As consumers, many people are constantly looking for ways to reduce their environmental “footprint” – recycling, reusing, repurposing – in an effort to help better the environment. There is also an upward trend in homeowners planting a garden to reduce environmental impacts from chemical applications and minimize chemical residues on produce. Therefore, it makes sense people have come up with incredibly ingenious ideas to repurpose common items into useful garden hacks. These nine awesome ideas reuse plastic bottles creatively in the garden, saving them from being thrown away or sent away to be recycled.

Tender plantsseedlings especially, benefit from being grown inside clear plastic bottles. Cut off the bottom of a clean bottle and place the top half over the plant, pushing it down into the soil. This mini greenhouse will help protect the plant from frost, rain and wind.

You don’t have to install fancy, expensive irrigation system to self-water garden plants. Drill/poke holes in the sides of a large, clean plastic bottle and bury it next to a plant so the neck is slightly above the soil surface. Fill with water as needed.