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Why I stopped using cardboard in my garden prep
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- čas přidán 19. 08. 2024
- Regenerative gardening course: blossomandbran...
Flower arranging course: blossomandbran... I didn't mean to cause controversy with this info on how I (don't) use cardboard in my garden, but it definitely ruffled some feathers--in this video I'm taking you around the farm on some little chores and also discussing how we are prepping a new area of the landscape for planting next year, and why we aren't using cardboard anymore.
While I used to use cardboard to kill vegetation, I haven't done it in a few years, mostly. because I didn't have enough at the time so just used woodchips instead--and interestingly I've now learned that the cardboard really isn't necessary; scalping the existing grass plus using thick enough wood chips will kill off the vegetation just the same!
The use of cardboard as a mulch material can impact oxygen permeability in the soil due to its dense and compact nature. Cardboard creates a physical barrier that restricts the movement of air, hindering the exchange of gases essential for soil respiration and the activity of beneficial microorganisms. Prolonged use of cardboard mulch may lead to reduced aeration and potential oxygen deprivation in the soil. Additionally, concerns arise from the chemicals used in cardboard production. Many cardboards are treated with substances like adhesives, inks, and dyes that may contain harmful chemicals--and it's also very difficult to know what is in cardboards, especially ones of a recycled nature. Over time, these chemicals can leach into the soil, raising concerns about soil contamination and negatively affecting the health of plants and the broader ecosystem. I've really started being more mindful of the potential drawbacks of using cardboard mulch and considering alternative materials that support aeration and do not pose risks of chemical contamination--but you make the call for your own garden!
gardenprofesso...
gardening.usas...
"No cardboard! One reason we do not recommend using cardboard on top of soil in outdoor gardens is because cardboard takes a long time to break down which prevents the entry of oxygen into the soil beneath it. (For example: "lasagne gardening" where layers of organic matter is sandwiched between layers of cardboard.) Earthworms are often observed under cardboard layers, with the mistaken belief that the lasagne gardening method is helping the worms, when in fact, it is not. Earthworms need oxygen to live, so they migrate upward in search of air but are stopped by the cardboard layer. Deprived of oxygen, the worms die. Similarly, plant roots also need oxygen for the plants to thrive. If you are layering plant material to help it decompose, leave out the cardboard!"
Here in the very south UK its very wet and I use all the cardboard I can get my hands on , it breaks down quickly if ripped into small pieces on my compost heap but sometimes I put complete boxes under a plant pot in the garden as a mulch I've noticed that the worms love it. I guess you've got to do what works for you 🥰
Yes, not saying it doesn’t work! Just sharing why we don’t use it anymore. :)
But she mentioned PFAS and heavy metal contamination in the carboard, so toxic!
I am a follower of Charles Dowding who is a pioneer for the no dig organic method of gardening here in the UK , he uses cardboard all the time , Like I said we all find our own way of doing things @@stephanielegarda5443
@@stephanielegarda5443 yes but you should look at the research, it does not specify what type of cardboard was used etc. There needs to be more specific research to conclude that definitively.
I got the same surprise here (6B) looked under my cardboard to see if it was “working” to create my wildflower path and the worms were having a party. We LOVE Monty Don + everyone on Gardners World!!! I learned so much watching video after video of Carol Klein + Monty Don. I watched Clarkson’s Farm and laughed my ass off after watching all the shows about real British farms. Sans the snow, your area has lots of challenges depending on where you are (SE or SW)
Don't listen to the haters, Bri. You do you! Each person needs to decide for themselves. You're just helping us by giving good information. Love your channel.
Thank you so much!
I second that! I have learned so much from you Bri and appreciate all your thorough and (especially) detailed vids. You always seem to answer all my questions as you go, making you the most effective gardening teacher I know. I marvel at your work ethic (how do you do it?) and joyful, positive transparency. You motivate me no end to keep improving and trying. I love what you do and how you teach through rational experiments and demos. Please keep doing what you are doing! ❤
Thanks for passing along your knowledge and experience. My grandma gardened until she was 102, and was well reasoned like you. I appreciate your channel and the familiarity it brings.
So nice of you, thank you for being here :)
What good info! I feel like we all should have known better but we get so used to not questioning everything. I used cardboard in my beds but we have so much woods and downed branches and stuff that we could rent a wood chipper and start using our own stuff!
