PlantBest Coco Mulch Expanding Block 2pk

The scoop

Spotted on shelves at a markdown: PlantBest Coco Mulch Expanding Block 2pk, a garden staple that just got a lot cheaper for anyone with beds to cover before summer wraps up.

This is a two-pack of compressed coconut coir blocks that expand up to 6 times their size when you add water, turning into 4.2 cubic feet of natural ground cover per block. Costco’s price card notes each block covers about 35 square feet at 1.5-inch depth, and the packaging says the coir is organic, natural, and renewable.

At the marked price, that works out to roughly $0.428 per square foot of coverage per the price card’s own math. Compared to bagged bark mulch, coir mulch tends to be pricier per square foot, but it’s compact, lightweight, and reportedly lasts up to two years, so the value math shifts if you factor in fewer reapplications.

Garden and outdoor items like this often get marked down as the summer planting season winds down, so this could simply be seasonal clearance rather than a discontinued item. Either way, expect limited stock since it’s not clear whether it’ll be restocked at full price.

The bottom line: if you’ve got garden beds that need a natural, weed-suppressing mulch and don’t mind coir’s higher per-square-foot cost, this expanding block bundle looks like a reasonable grab while it’s marked down. Anyone already using coco mulch instead of traditional bark — worth it long-term?