April 14, 2025, 9:42 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Scarifying is a sensible maintenance measure to get rid of thatch and ensure a well-kept green lawn. But is the effort absolutely necessary, or can you use a home remedy? A professional explains at myHOMEBOOK.
Alongside mowing, scarifying is a typical gardening task if you want a healthy, fresh, and green lawn. However, unlike the mower, not all garden owners have a scarifier in the shed. Occasionally, it is recommended to use a classic household remedy instead of scarifying the lawn — namely coffee grounds. Most households probably use coffee grounds anyway. myHOMEBOOK asked a lawn expert what this is all about and whether this home remedy is really an alternative.
How Coffee Grounds Affect the Lawn
According to Dr. Harald Nonn, Chairman of the German Lawn Society, coffee grounds are an “organic substance with a low nutrient content” and “different pH values.” These range from acidic to slightly alkaline. Nonn explains the benefits of coffee grounds for the lawn: “They can serve as a source of food for soil organisms and thus encourage them.” However, the soil organisms also break down other organic substances — including thatch. “This means that biologically active soils do not need to be scarified or need to be scarified significantly less,” says the expert.
Coffee grounds, therefore, have an indirect effect on the lawn — namely via the microorganisms — and not a direct one. Nonn adds: “On soils with limited soil life, coffee grounds will have little or no effect.”
Do Coffee Grounds Save You Having to Scarify Your Lawn?
“If you want, you can sprinkle coffee grounds on your lawn,” says the lawn expert. However, he cannot give any more precise information on the quantity and frequency. In addition, it is not certain that coffee grounds can really save you from scarifying your lawn. According to a rule of thumb, you should scarify at least once and at most twice a year.
Nonn recommends first observing whether the coffee grounds are broken down by the soil organisms and whether any existing lawn thatch is reduced as a result. “If this is the case, there is no need to scarify,” the expert concludes. If not, you have to tackle the thatch mechanically – i.e., with a scarifier.
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Is Fertilizing the Lawn with Coffee Grounds Worth It?
Coffee grounds are often recommended as a fertilizer. According to Nonn, coffee grounds contain the following nutrients:
- 2 percent nitrogen
- 0.4 percent phosphate
- 0.8 percent potassium oxide
“The nutrient ratio is, therefore, perfectly suitable for lawns, but the nutrient content is very low,” explains the lawn professional when asked by myHOMEBOOK.