My cardboard disappeared into our clay soil in about 3 months after being covered in compost. We live in 8a South Carolina and get rain. Most of the Bermuda grass died as intended, and I was delighted because Bermuda is devilish to remove. I hadn’t considered the pernicious ingredients of the cardboard though. What I used was free of ink or tape since we had unused cartons from moving. If it weren’t for the Bermuda, I would go without cardboard and just use mulch. I may have to do comparisons because I like empirical testing to see what works best.
My cardboard disappeared in our garden too, very clay! What I feel, but have no scientific proof, is it did get rid of grass- yeah! But did not improve the soil any. I am adding more compost in this area to help vs areas where I dug up grass .
Wow, what a difference you have between your cardboard and non cardboard areas. 5 years ago I reclaimed a very run down allotment garden, full of every imaginable weed. I started by whacking them down, then a good layer of cardboard, then 4 inches of well rotted cow manure. The cardboard actually disappeared within 6 months. I’m guessing that this happened because I live in the rainy north west of U.K. The nitrogen in the manure enabled bacteria to rot the cardboard quickly. I still had to dig out some perennials with a trowel over the next couple of years. I didn’t know about the forever chemicals in cardboard, so I’m glad I only had to do this once. Ignore the detractors! Sometimes you’d think CZcamsrs were commanding them to do stuff, instead of giving them information to make informed decisions. Why can’t they start their own channel and show us their evidence for a counter view? We all know why, don’t we!
Thanks for taking the time in your busy schedule to share your work and philosophy.
After watching your previous video on cardboard, which I've always used when creating new beds, I tried creating a few beds without it this summer and found that you were right--the cardboard isn't necessary. I just put wood chips or a thick layer of leaves over the grass these days.
So glad to see someone else has reasoned through the issue and sensibly concluded that cardboard is bad and it is. Noone has any idea what's in it so why put it on your ground? The only conceivable use is to kill weeds or make a path but even that's questionable! Many years ago, i decided, without thinking, that it was the cure for mulch under eight dogwoods by my fence. At the point of starting, i looked at those trees and something popped into my mind like What are you doing? I thought how can their roots breathe and receive moisture? ... how can I block that? So, I stopped before I started, looked at those trees I loved and said I will never do anything to you that could hurt you and for my thoughtlessness, I am going to take the time I would have used for the project to water everyone of you from my weak well which i am loathe to do. I like to think they returned the love with the most spectacular show in spring. ....the answer is if you love your trees, bushes, soil and all the critters, don't do it. All natural mulch is best. ... Thank you for pointing out a very valid issue to counter all those others who are saying it's the snswer. It's not.
I like that you’re explaining (and titling the video) about WHY you personally are not using it unlike some content creators who just talk in generalities. I tried cardboard this summer and I’d say I experienced similar results to you where it didn’t really break down.
I appreciate that! I’ve definitely been trying to realize that my experience isn’t necessarily everyone’s while still giving what information I’ve found in trying to figure out the “why.” Thank you!
Thanks for sharing. Soil texture is just as important as soil biology and this is a good demonstration of that. I also think your soil benefited from maintaining a more aerobic environment during decomposition. My feeling is that cardboard weighted down with compost encourages an anaerobic environment under the cardboard. While both lead to decomposition, the aerobic environment leads to a healthier soil microbiology - just like in composting. Keep sharing, your info feeds the community and is so appreciated.
Ive used full sheets of cardboard in rainy zone 9 here in the Pacific NW and had amazing success with it. Highly recommend. Just as indicated in the Lasagna Gardening method, it led to the most naturally enriched, fluffy, dark soil with zero tilling needed.
Yup, not saying it won’t work, just offering alternatives for those who don’t want to use cardboard. No till doesn’t always equal better for the soil microbes! 😉
Charles Dowling would disagree…
@@patriciahogg5763 Yes, but he gardens is a wet area. As do I.
That’s very interesting on the cardboard. I’m in the Tx Gulf Coast and we have a lot of moisture so our cardboard breaks down in 6 months or less. Now I want to research the cons of using cardboard. Thank you for the information.
I live where it's very dry, but I irrigate. I've already had experiences with cardboard not breaking down. This year I tried cardboard and no cardboard in the same bed and planted corn. The corn was stunted where the cardboard was and didn't produce ears. After I cut it down, I saw the roots didn't make it through.
When I lived where it was wet, it broke down too fast and I couldn't get enough cardboard. The weeds would just grow through it. I think it just depends on your garden and what materials you can get your hands on.
This why it is helpful to filter popular internet advice through the reality of your region. I'm in Zone 3 cold climate short season. I learned recently from a local webinar why cardboard isn't great for establishing beds.
I will still keep cardboard for my compost bin and may try growing in cardboard boxes this summer.
