Crafty people use wine corks to create everything from wreaths to planter boxes. As it turns out, they’re also useful in the garden.

Corks in the garden? Yes, this sounds weird, but you can make mulch from your leftover wine corks. Now, there is a caveat to this hack, and that is you have to use a true cork—not the plastic kind some bottles come with these days.

Plastic won’t break down in your garden, and some of the chemicals in it can leach into your soil and affect plant growth.

If you’ve several corks on hand already, you can use scissors to cut them into smaller pieces, or even place them in a blender or food processor. When you’re done, simply spread the wine cork mulch as you would the usual stuff.

Why doese this work, though? Well, cork is natural product which means it’ll break down on its own over time—just like mulch. Plus it’s anti-microbial helping to cut down on mold growth. Once added to your flower bed, it’ll help your soil retain moisture and prevent weed growth.

If you’re looking for an easy alternative to buying mulch and bringing it home, this easy, garden DIY is worth a try. Plus, it’s an excuse we to drink wine, and don’t we all love that?