You know the drill – brew your favorite coffee and keep the used beans for unique uses around the house. You’ve been saving your coffee grounds for years now and already use them in your garden as fertilizer and compost to spark growth and keep your garden luscious. However, are you really getting the most out of your grounds? There’s some pretty powerful purposes for your grounds if you put them to work the right way.

1. Grounds can be mulch.

You’ve already stopped buying fertilizer, but go ahead and cross mulch off your gardening list, too. Old grounds give your soil a unique texture and can act as a barrier on top of your soil. To make mulch, place about a half inch of grounds on top of the soil and then layer it with wood chips.

2. Grounds can protect your plants.

It’s the worst feeling to invest so much time and energy in your garden to see the birds or bugs beat you to enjoying your efforts. Putting old grounds in your soil and around your plants has been proven to keep pests away. Another benefit of using grounds is that you’re not layering on man-made chemicals to your locally grown produce. It’s a natural and healthy way to keep unwanted visitors away.

3. Grounds can specifically help tomatoes.

Old grounds are full of nitrogen, and tomatoes need a lot of that to grow. This helps strengthen their roots and makes them strong enough to produce chlorophyll which sparks photosynthesis. Mix the used grounds with your compost and lather the mixture all around your tomato plants. With the abundance of tomatoes you’ll grow from using this tip, here’s some recipes to try, so you’ll get the most out of your thriving tomatoes.

With so much waste in the world today, it’s a great feeling when you can make something beneficial out of trash. Used grounds really embody an item that keeps on giving from your coffee cup to your green garden and beyond.