I appreciate how you thoughtfully share your perspective and experience in this and other videos. Thanks!
I'm in Ireland here and cardboard breaks down in a few weeks lol. I layer it up around my young trees and have to replace it with a thin layer of cow manure on top every month or the grass will come through it. I'm finding it hard to imagine a dry winter lol. A dry week in the summer is something to celebrate here.
I want to state that I'm new to your channel and I'm excited to see some good gardening videos of someone in the Rocky Mountains. I'd argue that our climate is unique enough that watching farmers in other regions, while helpful, leaves many of us in the Rockies in an experimental mode and so what you have learned and shared is exciting to me. In addition, I know we've tried cardboard in our garden beds as well and just like you the ground underneath is dead and cracked, very similar to what you have. Sincerely, thank you for what your are sharing, it may not be the best thing for everyone in every region, but it share is making a lot of sense to me!
thank you for sharing the soil difference. The amount of rainfall and air moisture does seem to be a factor. Charles Dowding, someone who advocates the cardboard method, is in England. I'm in Iowa, and we have very aggressive grass that is tough to get rid of like Bermuda grass. I have done both and now think I'll poke holes in the cardboard to get air in. Another method is continuously mowing off the grass as low as possible during dry spells and then adding wood mulch. I'll try this next year. Happy gardening.
The problem is, if you create holes for the soil to breathe, then you’ll only be encouraging the Bermuda back in! It’ll regenerate as soon as the oxygen hits it.
Charles Dowding plants into the beds straight away though. He doesn't wait a year for the weeds to die. And yes, his gardens would be much wetter I'd say.
That’s so interesting. I placed cardboard in the winter with compost on top and it was pretty much gone by the end of summer. We live in the Pacific Northwest and get a lot of moisture in the winter, spring and fall.
Same here and I live in Colorado. I put a layer of raised bed soil (Whitney Farms raised bed soil is amazing!) and then mulch on top of the cardboard in the Fall and the cardboard was gone by the Spring. I like fine mulch but I'm not a fan of big wood chips so maybe that's part of the difference.
Depends on how much it is watered too in my experience but doesn’t erase my concerns of contamination-of course as we know that’s not just a cardboard issue!
I would like to express gratitude for your insightful and inspiring videos. Not only is your soil clearly full of life but so is your heart and soul. Thank you for bravely and beautifully sharing your experiences such that we all can support and nurture each other.
I agree, I've stopped using cardboard for the same reasons (thanks to your earlier video) - too hard to know 100% what it includes.
What kind of wood chips do you use? Thanks
We have been quite dry the last couple years and I tried the cardboard method this year on my row crop because I don't have a tiller yet. I have the same results as you, hard, dry ground underneath my compost layer (so much so that the roots of plants were quite stunted) I started using a ton of mulch halfway thru the summer to help keep moisture in the ground for longer with more success.
Thanks for sharing, you have really opened my eyes on a lot of things. Keep up the good work!
I don’t think it has anything to do with the cardboard. The thing is one method has a very thick layer of mulch versus the cardboard area doesn’t have the same depth of mulch. The deeper layer of mulch has the better water retention, therefore soil that seems more moist. If the cardboard area has that much mulch on top of it, the cardboard will probably decay better and the soil will be just as moist. The cardboard allows for faster kill on the grass with less mulch. There are pro’s and con’s to both method. I highly doubt that a one time application of cardboard on your soil will create a reservoir of bad chemicals in the soil for years to come. I would worry more about the chemicals in the rain.
Chemicals in the rain statement resonates with me. That’s why the thumb 😊
I use cardboard around my perennial plants, such as the blueberry bush, and fruit trees, then I cover the cardboard with wood chips. Where I did not put cardboard, I put a Thick layer of wood chips, like 6 -8”, and still the field bindweed came up. Huge sections of the yard have terrible invasion of field bindweed. Cardboard has been the only way I’ve been able to keep it at bay. My soil is alive with earthworms and other lovely little critters, it keeps well moistened to where I rarely water. I’ve layered cardboard with aged manure then wood chips with great success. Perhaps your dry, compacted area just needs a good load of manure on it.
Unfortunate once that cardboard breaks down the bindweed comes back. The roots can be around 16’ deep.
Living in Colorado with the lack of water we have, has a different result when it comes to breaking down compost and cardboard. I'm with you on the cardboard project! Straight up mulch is better here!❤
Love this, Bri! I noticed the cardboard soil in my yard was definitely not as nice to work in as my soil that I only dressed with wood chips. I didn’t make the connection until I saw this video. Thanks for the research!
