Hello All,
There is an article in the September 2015, NMRA magazine titled, "I can't believe it's not a real desert!"; pg. 14, by Phil Maasek, that describes how used coffee grounds are reproposed as ground cover.
In a nut shell; as described on pg. 14, ¶ 5:
The author notes that after this first bleaching the color, "...will make one shade of 'dessert sand' with a yellowish hue. You will want to repeat this step with the grounds to get an even lighter shade of sand."
The resulting ground cover in the accompanying photos to the article looks convincing.
He goes on to write, "Very important: dry these grounds thoroughly or mold will form when you store them in a closed container." He does not specify a preferred drying method.
I imagine that this material could also be dyed to suite many specific ground cover needs.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
Hi
Earlier in this thread Mike mentioned tea leaves. I'm not sure if coffee will have the same effect, but I've used tea for weathering. I stewed some tea then evapourated it down to concentrate it, then added some alcohol. This produced a dark rust coloured wash that I used in my first weathering attempts. Worked reasonably well. The natural tannins in the tea could be used for other tinting and weathering jobs.
CheersSteveNZ
dknelsonBased on how well (and how long lasting) a coffee stain permeates paper it might be possible to use the grounds to create a sort of scenery dye but frankly india ink and the wash from acrylic paints can do much the same thing.
My memory is not what it used to be but I'm pretty sure that burying stuff in wet coffee grounds was used as a weathering technique.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
Once "baked", any odor is pretty much gone. After a bit, there is no odor at all.
When I started using them, money was a big issue, and this was free "dirt" or yard ballast.
Today, cost is not a factor, and yet I still find those coffee grounds have their place on the layout.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
What about the smell from the beans? I don't see how they work on a layout--even as ground cover I would go for other stuff.
YES !!! I have literally used coffee grounds for ground cover since the mid '50s on the Lionel pike. Today I use it for texture in various parts of the HO layout.
As I did as a kid...... put the coffee grounds on a foil covered cookie sheet, spread them out, and bake at say 250 for a 1/2 hour or so. This will dry them out, and they will last "forever". Well, maybe not forever but my current supply was put together in the late 1970s. Yikes, that's almost 40 years!
If you try to save them wet, you will get a moldy mess. You could hold them for a day (so as to have two days worth to dry), but I wouldn't hold them wet any longer.
The filter does have a layout use. Once dry, note how it resembles old newspaper left outside. So cut it into scale size and scatter freely as paper trash in back lots and and such. The idea of grounds as a dye, i will try it ona couple of ties and see. Some experimenting is in order.
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Thanks for posting!!
Fresh, unused coffee can be used in small amounts, for ground cover; I used it for (as someone else suggested) the fenced yard around a horse shed.
Folks,
Sorry I got in on this late - been away for a few days.
My first layout - an 8x20 Lionel was built in 1956-57. Coffee grounds was one of the few major ground covers. Coffee was a "big deal" in my family, and a large amount of grounds was generated daily. My aunt would spread them on a piece of tin foil on a cookie sheet, and bake them to dry them out - which of course killed anything that might be inhabiting them.
They work great, and I would recommend adding them to your scenery repetoire!
dknelson Based on how well (and how long lasting) a coffee stain permeates paper it might be possible to use the grounds to create a sort of scenery dye but frankly india ink and the wash from acrylic paints can do much the same thing. I can testify about the mold. Back in our proto-hippie, green, compost and mulch days we used to put the day's wet coffee grounds in a tupperware container (with a lid) and every few days take it out to the compost heap where it did indeed seem to stimulate the growth of very large worms. But in the warm summer months after just a portion of the day the grounds would be covered with white fuzzy mold and my better half finally proclaimed "enough." I guess we weren't saving any whales either. I suppose we could have baked the grounds to prevent the mold. Dave Nelson
Based on how well (and how long lasting) a coffee stain permeates paper it might be possible to use the grounds to create a sort of scenery dye but frankly india ink and the wash from acrylic paints can do much the same thing.
I can testify about the mold. Back in our proto-hippie, green, compost and mulch days we used to put the day's wet coffee grounds in a tupperware container (with a lid) and every few days take it out to the compost heap where it did indeed seem to stimulate the growth of very large worms. But in the warm summer months after just a portion of the day the grounds would be covered with white fuzzy mold and my better half finally proclaimed "enough." I guess we weren't saving any whales either. I suppose we could have baked the grounds to prevent the mold.
Dave Nelson
Coffee grounds are great compost material. Mold, worms, and insects are just natures way of making sure the process gets along quickly. Make your compost pile... or better yet, three bins, at some distance from your house. Mix an equal volume of "green" and "brown" (in other words, just barely dead stuff, like your coffee grounds, grass clippings, and kitchen scraps and dead stuff like leaves). Don't add non-plant materials, because they attract skunks and racoons. Stir once a week, and water it if it dries out (the decay bacteria need water to function), and it will not smell. One 27 cubic foot bin (3' x 3' x 3') should hold all your compost for a year. I have 3, an "active" bin, a "composting bin" and a "ready for use" bin. This stuff works great to help your garden and lawn grow, and if you fish, will be a never ending source of worms for bait.
As for the layout, use sawdust or commercial layout materials.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Not on the layout itself, but in a jar close to the wall on the floor. Has a fatal attraction for our undesired six-legged visitors of the non-flying variety. Just dump dregs, grounds and all into the jar and leave the cap off.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
My Dad used coffee grounds 60 years ago as plowed fields for a temporary display layout. Layout was only set up 2-3 days as an attraction at a church carnival.
Holy cow stuff Batman!
Got a stock yard on your layout? Need I say more?
cowmanI used dyed sawdust then and had no mold problems.
This is a great idea. I used to be a finishing carpenter for new homes. Used MDF for shelving alot. This stuff makes exteremely fine dust and is very easy to dye.
BRAKIE BobL609OK, I'm convinced, the grounds go in the trash; although I am drawn somewhat to that penacillin idea. Appreciate the advice and replies y'all.....thanks. Bob,If you're a fisherman you can use some of your grounds in you worm/night crawler bed..I mix some in with potting soil.
BobL609OK, I'm convinced, the grounds go in the trash; although I am drawn somewhat to that penacillin idea. Appreciate the advice and replies y'all.....thanks.
Bob,If you're a fisherman you can use some of your grounds in you worm/night crawler bed..I mix some in with potting soil.
And get really ALERT worms!!
Karl
NCE über alles!
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Over 50 years ago I used dried coffee grounds and as long as I got them DRY, the worked quite well for dark earth. If they got damp they would get moldy. Don't know if the current idea of mixing in a little Lysol (as some do in their Goop) would prevent the molding or not. A little experimenting would answer your question, maybe.
I used dyed sawdust then and had no mold problems.
Since there are products, such as black (and other color) sand at a craft store, at a fairly reasonable price,, without the chance of problems, I think I'd forgo using them.
Have fun,
Richard
DRY coffee grounds, dry them first, never put anything wet on a layout, dye them black (DRY) and they could be coal piles etc etc etc. DRY--DRY--DRY.
The only use for coffee grounds that I know of is in the garden, mixed into the soil. I would never consider putting them on a model railroad layout for any purpose.
Tea leaves work for sure. I haven't tried coffee.
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
A moldy science experiment would be the only thing I could see. Perhaps you could supplement your hobby dollars by growing and selling penicillin with FDA approval of course.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!