Birds & Blooms

Recycling with Coffee

Six uses for coffee cans and coffee grounds.

  1. Make a feeder with an empty can. Remove the top and bottom, place on its side, fill with seed and hang.
  2. Put an empty open can over your tender plants to prevent cutworms from harming them.
  3. Use a can to raise a ripening watermelon or squash off the ground so the bottom of the fruit doesn't rot.
  4. Measure the rainfall your garden receives by placing empty coffee cans around the area. If there is at least 1-inch inside, no supplemental watering is needed.
  5. Sprinkle a thin layer of coffee grounds around the base of certain plants to improve the soil.
  6. Use coffee grounds at the base of some plants to deter slugs and snails.