I noticed the exact same! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Wow. I've just done a Google search on cardboard garden chemicals and found a lot of articles raising concerns about using cardboard in the garden. Thanks for bringing this issue up. I've used cardboard in the past but will stick with wood chips in future!
Kind of blows my mind that people are fighting against your opinion which is purely an opinion. They can use cardboard if they want your just presenting the information. Which you have tested yourself, done research, and it makes sense that there might be chemicals in cardboard that’s not intended to put in our ground. It’s not what cardboard manufacturer make it for. Thank you for putting information out even if we don’t like the truth of it.
Thank you! I've just learned these days that I consider everything "guilty until proven innocent," too many companies trying to pull things over on consumers and at the end of the day what I've heard from cardboard manufacturers is that each batch is different depending on inputs, there's just no way to know so I'd rather stick with what is natural :)
Thanks for the feedback!
This was so helpful! Just when I was debating whether to use cardboard or wood chips. 😊 Thanks for the insight!
Glad it could give you some helpful info! I know others have different experiences too. You could even consider just using a layer of leaves in place of the cardboard if you’re a bit paranoid like me, haha. Would serve the same purpose ❤️
You definitely gave me something to think about in this video. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing this information. I've wondered about this. Now i ahve additional info with which to make a decision. One time i had asked a question on Charles Dowdings channel if there were any concerns regarding the dyes and glue used in cardboard. I really riled up someone because they came back with aggressive arguing, accusing me of criticizing those who used it, which was not true. I sincerely wanted to know before I used cardboard in my garden. I never got an answer from C. Dowding either.
Where you are and how wet it is Definitely makes a difference with cardboard. Here in Missouri we get enough rain. Plus… I am working with perennial pasture grasses mulch alone will not do it. I have to be a little more aggressive if I want to kill it. Like you said, everyone’s situation is different 🙂
That is good to know about cardboard. I was going to try it, but I think I will skip using it. I might use it for my walkways. Thank you for the info. Have a great day.
I’m just starting out in my flower farm area and had tried a few different things and noted that the cardboard was working really well but it never dawned on me all the chemicals that are leeching down into the soil. Thank you very much!
I live in Arizona. Very very little rain. I started to use cardboard but instinctively i knew it wasn’t gone to break down for years but did not know the impact of that. I’m going to remove the cardboard and just use wood chips and only dig when planting something.
This is so helpful. I was so hesitant to put cardboard in my beds… after seeing so many people do it, I did too. I just did it so I’m removing it today.
I have been hesitant too. Now we know!
We did this one year, on a garden bed that had been tilled like 4 times, and seemed like the crass was quenched, and didnt think i meeded a layer to smother grasses, and we only layed down 4-6 inches of woodchip mulch to go no till, and it was a nightmare, the crabgrass came up and it was a very grassy garden. Was so hard ti remove the mulch to then layer contractors paper down, but when we did it over again with the paper, it was like magic. No weeds, no watering, and the contractors paper was disolved by the next year.
I enjoy you willingness to share your truth and knowledge ,please don’t deprive us because of nea-sayers
Excellent input on cardboard use! Thank you so much. I was a happy cardboard user and thanks to your video am reconsidering it…
Fascinating evidence!
Thank you so much for this video! I have used cardboard in our pathways in the veggie garden, and YES, it does a nice job of choking things out. Literally nothing grows in the pathways. LOL When I noticed that the first spring after I put it down, I wondered if that was such a good way to do things to kill the grass in the raised beds. So when we built raised beds, I did NOT use cardboard. I actually laid a HEAVY layer of leaves, then 8 inches of native soil from an area that needed to be leveled in our wooded area. I still had to till in some deteriorating mulch and lime to bring my soil where it needed to be after my soil tests. But Those leaves I laid down ensured no weeds and grasses came up through the soil!
I have been concerned, too, about forever chemicals. Your video just confirmed for me I was right to not use the card board in the beds! Thank you so much!
I love you videos, too - you are so honest, down to earth, and share your experiences. Much appreciated.
Great share. We invested in a chipper just for this….
That's crazy that cardboard didn't fully break down after five years! Beautiful soil too.
Thank you. I'm in the beginning stages and just recently laid out cardboard. Gong to take it all away now and get those wood chips. Couldn't have seen the video at a better time. I truly appreciate your knowledge and advice.
My Mom and Dad had that pfatzgraff pattern. After Dad passed we wound up saving a couple pieces and donating the rest. Glad someone does actually get them from the thrift store!
