The carton trick for lazy gardeners!

Do you have a lot of leftover cardboard after the holiday season? And does your garden or plot suffer from high, sturdy types of grass, weeds or do you want to prepare a piece of soil for the new season in an easy way without disturbing soil life and sifting soil to clear all the roots?

Then give that leftover cardboard a second life and use it to prepare your soil. Depending on the season, the boxes need a few weeks to a few months to fully 'compost' in the soil.

The cardboard closes the vegetation off from sunlight, making it impossible for plants to grow. Some vegetation will take longer 'to kill' than others, but eventually all left energy in the roots of the plants will be used by the plant to try to survive underneath the cardboard layer, which eventually also depletes the roots, which in most cases results in also no or almost no regrowth once you start planting (by making little holes in the layer of cardboard and mulch on top) or seeding (which you can do directly in the mulch/ compost layer)

So how do you do this?

1. free the cardboard from staples and tape

2. do not choose heavily printed cardboard

3. lay down the cardboard and overlap the surfaces (20cm)

4. wet the cardboard well

5. cover the cardboard with a 10 cm layer of compost (in places where you want to grow vegetables) or wood chips (in places where you want to build paths instead of sowing) or possibly straw

6. be patient and the microorganisms in the soil will do the job for you!