf Mulch from Coffee Plant Leaves
Get ready, because this is crazy easy to do …
#1 Collect the leaves that fall from your coffee tree(s) and let them dry out fully.
#2 When you have a good amount of dried ones, crush them up into tiny pieces using nothing more than your hand.
#3 Next, inspect the top of the soil. If it’s dry and crusty like mine was, use a fork or gardening tool to break it up. Spraying it with some water will help with this.
#4 Now, spread that breathable mulch over the top of your containers. When spreading, also mix some of the mulch into the top of the soil, and dress the top afterwards to make it look nice. (No need to worry about mold here. As long as the leaves are broken into small enough pieces they’ll still allow the plant to breathe and will dry out faster than the soil itself).
#5 Once you’re happy with the amount of mulch in the container, water it down to set the leaves in place and you’re done!