When dealing with bindweed, I use cardboard with thick layer of seasonally available material on top. In SW Colorado it takes about 18 months for the cardboard to start breaking down. I have a 14 inch thick caliche layer that starts at 3 inches down in none mitigated areas of my yard, takes 2 days to dig 4 post holes by hand.
Hi ,like your cardboard thoughts. I heard you say Colorado so I looked up your location .I live there as well . Saw in video the brick coming out for beams. .Was a bricklayer for many years . Did a lot of work on old houses such as yours. There's a few tricks to making the new work look like the old brick work .Many construction guys don't care ,don't know. Since we share a town if wanted I can swing by for a look ect. Name's Craig
Thank you so much!!! ❤️ will reach out if we get into trouble hah!
My experience with using cardboard in the garden in Florida was only to invite termites into my yard. Apparently ground termites LOVE cardboard. Lessons were learned.
I live in a cold, wet area and put cardboard down in fall, fully expecting it to be gone by spring. Five months later, it had barely deteriorated at all, despite putting lots of soil and well rotted compost on top. Fortunately, I had restricted the cardboard to one area, otherwise planting that spring would have been a nightmare.I mulch with other materials now, and I have no interest in using cardboard again. Ultimately,there isn't any way to know what's in it for certain. Everyone should research as much as possible and then find what works for them. I prefer trial and error in small sections to minimize potential damage.
I completely agree with you about the cardboard! I don’t use it either
We used cardboard - not colored - plain cardboard with compost on top maybe an inch or two. We have great soil health and a massive amount of earthworms - the crops were massive
Definitely not saying it won’t work! Just sharing why I don’t use it. :)
@@Blossomandbranch I am confused then because saying it starved all the life out of your soil sounds pretty definitive that it doesn't work and why. It's akin to saying, "It isn't broken, it just needs to be fixed." When you say this is what I believe, but you can do what you want, you're acutely aware that viewers will be "influenced" by what you say. I guess that's why the term "influencer" is used.
I started taking remnants of cardboard and running it through a 12 piece paper shredder. I use a lot of it for packing my eBay sales, and I didn't want to throw it out. I got the idea from another reseller that does it for package filler. I put mine in my composting to cover the fruit & vegetable scraps, and the plant cutoffs. So far, the worms and the bugs have been doing a great job at breaking it down. I just water it every few days to help it stay compacted and in place from the winds.
I also fouund if you have a large bucket full of water and let it soak over night the worms love it. I live in a dry part of Spain and I love using cardboard. I use it for different things. One to allow invesive bamboo to stop growing, in my worm bins and in my compost wet.
Yes...cardboard and paper alike are like sponge that suck up a lot of water and moisture. As mulch, it will absorb most compost tea or liquid fertilizer before it gets down to the soil.
I have a commercial grade chipper shredder that can finely shreds to mix with compost pile or mix with potting soil. It's the only way for my purpose otherwise. Office paper shredder cannot do the job of chipping them to at least half an inch or lesser. About 30% of shredded cardboard or paper mix with compost pile works best, more so with a rotating compost bin to keep them loose.
When I did my first perennial bed, I used about 2-3 inches of seven year old, dry horse manure. I know a woman who used to rescue horses. She got too old to care for them, but before she was able to find new homes for the horses she had, the stalls accumulated about two feet of manure. Because it was out of the elements, it never decayed, just dried out. On top of the manure, I added 4-6 inches of arborist wood chips. It took me two years to plan all the plantings (the bed is about 1200 sq ft, so lots to plan). I start most of my perennials from seed during the winter/early spring, so I'm planting small plants (3.5" pots). I'd dig holes and it was common to find 6-8 worms in a trowel of soil. Anyway, that's my long-winded way of saying I second the heavy wood chip mulch method in an area you know you want to plant, but still need to plan the plantings.
I also happen to live in an area that was home to many paper mills. All of the municipal water around here is contaminated with PFAS chemicals (there's about 15,000 different PFAS chemicals, so we're probably not that unique). These chemicals aren't actually forever, they just take a really long time to degrade because the carbon-flourine bond is very stable and strong. However, there is research (factor.niehs.nih.gov/2022/9/science-highlights/pfas-remediation ) suggesting that white-rot fungus can be effective at breaking down PFAS chemicals. One of the things that white-rot fungus likes to eat is wood. So, again, wood chip mulch to the rescue. Something to consider if you're planning to use cardboard to kill the vegetation for a new bed, cover the cardboard with a thick layer of wood chips to encourage growth of white-rot fungus.
