Don't Toss Old Nursery Pots, This Clever Hack Makes Mulching A Breeze

Natural wood mulch has a ton of benefits — it helps your soil retain water, adds valuable organic material as it decomposes, and even helps to prevent weeds. Unfortunately, adding mulch to your garden can also be a pain. Spreading the stuff haphazardly could damage your plants — especially the young seedlings that need the benefits of mulch the most. On the other hand, gently sprinkling mulch around the base of each plant takes time and is a bit tedious. 

The good news is that there is a simple and clever hack you can use to both protect your plants and make mulching your landscape a breeze. Even better, it utilizes materials you probably already have laying around — plastic nursery pots. Instead of tossing them, use them as a protective shield around your plants while you pour out and spread your mulch.

By covering your plants with an upside-down pot, you're able to quickly dump mulch around the garden without worrying about hitting your plants and covering the crowns. The barrier creates a small gap between the mulch and the plant stems, helping reduce the risk of disease and damage. Because of the type of plastic they are made from, nursery pots often aren't recyclable curbside. Since they won't simply break down in a landfill, reusing plastic pots in the garden to speed up and improve your projects is a smart way to lead a more eco-friendly life.

This hack, shared by Revell Landscaping on TikTok, is incredibly simple. The first thing you need to do is carefully place one pot (upside down) over each garden plant. Gently scoop the foliage into the pot so the plant is covered. You should choose a pot that is large enough to cover the whole plant but small enough to closely circle its base, leaving only a couple of inches of space around the plant. Once all of the plants in your garden bed are covered, you can start applying your mulch.

There's no need to be overly cautious when dumping the mulch because your plants are already protected by the pots. Just pour it on the ground, and spread it evenly around each pot. Your mulch should be 2 to 4 inches deep when you are done. Once everything has been spread evenly, lift the pots off your plants and step back to admire your work!

If you don't have old nursery pots lying around, you can use similar materials for the same effect. For example, you could try using cups for smaller plants or bowls for larger ones. This is also a great way to repurpose an old plastic container like a yogurt container or milk jug!