SOB
Green Thumb
Posts: 311
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 2:44 pm
Location: Radnor, OH

Cardboard

I'm getting ready to start my new 40'x60' garden and had a question on the use of cardboard.

I have cut the grass down as low as the mower goes and plan on putting down cardboard to kill the grass. I will then remove the cardboard and till. I want to put the cardboard back for the fall & winter and add compost on top of it in hopes that the cardboard will break down.

Question: do you think that by spring the cardboard will be broken down enough to till under or will it be a pain to deal with?

Dillbert
Greener Thumb
Posts: 955
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:29 pm
Location: Central PA

if it's left "on the surface" it will probably dry out, and moisture is what makes it break down....

so, if you get snow cover (most) all winter, it'll be soggy and till in easy.
if it stays dry most of the winter, might not thoroughly break down....

also depends on how much your put down - the soil contact on the bottom of a single layer is likely to make the under side break down to a large degree. multiple layers the bottom will likely stay soggy, but the top layers may stay dry enough to not break down....

you could always "water it" now and then . . . .

gumbo2176
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:01 am
Location: New Orleans

Dillbert wrote:if it's left "on the surface" it will probably dry out, and moisture is what makes it break down....

so, if you get snow cover (most) all winter, it'll be soggy and till in easy.
if it stays dry most of the winter, might not thoroughly break down....

also depends on how much your put down - the soil contact on the bottom of a single layer is likely to make the under side break down to a large degree. multiple layers the bottom will likely stay soggy, but the top layers may stay dry enough to not break down....

you could always "water it" now and then . . . .
His post states he will till then replace the cardboard over bare ground then cover it with compost.

I do much the same and use only one layer of cardboard that I overlap the ends by about 6 inches. Instead of compost I use leaves and grass clippings collected from the grass cutters at a local cemetery. I get 15-20 large bags from them and layer it on top the cardboard about 4-6 inches deep and the organic material and cardboard break down nicely by the time the next planting is due. I do this twice a year in early fall and early spring.

As suggested, keep it wet from time to time and that will help it break down even faster.

Dillbert
Greener Thumb
Posts: 955
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:29 pm
Location: Central PA

>>add compost on top

ah, comprehensive brain failure here . . .

2cents
Green Thumb
Posts: 616
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:04 am
Location: Ohio

SOB,
Your plan has worked many times for me.
This year, I used a Cincinnati phone book ripped in half as a weed stop around my potatoes. it was partially mulched over twice during the season. Taters were dug up last weekend. The 1/2 phone book is so degraded, I just placed the two parts in holes from the tater harvest. I'm confident I'll till them under in the spring.
If you sprinkle a little dirt over the cardboard, you can almost watch it rot in place.

SOB
Green Thumb
Posts: 311
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 2:44 pm
Location: Radnor, OH

Thanks everyone! I figured something like a single layer of cardboard wouldn't last long with mother nature. I just didn't want to have to cut through (or remove) a partially broken down layer prior to planting next spring.



Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”