I had the same results with cardboard. My cardboard is still mostly intact after 1.5 years. Just too dry in central Texas to break down. I also have zero earthworms, probably due to the soil being so compacted and dry. I dug some sunken hugelkultur beds this summer and used an SDS Max hammer with a clay spade bit to break up my extremely dry and hard soil, lol.
Here in Missouri I cardboard in my garden I soak it first and then till it in with tractor and 4 foot tiller it hold water in the dry season and work well
All toilet paper tube work very well to start your plants in because the tubes will rot away when the plants start to grow
Thank you so much for this very useful information! I just made a flower garden bed this past June using cardboard, i plan to make a new one using only rough cedar mulch and my horse manure (not aged) which would you lay down first, the manure or the mulch. I think I'll add compost to top it off. I live in wet Michigan and the cedar mulch that i have access to doesn't really decompose to quickly either. If love your opinion please. I'm making a cut flower bed, not veggies, FYI . Thank you for your time. 😊
Maybe I could till the two together, let it winter over, and add the compost in the spring at the time of planting???? I would appreciate your thoughts. 😊
Interesting thoughts...I also have not been using cardboard.
Also, if you live in a dry or drought area, the cardboard takes a while to break down.
Another youtuber had mentioned there was a lot of mineral oil used in the paper and packaging industry. I have no idea what effects this might have but just that unknown factor made me warry of using it for compost or in the veggie beds. I am going to try it in a perennial bed to combat ground elder though.
Cardboard acts way different in my climate and in summer breaks down fast. However I am at war with synthetic chemicals and seeing that they are putting this junk in cardboard I am not planning to use it any longer I really wanted to smother weeds and turf but I'll just find a source for wood chip so I can do a deep layer of that. Thanks for the vid.
I agree about the cardboard Bree
Please clarify what you mean by a “deep layer” of wood chips.
I’ve found sorrel, bindweed & brambles (any weed that spreads by under &/or above ground runners I would suspect) LOVE to grow through at least up to 12” (haven’t tried deeper) of wood chips, because not only does it keep the soil moist for them to survive through our dry summers, it smothers any competitor weeds that might keep them in check. At least with cardboard I only have the super weeds around the edges.
In my experience neither deep mulch nor cardboard will kill pernicious weeds-it may keep them down until the cardboard breaks down and then they return!
Thanks for the cardboard info. Soil with mi;cj so much better.
Your soil looks so different! I live in UK and my soil is thick and heavy and gets easily waterlogged, yours looks sandy and light in comparison. I suppose it is the clay content here, though, where i live now isn't even considered a clay type. The soil in my home growing up could actually be moulded into pots and dried lol! My point is that cardboard really works here, a single layer left on the lawn disappears in a week, but looking at your dry compacted section, it obviously doesn't work with your environment. Yes, i worry about cardboard chemicals, but for me, natural mulch doesnt work, you would need a foot, at least, it is more expensive and plastics are the only other option, so the cost benefit is just different. Your way looks so much better for your situation. In a comments section, people often assume the thing that works for them, in their climate, is the only right way to do something. Which is just silly.
We are in Colorado, known for its clay. :) the difference in the soil is the natural mulch system!
Thanks for the info! ❤
My favorite take away of your video isn’t at all about wether you should use cardboard or not but something you didn’t state so specifically…you need to make observations on what does and does not work on your site and take that feedback into strong consideration!!
I've used cardboard in my garden and had tremendous success with an even more productive, healthy soil. You said you starved out all the soil life. What were your soil test results that showed that? I intend to use cardboard again in another area of my property, so you got my attention with the emphatic statement. If my first effort was blind luck, I'd like to know now before I put the effort in a second time.
We have another video illustrating it where we give soils test results based on the Haney soils test from this spring.
I use a lot of cardboard to create my pathways and I cover it with straw. Breaks down after one season but the grocery store keeps supplying me with all the cardboard I'll ever need.
I grew up on a farm. I would usually test the electric fence by grabbing in to it. Stood there laughing as I watched the electricity pulse through my arm. My mom hated it when I did that. 😂
Thanks for an interesting video. I just found you channel, now subscribing!
Welcome aboard!
I'm new to your channel and already love your content and that you link your sources. I'm in Appalachia and I'm concerned about getting wood chips that contain black walnut or kudzu , along with the cost associated with getting this much. Any tips? Thinking about deep mulching with leaves but wonder how I'd keep them from blowing away? I used straw and horse manure once and ended up with glyphosate poisoned soil 😢Thanks!!
