I've done this method with chopping up straw (and newspaper) into 1"-3" segments before and I figure the same would probably work for pieces of cardboard.

Get yourself a decent sized tupperware tote and cut a hole in the top of it about three or four inches in diameter.

Fill the tote (about halfway) with pieces of cardboard, of reasonable sized squares or whatnot and then put the head of your weed whipper inside it.

Fasten the lid down tight, fire 'er up, and let'er rip. This was suggested to me by a person that composts on the 3rd story balcony of an apartment complex. I thought it was simply genius.

I've heard of something similar, only the person put about 15" of leaves inside a big trash can...

I wouldn't worry about shredding it, just tear it into pieces small enough to fit the space you have for it, & let time, water, & nitrogen do the rest.

If some of it is tough or thick, use a box cutter to start the tear.

Jeremie, it's hard to shred without a shredder. (grin) Cut or rip it into 4 X 4 inch squares, smaller if possible. I think they should decompose about like a maple leaf. Good luck.

If you wet it first it's a little easier to tear.

Karen

Thanks for the tips again everyone! This forum is wonderful.

I'll probably try soaking it for 10-20 minutes and then tearing it by hand this time. I don't have a box cutter and the weed whacker is in worse shape than the lawnmower (which isn't working). It came with the house and I have yet to determine if I'll have it fixed or just buy a new one.

Definitely get it wet (prob. longer than 15 minutes).

s.

I wouldn't get to carried away with the size but that's me. I let Mother Nature do as much as possible. She is ALL over my garden ;-)

I like to use cardboard to suppress the weeds in my walkways, in time it decomposes all by itself. Just put something on it to hold it in place until we get a good rainstorm. Put mulch, leaves, compost, or something on it, to pretty it up. But that's not what you wanted to hear, is it?

HTH,
Gumby_CT

Well, mostly I just took it because I need the browns. Everything in that bin is greens right now, so it HAS to go in the bins. Future use in my garden beds will most likely involve some significant newspaper/cardboard use as a bottom layer, but I need to wait until the construction is done :-( in three months before I can proceed. I'm convinced that my little beds will be run over by heavy equipment if I build them now.

I agree about the water, its more of a key. I just rip mine into whatever size I feel like and soak it good in a bucket of water. It goes pretty quickly.

Well, the soaking idea worked great! The cardboard was some heavy duty variety used to ship equipment in, apparently, and I couldn't rip it by hand at all. A pair of hedge trimming shears helped to get it into bucket-amenable sizes and soaked it for about 2 hours.

Now, I hadn't initially intended to soak it that long but I went to Home Depot in the meantime and learned never to do that on a Saturday morning ever again. It took forever.

On the plus side, the cardboard was as easy to tear as toilet paper by the time I got back and my greens finally have some browns for company. I'll check the pile again next weekend and see if there's any progress.

Thanks for all the tips! I have more questions, so I'm sure you'll all be seeing more questions from me soon!

Thanks,
Jeremie.

When you have big boxes, you cann use the hose to fill them with water and that softens them up a bit too, to help with the breaking down. Also makes it easier to rip off the labels and tape. (Maybe somebody said that already?)

Cardboard, because of its use of glue, is not the best item for a compost pile.
Better to put it to a roadside composting program where it can be better minced up.

If we're talking just the cardboard used in cereal and like boxes, that's a whole different ballgame....it shreds easy.

From what I understand, the glue used in most corrugated cardboard is not harmful to one's gardensoil unless one composts such a tremendous amount of cardboard that the boron in the glue builds up to unhealthy levels in the soil. Many vermicomposters claim that the glue in corrugated cardboard is one of their worms' favorite foods.

How about glossy colored (ink) cardboard (like a USPS priority envelope)?
Is this type with ink and glossy coating ok/safe to use in the pile?

Another example of the type of cardboard im asking about would be 12 packs of coke or beer (boxes).
Is this type of cardboard OK for compost?

I compost some of the glossy "sixpack" cardboard at times but mainly I recycle it. I've heard that it's OK to compost this kind of cardboard but with the amount of product recalls, etc. lately I would make sure that the cardboard wasn't made in a country with a spotty reputation for adding things like lead and other heavy metals to the paint.

I was told by someone today (no verificaton of this person's knowledge base)that the adhesive used to make a corregated cardboard box attracts undesirable bugs, like pill bugs, earwigs, burrowing? bugs and roaches etc..

Since the cardboard I intend to use will be at the bottom of a lasagna pile, will that make any difference at all?

I just checked my pile two days ago (one week after putting it all together) and have some updates:

1) Despite hosing the thing down thouroughly last week, it still dried out. Darn heat wave.

2) I didn't shred the cardboard enough. Shredding cardboard sucks.

3) The glue didn't seem to have attracted any insects, although this could have been also due to the ant colony that was expanding into the compost bin. The bin is next to my shed and I have declared war on the ants that live there. (I won round one a few weeks ago with the garden hose, but they are currently winning round two.)

4) Despite being fairly dry, the temperature was at 130, so I am pleased.

5) I turned it, stirred it up (take that, ants), and added some greens and shredded wood chips (free mulch from the county) and hosed it all down as I went.

6) As I turned it, I noticed that some of the grass was clumping and sticking together with white moldy stuff. There was also the same white moldy, stringy stuff on some of the cardboard. Something must be working right...

I'll let everyone know of any new changes when I go back next week.