Cardboard safe in the vegetable garden?
inespilar
12 years ago
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bi11me
12 years agomyluck
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Using cardboard in the garden!
Comments (57)As someone raised in organic gardening who has used cardboard gardening for specific areas and types of gardens, I hoped to add some beneficial information to the cardboard gardening discussion. Many replies admitted to limited experience w/cardboard gardening & implied that it was a new concept since it was new in their experience. Masanobu Fukuoka, microbiologist from Japan, questioned modern mono-agricultural methods early in life. His work dates to 1938 & still is groundbreaking today, pun intended! though he is known for no-till gardening. Search for his name and learn the science behind not only cardboard gardening but many other useful techniques to improve the most important aspect of growing.... soil biology. Personally, I have found cardboard/newspaper gardening perfect for changing one's weeds into compost. Some who replied to the previous post described some curious layers and methods to their cardboard process. My method came from the Australian Permaculture texts I studied in 1980s. I lay cardboard on the patch, making certain to overlap the edges so weeds cannot find their way through. Note: all areas must be thoroughly covered. Then I thoroughly soak the cardboard. To the gal who saw her newspaper flying down the street....did you wet it immediately upon application? Next, I cover the cardboard, again thoroughly, with a cured manure. I find my manure from local ranchers or farmers who can verify it is old already. Finally, the icing is straw.... I love tight packed oat straw. My local feed store has bales for $5 each... they weigh 60-80 pounds. I pull the leaves/pages of the bale and gently loosen them over the patch. I cover... you guessed it! thoroughly. If I see grass or weeds coming up through it in a week or two... I do this all over again! right on top of it... a layer cake. The beauty of cardboard gardens in my experience is the soil stays so moist and becomes so rich because the cardboard is holding in moisture and the worms love the bottom side of my cardboard. I find cardboard gardening a fast easy way to quickly change dirt into soil. No pitchforks, no tills, shovels only for throwing manure. And healthy soil has always been my magic ingredient for lush plant growth. I hope this helps clarify some of the many issues listed in replies. Additional information: Masanobu Fukuoka is the author of the seminal work, One Straw Revolution. I have included a link for info on the book if you are unfamiliar with it. Here is a link that might be useful: One Straw Revolution...See MoreFull Cardboard Gardening
Comments (8)Any time you have a problem with the thingys that handle decaying material eating living plants instead that is an indication that your soil does not contain sufficient levels of organic matter, or that there is not enough dead organic material on your soils surface. Cardboard, or newspaper, can aid in holding enough moisture in the soil, and eventually will contribute some organic matter to the soil which will feed the earthworms and the many other dead vegetation eaters such as Pill Bugs. Like many of the other eaters of organic matter Pill Bugs much prefer dead vegetative waste, but they will eat living plants if there is not enough of the other for them....See Moreis vegetable garden safe post-rat?
Comments (13)Here's a link that should help. It's from the CDC. I also have a rat issue in my garage where I kept my organic fertilizers over the winter. They got in and ate all the 'open' boxes of fertz's. Then they left dropping every where..YUCK YUCK YUCK. They even managed to chew through a unopened bottle of mineral water...WOW..That was impressive. I had to clean the whole garage out. I wore gloves, a full protective suit (type you get in the paint section at Home Depot) and a mask. Maybe overkill but I hate rat droppings. http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/cleaning_up/index.htm The first paragraph should make you feel a little better. "Take precautions before and during clean up of rodent-infested areas. Before cleaning, trap the rodents and seal up any entryways to ensure that no rodents can get in. Continue trapping for a week. If no rodents are captured, the active infestation has been eliminated and enough time has passed so that any infectious virus in the rodentÂs urine/droppings or nesting material is no longer infectious."" Here is a link that might be useful: CDC Link...See MoreCardboard IN the garden?
Comments (13)before I put a my fence I could circle the hives at a brisk pace. I rarely had a problem. with the fence I have one area about 14' x 12' that's in a corner between the hives & the fence. that's been covered in cardboard & sawdust. it will be planted in ladino, crimson, alsike, & dutch clovers. along the fence will be borage, Russian sage, & comfrey. another hive stand is up against & facing the wood fence. the carpet is on a 3' swath between the hives & a compost enclosure. it's a aged oriental carpet so it should be mostly organic. if it's not a 3' x12' swath will hardly be an environmental issue. creeping Charlie grew right over it but was easy to pull. the key to having cardboard break down is keeping it damp. slits are better than stabs....See MoreKimmsr
12 years agoinespilar
12 years agoKimmsr
12 years agowildrosesocal
12 years agoKimmsr
12 years agojolj
12 years agobi11me
12 years agowildrosesocal
12 years agoinespilar
12 years agoe_fit_hav
7 years agoe_fit_hav
7 years agoEric Ford
6 years agoEric Ford
6 years agoJames Dees
5 years agojolj
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4 years agoskipratt90
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