Eek! Kudzu is scary. I’d try to find arborists when they’re on your area and flag them down, so you can scope out what is getting chipped. Offer them $20 to dump at your place, works every time for me!!
The wood chips are shredded, that is why the moisture or rain permeates. If you shredded the cardboard it would break down faster but the wood chips didn't break down either.
What do you recommend if arborist chips are not available. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I've had decent luck with a thick layer of grass clippings. I think they did introduce some weeds, but killed most of the grass below it, so it was better than nothing overall. They break down quickly, which could be good or bad.
I got chips by phoning around to arborists and asking. They pay to dispose of chips otherwise, so if you offer free drop-off, they usually are happy to deliver. But it's on their schedule.
Hello, thank you for your educational videos, I love watching them - my question is: do you use a shredder to recycle your garden waste and turn it into all that lovely mulch, or do you buy it in? Thanks!
I've tried everything to rid my community garden plot of aggressive grass rhizomes. They travel several feet over from pathways no matter how thickly I mulch. Cardboard is the only thing that worked short of trying landscape fabric.
You are correct, however I would argue that nitrogen/ oxygen drawdown , if you place cardboard or woody mulch on top. Will only affect the top inch or so of soil and only for a short period of time. So just placing cardboard on the ground and placing a manure or conditioner on top will not degrade or affect the soil and or growth of plants for a long period of time . Depriving the soil of light and air for a long time. Sure that works for your theory. As far as materials in the cardboard sure, but I would argue that common found manures and conditioners that the average man/woman purchases also contain those metals and chemicals. It is extremely hard to source materials from anywhere that we have not polluted
It depends. We have areas where cardboard still hasn’t broken down after 5 years. We don’t buy manure or compost for the very reasons of contamination you’ve mentioned, our focus is on zero input and closed loop gardening and farming. Hence why we focus on using cover crops to amend the soil especially in annual beds rather than composts.
No argument here, I use cover crops as well. But i see nothing wrong with people using cardboard. As most people can only afford that and I would not want to discourage gardening, especially the quicker forms of soil enhancement. To have cardboard last five years, that is obviously going to affect the soil. Never heard of It lasting that long though. 5 years worth of the earths elements and it’s still intact, wow ! Must have been coated in plastic even wood chip doesn’t last five years in its original structure.
It has more to do with the low moisture - high desert climate we have in Colorado. Water is a powerful and necessary molecule for so many biological and chemical processes. The lack of it causes competition in those processes. That's why I appreciate Kate commenters who share their zones and average humidity.
Thank you for this video! The evidence of your soil results speak for itself…
Thanks for sharing!! I love going to the science of the soil test. I’m in Utah so will likely experience something similar to you. Do you have suggestions to reduce the weeding if we don’t go the cardboard route? Do we mulch ever year? We get overrun by grass really quick and I easily get overwhelmed.
Thank you thank you for giving that info of catdboard depriving soul of oxygen water and the microbes won’t thrive . You mentioned five years in the one bed and still remnants of papers and that soil was not rich at all. Thank you I’ve researched this method as well and never suggest this as a means of prepping new garden space.
Relaxed garden method for planting your bulbs plants always seek sun😎
I use paper grocery bags. Cut them and spread open in a single layer. They break down easily and completely over time.
The best experience I ever had was paper bags covered with cocoa shell mulch. I haven't been able to find reasonably priced cocoa shell mulch in years. I really miss it.
I tried bales of hay one year for mulch and it was right mess.
Wood chip mulch changes the ph of the soil and doesn't break down well. Cocoa shells practically melt away into the soil and enrich it.
As much chocolate as Americans eat, you'd think finding the mulch would be easier.
Sorry if it's already been mentioned... when cardboard decomposes it produces methane gas which is a much more damaging greenhouse gas than CO2... something like 20 times worse.
Hi Bri, I need some advice. I'm starting a new raised garden and I prepared my soil with very thick mulch from an arborist. We put together the beds and I am getting ready to place all of them. Should we now remove the wood chips, place the beds and them add the wood chips around the beds. Any advice would be appreciated. I want to use my native soil. Thank you so much for your knowledge and information!
I always wondered about using cardboard. I know there is fermaylahyde in it so I always steered away from using it. I'm curious to know what kind of grass you have in CO. I'm in Texas and our grass is Bermuda and St Augustine and will grow thur concrete! Cardboard wouldn't harm it in the least
I'm so bummed to hear about forever chemicals in cardboard! I've been using it in my compost pile, too. I loved that I could add it there, because I'm a bit doubtful about the recycling efforts in my community. Shoot!
