Cardboard is a versatile material that can be used to create new gardening spaces, protect plants, and trap pests. It is a cost-effective and stress-free method for creating new beds or revitalizing old ones, as it traps warmth and retains moisture in the soil, forcing existing seeds to germinate. This method is highly recommended by Wild Ones, a non-profit advocacy organization for native plants.
Using cardboard in raised beds is another great way to create an ideal environment for plants to grow. By lining the bottom of the bed with cardboard and newspaper, you can block out weeds and suppress weed growth. However, improper use can cause issues for your soil and plants.
Cardboard also serves as a barrier, preventing sunlight from reaching weed seeds and inhibiting their germination. This means less time spent weeding and more time enjoying your garden. The most common use of cardboard is sheet mulching, which involves removing large rocks and other items that wouldn’t fit in the area.
Cardboard not only acts as a weed control tool but also offers a perfect setting for crops to flourish. By encasing the ground in your garden beds, cardboard serves to keep the soil moist and prevents weed growth. Additionally, cardboard is a great material to add to the compost pile and decomposes, adding organic matter to the soil and improving soil drainage.
However, it is important to note that cardboard interferes with gas exchange and water penetration, making it not suitable for use. It has also been shown to contain PFAS chemicals, so it should not be used. Instead, mulch on top of cardboard should be at least an inch or two thick. If using grass clippings, they can be used to create a more natural and sustainable garden.
📹 CARDBOARD in the Garden | PROS and CONS
Cardboard in the garden? What’s the truth? In this video we discuss the pros and cons of cardboard in the garden. Is cardboard …
Why is cardboard good for your garden?
Preparing a garden bed with cardboard is beneficial for soil health as it traps warmth, retains moisture, and encourages seed germination. It also blocks out light, causing sprouted seeds to die, creating a sterile environment for planting. Decomposing sprouted seeds add organic matter back to the soil, and as the cardboard breaks down, it provides structure. This improves soil quality. However, compared to silage tarps, which block sunlight and absorb more warmth, cardboard provides a more efficient and sterile environment for plants. Therefore, a garden bed with cardboard is a more suitable choice for optimal soil health.
Should I put cardboard in my raised garden bed?
Earthworms thrive in a damp environment created by cardboard, which can be used in raised beds and vermicomposting bins. To repurpose surplus cardboard, line it on the bottom of raised garden beds to block out weeds and act as a barrier against rhizomatous, weedy, or invasive plants. Using dye-free or recyclable cardboard can help mitigate concerns about chemicals and glue compounds leaching into the soil. An organic stamp is a good indicator of its safety.
Plain cardboard with no tape and minimal markings is best for best results. Cardboard with glossy coatings or inks should be avoided. Most cardboard found around the house is safe to use. Using dye-free or recyclable cardboard can help reduce the amount of chemical substances in the soil.
Why do people put cardboard on the ground?
The text posits that cardboard or newspaper is employed for the purpose of eradicating weeds or sod, rather than for the creation of compost. In order to create a soil compost, it is necessary to layer additional mulch on top of the cardboard. This will gradually become incorporated into the existing soil over time. This is presumably the lasagna method.
How long does it take for cardboard to decompose in a garden?
Paper products, which decompose quickly, are a significant contributor to landfill waste in the U. S., with 268 million tons of waste generated annually being paper and paperboard. Only 47 of these products are recycled, according to the EPA. Cardboard, which takes 2 months to decompose, can be added to recycling or compost piles, but stacks can take years. Iron-based objects oxidize and form rust, which can be broken down by microorganisms over several years. Tin and aluminum cans are easily recyclable but can take 50 to 100 years to completely break down in landfills. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, making it a valuable recyclable material.
