My basil grew sideways after I fed it coffee grounds

I saw a tip online about adding used coffee grounds to soil for a nitrogen boost, so I started sprinkling a handful into my basil pot every morning for about 2 weeks. The plant went from a tidy 8 inch bush to this weird sprawling mess with stems bending almost horizontal and leaves curling at the edges. I figured it was some kind of pest, but my neighbor who grows herbs for the farmers market said I overdid it, the acidity and caffeine likely stressed the roots. I stopped the coffee and switched to plain water plus a bit of compost, and after a month the new growth looks normal again, though the plant is still lopsided. Lesson learned about not chasing every hack without checking how much is actually safe. Has anyone else messed up a plant by following one of those viral fertilizer tricks, or did I just dump too much on?

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1 Comment

palmer.jana23d ago

Oh man, that's rough. I mean, I get why people love the coffee ground hack, but I think a lot of folks forget that grounds are pretty strong stuff. I've seen people do a light sprinkle once a month, not every single day. That's a whole lot of acid and caffeine hitting the roots all at once. Your neighbor's probably right that it stressed the plant out, but I'd also wonder if the grounds were fresh or dried out, since that changes things too. Good on you for catching it though, most people would've just kept dumping more on and killed the thing.