#permaculture - The Wonder of Cardboard

If you ever have any cardboard to get rid of, you should either A, feed it to your garden or allotment as explained below or B, give it to me to do the same.

I use it on the allotment for two things: making compost, and suppressing weeds.  This morning I'd reminded myself to head down there with armfuls of compost for some strategic winter work.  Here it is delineating the space between my golden marjoram on one side, and kale and thyme on the other. 

Here it is claiming some space for next year's peas:

What happens you see, is as it rains and time passes, the cardboard mulches down into soil, blocking seeds from taking root and weeds from spreading.  This is even better if, through the autumn, you dump some fallen leaves on top, and perhaps some comfrey or other green mulch.  (This is what no-dig gardening is all about).

These facts are what also makes cardboard a great compost ingredient.  As "brown matter" it's an essential ingredient in combination with "green matter" for a healthy and nutritious compost.  As winter sets in and I harvest the remaining edible plants of the year, I'm squirrelling away cardboard to mulch in their place.  One year feeds the next.

Related posts

Comfrey and Jelly Ears

Hibernation and Allotment Planning

Spring Onion Afterlives
Wild Garlic Experiments

The Art of Pottering
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