These hacks will eliminate or at least reduce your need for mulch, saving you money and time on lawn maintenance.
by Kristen Lawrence
If you've been wondering what to do with that extra cardboard around your house, an Instagram gardener may have your answer.
Patrick Vernuccio (@thefrenchiegardener), who shares tips on urban gardening and growing organic food, showed viewers how cardboard can protect plants from weeds and nourish the soil.
The scoop
Being a plant parent isn't always easy, but this hack will help your plants flourish without you spending a penny. Patrick gave three tips to make the best use of extra cardboard.
First, he shows viewers how to create wood chips from cardboard. Remove all the tape and labels from the boxes since they don't decompose and have harmful chemicals. Next, cut the cardboard into small pieces, place it on top of the soil for mulch, and water it so it sticks to the soil.
"It will keep your soil warmer and nourish your soil by decomposing," he says in the clip.
The second hack he offers is using cardboard as plain mulch to help keep weeds from growing. Take a piece of cardboard, place a gardening pot on top, and cut around the pot with a knife. Cut out the circle and add a slit so you can put it around the base of your plant. Next, water it and add a layer of mulch, like leaves or grass clippings.
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Finally, if you have a worm farm, you can reuse cardboard to give your worms extra nourishment, which they will "transform into a rich fertilizer." Patrick says that worms will also lay their eggs in the cardboard cells and increase the farm's population.
While bagged mulch costs just $3.25 to $6.50 per bag, according to Lawn Love, it can get pricey if you have a large garden. These hacks will eliminate or at least reduce your need for mulch, saving you money and time on lawn maintenance.
Not to mention, some mulches contain nasty ingredients like rubber, construction refuse, and dyes that have harmful preservatives, as Big Blog of Gardening explained. You won't have to worry about toxic chemicals when you use cardboard since it's made of paper fibers — plus, it's recyclable and compostable.
Having a garden can also make the planet greener by reducing the heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere from the transportation of mass-produced, globally-shipped produce.
What everyone's saying
Commenters were grateful for the green tips and shared their experiences trying it out.
"It's also great to place over a pot of carrot or parsnip seeds to enhance germination times and success rates, Frenchie," someone shared.
"Wonderful advice: I do it, and my dirt [is] so much healthier. I place it under my stepping stones and before I place [mulch]," another added.
Remove all the tape and labels from the boxes since they don't decompose and have harmful chemicals. Next, cut the cardboard into small pieces, place it on top of the soil for mulch, and water it so it sticks to the soil. "It will keep your soil warmer and nourish your soil by decomposing," he says in the clip.
Using cardboard or newspaper as a natural weed barrier can allow you to kill a very large area of weeds and grass without using any chemicals or herbicides.
Preparing a garden bed with cardboard makes that ideal environment for the plants you intend to grow. The cardboard traps warmth and retains moisture in the soil, and forces any existing seeds to germinate. At the same time, the cardboard blocks out any light to the sprouted seeds causing them to die.
I have used old pillow cases, sheets, towels and even cardboard boxes. Just be sure that whatever you use to cover your plant, the cover reaches the ground and traps the warm air inside the canopy. Plastic can be used but it is important to note that you should not let the plastic touch your plants.
Along with reducing weed growth in the garden, cardboard has many other advantages, such as adding organic matter to the soil when it decomposes, improving the garden's drainage, and boosting nutrient levels.
A single layer of cardboard is laid out over the areas of lawn no longer needed. When it eventually breaks down, the cardboard will add carbon back into the soil. A crack in the cardboard reveals hardy weeds making their way to the sunlight. Extra mulch will solve this issue.
A good time to do this is in fall. By spring you will have killed the weeds and the grass, and the area will be ready to till. Layered beds will become super rich and nutrient dense if you use cardboard.
A: In addition to interfering with water and gas movement into the soil environment, corrugated cardboard has chemical contaminants that you really don't want in your soil or even your compost pile.
Yes, roots can grow through cardboard, but only in certain conditions. 'Firstly, the cardboard must be moist enough to allow the roots to penetrate it. Second, the cardboard should be placed in a place where there is no light or air circulation,' Melody says.
In published comparison studies, other mulch choices generally outperform cardboard in terms of plant growth, weed control, etc. But there's one area where cardboard is tops compared to every other mulch material tested. Termites. Termites LOVE cardboard.
By placing cardboard on the ground for several weeks or even months, the weeds will eventually die. Be careful, because some plants take a very long time to die, perhaps even years, to die off. It depends on the type of weed you want to get rid of. This technique is used in agriculture but with black plastic sheets.
Now, tear open the potting soil bags and pour the soil out over the wet cardboard. Use the rake, if necessary, to spread the potting soil into an even layer a few inches thick. Finally, spread the mulch out on top of the potting soil. Again, use the rake to make sure the layer is even.
Cardboard takes approximately 2 months to decompose. However, instead of sending your boxes to the landfill consider adding them to your recycling or your compost pile.
Landscape fabric is a resilient barrier for yard areas and flower beds prone to weeds. It is a key material to uphold the beauty in your landscaping projects and gardens while controlling excessive weed growth and excessive soil erosion for years.
Cardboard takes approximately 2 months to decompose. However, instead of sending your boxes to the landfill consider adding them to your recycling or your compost pile. Cardboard breaks down fairly quickly when exposed to the elements, but stacks of cardboard can take years to decompose.
You can put down Landscape Bark or mulch. This looks attractive and will also surpress weeds. There is also the added bonus of keeping water in the soil as it reduces the amount that will be evaporated. This is great if you don't want to constantly go out and water.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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