Fashion waste is a growing issue worldwide, with 92 billion tons of clothing sent to landfills every year. Cotton t-shirts can take up to 6 months to decompose in a well-lit and oxygenated environment, while wool socks take 1-5 years. Leather and nylon fabrics can take up to 40 years. Polyester clothing, made from the same materials as single-use water bottles, will never truly decompose. The various types of clothing materials significantly affect the decomposition time.
Can you put soil on top of cardboard?
To create a garden plot, lay large cardboard pieces flat, overlapped sides, and weigh down with potting soil bags. Cut the cardboard into curved or smaller pieces at the plot’s edges, ensuring sharp, differentiated edges from lawns. Water the cardboard thoroughly, ensuring it is saturated. Pour potting soil from bags over the cardboard, using a rake if necessary, to create an even layer. Finally, spread mulch on top of the potting soil, ensuring an even layer is achieved. This process ensures the garden plot is well-draining and prevents weeds and grass from growing.
What are 3 benefits of using cardboard?
The use of corrugated cardboard offers a multitude of advantages, including sustainability, reduced waste, cost-effectiveness, lightweight packaging, product protection, enhanced branding, and flexible packaging solutions.
Does cardboard attract roaches?
To prevent roaches from gaining entry to your home, store food in plastic sealed containers and clean up any leftover crumbs on your dining and kitchen counters. Wash dishes after use and avoid leaving them in the sink. Dishwashers should be washed after use to prevent roaches from thriving. Dishwashing your pets’ food and treats in sealed plastic containers can also discourage roaches from eating them.
Additionally, keep open cracks in walls, piping, or tiles as a hiding place for roaches. These simple steps can help prevent roach infestations and keep your home free from a roach-infested environment.
How bad is cardboard for the environment?
The production of cardboard has environmental costs, including water and energy consumption, deforestation, and habitat destruction due to virgin wood pulp. However, the paper manufacturing industry is one of the lowest greenhouse gas emitters compared to plastic, contributing only 0. 8 to global emissions in 2017. It also has a relatively small carbon footprint, with one ton of corrugated cardboard generating 538 kg of carbon equivalent emissions throughout its lifecycle.
What are the benefits of cardboard beds?
Corrugated cardboard furniture is a sustainable and eco-friendly option due to its high recycled content, which uses minimal resources. The furniture’s fresh paper fibers come from sustainable forestry and can be fully recycled at the end of its life cycle. It releases significantly less CO2 and is more climate-friendly than conventional furniture. For instance, the Bed 2. 0 has a significantly lower environmental impact than a conventional bed, with a 280 times lower CO2 footprint, 8, 000 times less energy, and 4 times more climate-friendly transport due to its light weight.
Both types of beds have unique advantages, with the Bed 2. 0 being easily assembled and able to be folded and stored in a space-saving manner. It is adjustable in width and length and is available in seven colors. The GRID Bed, delivered separately, is adjustable in width but not length and offers ample storage space beneath the sleeping surface. Both types are available in black and natural cardboard.
What should you not put in a raised bed?
Raised beds are ideal for growing a wide variety of edible plants, but not all plants can or should be grown in them. Some plants grow too large for raised beds, such as potatoes, asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, corn, wheat, rice, and winter squash. Raised beds can be challenging to maintain due to the need for ladders, which can be dangerous for harvesting plants. It is essential to consider the specific needs of each plant when choosing a raised bed, as not all plants can thrive in raised beds. Therefore, it is essential to carefully consider the type of plant and the space available for each plant to ensure the best growth and care.
Does cardboard attract rodents?
Cardboard boxes are a popular choice for rodents due to their inaccessibility to humans but proximity to food and water sources. These boxes provide a soft, comfortable shelter for rodents, providing ample space for nesting and sleeping. They also serve as a breeding ground for rodents, as they are dark, warm, and enclosed. To keep rodents away from cardboard boxes, it is recommended to throw out old or loose cardboard boxes and opt for plastic storage containers.
Additionally, check for water leaks and condensation in attics and remove access to areas where boxes are stored by sealing cracks and screening doors and windows. By doing so, you can help keep your belongings safe and prevent rodents from consuming your belongings.
