Reuse Your Coffee Container To Keep Plants Happy With Fresh Rainwater

Finishing off a canister of coffee can be a bummer, but one way to take the sting out is by finding creative ways to repurpose empty coffee containers around your house. One of our favorites is to use it in the garden as a watering tool for rainwater. To do this, you simply puncture the bottom of the canister a few times with small holes (the end of a screwdriver or a sharp pocket knife would be perfect for this), remove the lid, and place it in your rainwater collection bucket. When you're ready to water plants, just lift the canister out of the bucket and hold it over your plants as a gentle cascade of water flows out. 

Coffee canisters are uniquely suited to this sort of task because they are relatively durable, since they're usually made from either aluminum or plastic, but also easy enough to puncture. If you were to use a regular bucket to empty rainwater from your collection bucket, you wouldn't have these perforations that allow the water to slowly fall. This would make it much easier to overfill and drown your plant. Additionally, the coffee can works a bit like a colander, helping to strain all of those bits of dirt, leaves, and insects from the water. Best of all, it's free! But there are a few things to consider before you start collecting rainwater and using this coffee can gardening hack. 

Another downside is that collecting rainwater means you'll have a tub of standing water in your yard. This can attract some nasty pests such as mosquitoes, which breed in standing water. To prevent this, you may want to treat your rainwater with vegetable oil or cinnamon oil to kill off mosquito larvae and ward off other pests. In most cases, these additions shouldn't harm your plants, as vegetable oil is generally safe to use on plants as an insecticide, but be sure the crops you're using them on can tolerate cinnamon, as this may cause stunted growth in some plants like tomatoes. You could also simply cover your rain bucket or barrel with a lid or mesh with tiny holes.

Stagnant water is a breeding ground for more than just mosquitoes, though, as it can harbor harmful bacteria. That's why it's key to store the bucket in a cool, shaded area, which slows bacterial growth. Regularly removing debris and other organic matter from the tank helps as well. Luckily, the old coffee can does a great job of this, so be sure to use it regularly! 

To try this hack out, you'll need to collect some rainwater to get started. This is pretty easy to do, as you just need to leave a container or bucket out in the garden and allow it to gather rain during storms, but you might want to think twice before collecting rainwater. First check if you're allowed to collect rainwater in your area — some cities and states forbid it, so make sure to comply with any local regulations.