Thanks for the comparison. I've been hesitating using using cardboard to establish my new raised beds, so you came along just in time :) Any thoughts re: plastic in drip irrigation?
That’s one we are trying to figure out-on a large scale it’s really hard to avoid because most options are plastic! Ollas (burying terra cotta pots and filling with water ) is one option on a smaller scale! Putting in more drought tolerant plants has helped but no other good ideas have come to me yet.
I was told to use a bit of cardboard to offset the effect of coffee grounds in compost.
Thanks for the information. I’m curious what to use to get rid of bad and agressive weeds. I don’t use fabric but these weeds are seriously getting to me. Will mulch eventually reduce/kill them? From Southern Ontario Canada.
My question as well
What type of weeds?
My question is can I use non-coated cardboard in my beds as a small protection for my perennials in late fall instead of leaves? Overwinter and remove in the spring.
I have done this with roses-an open cardboard box around a rose bush, filled with leaves. IMO that application is better than on top of soil if you have concerns about oxygen permeation and potential contaminants :)
@@Blossomandbranch
Understand. But I have nothing to surround and it’s so much easier getting rid of leaves in the fall. We have had so little snow the past few years in Ontario
So interesting! I used cardboard years ago, lasagna-style, to create beds for plants with good results. In the past few years, however, using it for raised beds has not worked as well. I'm wondering if the cardboard content has changed, or if the depth of the mix had more bearing on the results. Thank you for sharing this
From what I’ve heard (I’ve gone down a rabbit hole of talking to cardboard producers haha) the “ingredients” can vary wildly especially for recycled cardboards. I’ve also wondered if there are water resistant additives, when I did the trial of the bed types last year it was very hard to wet the cardboards!
You are correct that some ingredients in recycled cardboard, like PFAS, repel water and resist it from moving through the material. PFAS are used to make
Hiking boots and outerwear waterproof or water resistant. Thank you for sharing this valuable links.
I stopped using too... it provides a shelter for rodents and runway protection (Moles and Voles).
My feathers are not ruffled...haha! Well, I'm a first year gardener and I already put cardboard down under mulch, but it's for walkways in the backyard. I poked holes in it so rain can get down to the soil and hopefull some oxygen can get down there too. Hopefully poking holes in it helped. It's also a single layer...not stacked all over the place. I dunno what I'm doing, so I'm hoping for the best...hahaa!
Thank you. That chicken bedding study is concerning. I live in NW AR and need cardboard to keep bermuda down. Cardboard is gone in 3 to 6 months. Suspect it is better than herbicides. But it is all concerning. Knowing what does the least harm keeping time and resources in mind is the challenge.
Yea: I get rid of all weeds/grass for a wildflower path with all the cardboard - lift it up @ about 6 months and all the weeds/grass is gone. I also used black plastic bags in a rock wall - invasive weeds are gone in that one area.
Thank You for uour info on the effects of cardboard.
I have a constant battle with fine tree roots in my raised beds and used cardboard last spring and by summer roots came thru and were choking the vegetables. The beds are far away from trees too which is bizarre!
Any suggestions?
Would a thick 8" layer of leaves work or will PH be too low and chance for verticillium wilt?
I'm in SoCal Zone 9b and never thought using inked-up cardboard was a good idea. It's ironic that no-tillers don't want to disturb microbes in the soil but snuff them out instead with cardboard.
I use shredded cardboard but it's more of a mulching thing than a weed suppressant. And boy do we get rain (but very few coyotes) in Yorkshire England😂
Do you have tips for getting rid of poison ivy? It showed up with a vengeance a couple years ago and I ended up trying to suffocate it with cardboard and mulch. But it keeps popping up in new areas
I live in the ultra dry northern part of Nevada where it barely ever rains. Cardboard easily disappears in 4 to 5 months. If the cardboard is exposed to sunlight or becomes hydrophobic then of course it's not going to break down. Carboard becoming hydrophobic is purely human error IMO.
Regarding contaminates, I just won't be swayed by a single study on its own. A significant amount of more data is needed to draw any logical conclusions IMO. But hey, to each their own. No matter what you do, just grow stuff.
Crazy, I did cardboard in Montana and it is completely decomposed in a season. A guard dog for the coyotes?
Electric fence testers are quite inexpensive and tell you how many kilovolts you're getting which is really important for predator protection. If your fence is on but it's only getting 2 kilovolts it won't deter predators, you want it to be at 6 or more. I'm a sheep rancher and I hope your sheep are safe!
Thank you!! So far they’ve been fine but will take your advice :)