📹 I Put CARDBOARD On Weeds 6 Months Ago And THIS Happened!
I put cardboard on weeds 6 months ago in my yard and this happened! I used cardboard as a life hack to organically control …
If you found this article helpful, please “Like” and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for perusal 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 Using Cardboard As Natural Weed Control 1:12 How To Stop Weeds With Weed Fabric 2:39 Using Cardboard To Stop Garden Weeds 5:19 Results 6 Months Later! 8:48 Lessons Learned 10:07 Reusing Cardboard Twice 11:41 Adventures With Dale
Thank you!!!!! Finally, some validation. I’ve been gardening for about 35 years. Went through the whole gamut of using various methods to keep the weeds out. The best for me is a combination of newspaper and cardboard. Newspaper to put up a perimeter around the plant and cardboard on the rows. I use thin cardboard and poke holes into them for water and aeration. Then top the whole thing with bark mulch. This method keeps the bark from sinking into the dirt when it rains, the holes allow moisture to seep through but keeps the weed at bay. If I want to add more plants, I push the bark to one side, pull up the cardboard and plant. Works for me.
Cardboard, compost on top. This is how no-dig gardeners/farmers often get a plot ready. If you have especially stubborn weed grasses then you could throw the barrier on top of the cardboard/compost. The compost on top of the cardboard is really what gets the earthworms and other life starting to do their thing and pulling stuff down into the ground, improving the natural biome underneath where you want it. Yes, they will also consume the cardboard by itself but give them more food with the compost and you get better results for the soil. This matters if you want to plant there. Because you just had cadrboard and a cover on top the soil underneath would have dried out, so it’s not going to do what you thought it would do. So, preparation, like what people talk about and your experiment does nothing to suggest they are wrong, is they lay down cardboard, THEN put compost on top, THEN add water, because your soil can’t dry out if you want worms to get in there, right? Funny thing about water and life, they tend to go together and that soil was bone dry.
We have used loads and loads of cardboard around our yard with wood chips on top of the cardboard. We can buy a trailer full of wood chips at the dump for $35 and we raid dumpsters (with permission) for cardboard. We are on an acre, so it took a lot of cardboard and chips. It did an excellent job of suppressing weeds. It has been a few years now since we did our last loads and we need to do some areas again. We didn’t bother taking off all the tape. If it came off easily we pulled it off but if it was stuck we left it. Eventually the cardboard breaks down and the tape remains and we pick it up and put it in the trash. I just got done putting down cardboard with landscape fabric where I wanted to grow potatoes in pots. For most weeds it’s like magic. The exceptions where I live are bindweed, which will grow a long ways in the dark under cardboard or anything else to find a way out, and common mallow, which will also try to find a way around it. It’s better to clear out some of the mallow before putting the cardboard down. I am in Southern Utah, zone 5.
I used cardboard to landscape a new area in my lawn for new bushes, small tree etc. I covered the grass as you did then had the bushes and tree planted in a cutout area of the cardboard last summer. Soaked the cardboard to soften it and then I covered everything with a heavy layer of mulch. I kept watering the area for the plants and it’s now March. It worked. I will put on a fresh layer of mulch this May, but it saved a lot of backbreaking work removing a 15 x 25 area of grass and weeds.
Here in VT we tend to get a good balance of heat and rain such that I find cardboard put down in spring or summer with organic mulch on top is largely broken down in 6-8 weeks to point of needing another layer added. At this point I tend to go 2 layers deep which has the added benefit of being able to offset the edges between the layers and thus completely exclude the light with no gaps through the cardboard.
I’m in Texas. I put cardboard down in july for a melon patch. I didn’t cover with tarp or anything else. The cardboard is still there covering the grass. Yes, we had drought last summer but freeze and rain over the winter. I’m ok with the cardboard still there. I was only hoping for the St Augustine grass to be dead and easily removable. I have cardboard walkways around raised beds. Weeds are only at the edges.
I used cardboard to create a no-till flower bed. I laid down the cardboard just before a freezing rain, which welded it into a single sheet. I then placed chopped leaves on top and covered all of it with black plastic with some holes poked in it. I placed a light layer of mulch on top for aesthetic reasons. the following spring I transplanted by cutting into the plastic. Worked great! I think the soaking/freezing hastened the breakdown. By the way, I live in middle Tennessee
I’m well shocked it hadn’t broken down…. As we use it in compost pile and it disappears but we do writ it up and obviously the compost pile is kept fairly moist so that will break it down. Like the look of the new apple tree too. Glad you have managed to get something to add this year. Always nice to add extra fruit plants/ trees that will produce for years.
Yes! Cardboard is great for eliminating weeds and grass, but I put down 2 layers of cardboard and made sure that the ground is 100% covered (no holes or space so air and sun cannot get between boxes). Then I laid down barrier fabric over the boxes. I used it around my trees and in my raised beds and walkways and no weeds!!!
Here in Houston (9A) I used cardboard to suppress weeds for the first time last year. It works great! But with the clay soil here, the cardboard is always wet, so has broken down completely. I saved all my boxes and will put another layer of cardboard down this year. It definitely saved me a lot of time weeding… like I barely weeded at all, versus having to constantly weed before. 😂
My experience has been different. I have used cardboard in my yard for many years. Most recently I have used it layered 2-3 thick with a thick layer of wood chips on top. The first year I do this on my garden paths the weeds are still likely to come through, and the cardboard is completely gone the next year. My backyard garden will just get cardboard patches and another layer of chips this year, but my farm garden will need to get the whole 2-3 layers of cardboard and a thick layer of woodchips. It is still worth it to me (at age 65 and digging my own chips from the town pile) but I do have some landscape fabric for quick cover if spring springs too early for me to complete the task. I just remove the plastic when I get enough supplies to do the job.
I really appreciate the effort you put into making these experiment articles and show us the result in the same article. I think the cardboard didn’t break down because of the lack of moisture. I put cardboard under my new raised beds last summer. Within a month or 2 I had evidence of earthworm activity so I know they came up from the native soil. I decided to move the beds to a new location over the winter, and found no remnants of the cardboard when I removed the beds and soil, it had completely broken down. I already bought the same weed cloth for my new garden walkways but have never seen staple gaskets like that before and will be ordering those soon, too. Thanks for another very informative and well done article.
I have a small 48×12 in ground vegetable garden. For years most of my work was weeding. Last summer I used cardboard to lay down walkways in between rows of veggies. This cut down my weeding by 2/3. The weeding was a whole lot less. And the cardboard does thin out and will need to be replaced. I’ll toss the old into my compost box when we till this year. So, it does compost. Just longer than 6 months.
I’ve been experimenting with using thin pieces of cardboard in some spots of my garden and also using the brown packing paper I get when I order stuff from Chewy for my cats in other spots of the garden. I also have some rolls of brown paper that is normally used for putting down when you paint stuff. I haven’t used the weed barrier material though. Keep in mind I’m a first time gardener, so EVERYTHING is an experiment for me at this point..haha! I figure that if the weeds can’t get any sunlight, they probably won’t grow. When I use the brown paper, I fold it a few times until I can’t see sunlight through it, then I place it wherever I don’t want weeds and I cover it with about two inches of mulch. Along the edges of my flower garden, I did this and then put a layer of river rocks on top of the mulch- mainly for decoration, but also to prevent even more sunlight from getting to the weeds. In spots where I used the thin cardboard, I wet the pieces before placing them and then covered them with the mulch. I figure it will help the cardboard to break down faster and offer some moisture for the soil and the creatures that will break the cardboard down further with time. So far no grass or weed sprouts! Yay! It’s only been two months, so we’ll see how everything turns out as time goes on. But the parts where I have only mulch…I’m pulling unwanted grass sprouts out almost everyday eventhough I have about three inches of mulch in those spots. I can say that I prefer using the paper because it’s easier to form fit around corners or weird shapes- It’s just easier to use in general.
This is exactly what I needed to see. I’ve always used cardboard in my flower beds with mulch to minimize weeds, but now I know to double down with cardboard and the weed barrier to have bullet proof penetration for weeds. I’ll also use this for my mulch and stepping stone walkway. Truly appreciate this!!!
I put cardboard down around 4 small raiesd beds o suppress creeping buttercup in Nova Scotia Canada. We had one of the wettest summers on record but the cardboard didn’t decompose a bit suring the summer. What it became was the daytime sleeping area fort hundreds of slugs, I was disposing of 50 p(lus a day through June July and August. The bonus was it also became a home for a family of red backed salamanders which also eat slugs. The downside is I can’t walk on the carboard paths in case I squash a salamander. I notice nnobody checks the undersides of wet cardbaords, but they should. I don’t suppose you will read this after posting it 6 months ago!
Great article thanks. Some tips…1.Overlap the edges of the cardboard. 2.Place cardboard pieces under gaps or holes to prevent weeds growing through.3. Wet the cardboard thorougly when it’s in place – this is essential to help the cardboard to breakdown and provide a great food resource and home for worms. Weed mat and/or/ mulch on the top as desired.4.If preparing for growing, lay compost on top of the cardboard before mulching. Any weeds which appear are easily pulled out while they are tiny.
I’ve found the cardboard used as a weed barrier will break down if if the bed is created for the beginning of spring . With the longer days & extra ground heat plus surface heat from continued long sunny days it will break down providing nutrients. I’m in Sth East Queensland, winter can be really chilly but no snow to contend with the rest of the year is sub tropical, lots of rain . So for me I swear by the use of cardboard & congratulations,” The Millennial Gardener “,👏 top garden viewing.
This is the second article of yours I’ve watched where you have answered the EXACT thing I was wondering about. I am about to put in a couple of raised beds in our backyard and our yard is basically weeds and a tiny amount of St. Augustine. I have watched a lot of youtube articles where people are tilling up all the weeds, putting down leveling sand, etc. and I was just thinking…can’t I just throw down some carboard and weed barrier and call it a day? Maybe put some nice wood chips on top for a path? Definitely going to try it now after perusal this article!
It takes a long time for the cardboard to break down. I helped on a community garden/food forest and we placed the cardboard in the fall and then in the spring planted the area and added drip irrigation. It needs a lot of moisture to breakdown. I had to cut through the cardboard to dig holes for plants. Even three years later some of the cardboard is still underneath.
i add soil and mulch over my cardboard and it is completely composted by the next season. i use it as a natural weed barrier and the cardboard encourages worms for some great soil health 🙂 i have a couple of areas where i dont get any weeds. i just add some new wood chips as needed. i dont even fertilize said area- whatever i plant thrives, even planted closely together. thanks for always posting great articles!
I utilize package card board boxes, but I much rather use the cardboard sheets/slips that you can get at Costco or Smart & Final…much larger, no ink, no tape and no holes! Also, moisture is the key to breakdown. I lay a think layer of wood chips on top of the cardboard. 5 months into the rainy season in Los Angeles and the cardboard is almost gone and the worms are happy.
In my experience this usually works great. I have terrible quack grass, which also spreads from both seed and underground rhizomes. I’ve been layering cardboard, wood chips, cardboard, wood chips for a few seasons now and in one area where it’s really bad, it still comes through and takes over! In one place, I put a large planter over the cardboard and at the end of the season the rhizome was just coiled around and around under the planter waiting for light. I’ve been working bit by bit to dig out the rhizomes in that area. Zone 4.
With no rain no worms to help decompose . I got some big boxes from neighbor was perfect using around asparagus bed an cherry tree then covered with 2 to 3 inches of free bark mulch in garden edge I have creeping ivy an climbing cucumber that can cover my cherry tree fingers crossed works good to kill these weeds out
I purchased a home last June, the back yard has no grass and nothing but weeds. I was busy unpacking and getting the house organized so I didn’t do anything about the weeds. I just kept cutting them down so my little beagle could use the yard. Over the winter I made big plans for the yard, and was so excited until I found out the weeds are Japanese knotweed (which is growing through my foundation). They grow through rhizomes and spread like wildfire. After consulting with the Ministry of Natural Resources (in Ontario) there are few things known to kill it, but one is to put down black plastic for 3-5 years to kill it. Now that I’ve found your article I’m going to put cardboard down first, and then the plastic as you have done. I’m hoping it may speed up the process. Thanks for the great idea.
What a great article! Thanks for showing the “after” condition of the cardboard. I just covered my garden beds with cardboard that would have otherwise been waste. I put raised beds over the top, covering the remaining cardboard with mulch. I’m delighted to hear that the weed suppression may last more than just a season!
I did put cardboard on my front yard to stop weeds on summer time two years ago but it was too hot for me to keep doing it since I was removing rocks to lay it( Georgia summer) I decided to wait. Waited until September to finish and cardboard was still intact but the clay dirt underneath became rich black soil full of warms. Not what I planned for. At that time had no intentions whatsoever to do any gardening related work. Now I’m interested in gardening and I know for sure how to get rich soil. By the way, while didn’t stop the weeds completely for too long only have to work there about 3 months of the year pulling those.
Very informative article! I did notice 2 things that seemed polar opposites tho. I see the point of weed barriers is to keep new things from growing, yet composting is to help new growth. It seems to me that using cardboard in the point of this article was to help prevent new growth. That seems the opposite of cardboard breaking down to help with new growth. I think the cardboard did exactly what you wanted in this case by preventing new growth. When it starts falling apart is when it it ready for the compost bin.
Thanks so much for your website. I’ve used your recommendations to great results. I live in Raleigh, NC (zone 7b), and I’m planning to try the satsuma citrus and dwarf banana trees in my yard starting next summer. I use cardboard as a weed barrier in my food forest and gardens. It needs to be wetted when placed and needs to be watered by rain in order to break down. It feeds the soil (worms and pill bugs, a.k.a. rollie polies, really enjoy it), and it will last for a few months before fully breaking down, even over winter. Mine is under a layer of wood chip mulch.
Great Vid! I’ve got an extremely invasive Chameleon ground cover plant which somehow found its way into my back yard. It has choked out and killed some of my cinnamon stick ferns, & hosta plants. I’ve cleaned & moved the surviving plants to another area. This is a very hard to kill weed, takes years to eradicate it, you have to dig down 2+ feet to get to and pull out all the rhizomes. I’m too old to continue digging such a large area. I was going to just use the landscapers fabric but now I’m going to add your cardboard method. It can only help more to keep the sun from this evil plant. I’m starting late in the year like you but I plan on leaving it covered for a year or more. Thanks, can’t wait to get my own experiment started.
In my area, I use cardboard for most garden beds. It works reasonably well. I was forced to resort to commercial grade landscape fabric for my front flowerbeds. I have a weed called. “Mare’s Tail”. It had no trouble piercing through the cardboard. Some of the quackgrass also was able to get through. The landscape fabric did the trick! All the holes were made by using a torch. This kept the edges from fraying. I covered the landscape fabric with pine bark mulch. It created a visually pleasing surface that does not break down as easily as other mulches.
The cardboard breaks down better if you put organic material on top of it. Weed barrier allows moisture out as well as in… and the black color is a solar radiator. I put cardboard in-between my raised beds with mulch ontop last summer… never had a weed. This year the weeds are starting to come through on the edges as the rhizomes are working there way in. I raked it back and the cardboard is almost completely deteriorated…. and is now really nice looking compost. The drawback is… I have to replace more cardboard to prevent weeds. 😛
AHA! Good article – I plan on removing all the plants in the beds around my home (except for my palm trees) and replacing it with large rocks and using planters for my plants. This process will help with the wire grass I can’t seem to get rid of – even after digging down a foot to get to the rhizomes. I can spray around my palms to prevent growth there – it won’t hurt them as long as I’m careful.
It took two years to kill every root and seed that had broken through my tar driveway. I covered the driveway with cardboard, then covered the cardboard with large-size black plastic trash bags. Most of the weeds were dead the first year, but a few survived, and some had broken through all around the edges. This spring, the 2nd year, the stubborn weeds are finally dead and gone.
Having done this without the plastic weed barrier almost all year long i can safely say that thats the reason yours was preserved so well. Mine needs constant refills so to speak because the natural elements constantly break them down, sun, rain, wind, pets, bugs, and unless i put the heavy duty plain cardboard almost overlaping, that terrible weed still finds a way to fool it. I wish i could get my hands on wood chips to lay on top heavely. Sadly it not readily avalaible on my side of the jungle.
Really stupid question because I’m a new flower gardener…i good with veggies but flowers? They don’t like me. Once you have the cardboard and landscape barriers down, how do i plant through it? My flower bed is just dirt and mulch with a ton of weeds and i cannot keep up with it..oh and how do you put it on walkways?
Hi, I just got a raised garden bed that I have to put together. I’m planning to put it on a section that has grass on it. I don’t know which way to go that will be less expensive. I’m thinking of laying patio 12×12 pavers over the grass. Do I need to remove the grass first? (which is a pain) then what do I put on the dirt, the cardboard? Then the pavers? Then put the raised garden container over the cardboard? Can you give some advise on this project? I’m not too good of a diy person. Appreciate it. Just got the raised container, it will be 6.5 ft x 3.5 ft & 2ft tall. No bottom on it. Plus what do I fill it with? Thx for your help.
Centipede grass…I’ve been dealing with it for years. I put a 12×12 tarp down 5 years ago and it still has roots under it. I am letting the chickens deal with it in the fenced garden this year and I’m growing in a few raised beds outside. I also will be edging all other areas around the garden. Because this stuff just keeps crawling back after you pull it out. I refuse to use chemicals. Good luck to all that has the grass, I’m in north central Tennessee.
I never use a plastic weed barrier as it can make the soil toxic. You need to wet the cardboard on both sides and cover with 2 inches of soil and 2to 4 inches of wood chips or wood mulch. For me, this kills the weeds and lawn. The clay soil below even breaks down with all the worms working at it. Thanks for your experiment.
Hello..I put cardboard all around in my small garden to stop the weeds..burt I have a Japanese lace leaf maple tree that is beautiful n I’ve had for yrs..the cardboard also surrounds the tree but when it rains I’ve noticed it is not getting wet under the cardboard..I belive my tree may die so I’m not sure if I should remove the cardboard around the tree ?
Could part of this effect be attributed to the fact that the weed barrier inhibits the flow of water from the surface, through the weed barrier, and into the soil? There are studies from a “garden professor” (Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott) showing that landscape fabric / weed barriers substantially inhibit the flow of water and air to the soil (and presumably also cardboard, in this case). Perhaps a relative lack of water and air could account for some of this result.
Just see this now 8/28/24; I have been using cardboard all summer in my garden area, around and between my raised beds. I am putting down cardboard then a layer sometimes two layers of weed cloth (I am plagued with Tree of Heaven sprouts, and they are horrible to deal with. Which is why I am doing all of this in the first place), then the broken concrete from my old garage floor. I will put compost between the concrete blocks and see it with creeping thyme.