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Post by mrsk on Jun 3, 2015 15:22:18 GMT -5
In the last several years, I have done the mulching with wet cardboard and old hay, and have been so pleased with it. This year, I have done more with mulching than ever before, and things are looking very nice. The ground was slow to warm up, but that was more to do with a lot of rain, and cold air temperatures.
For weed reduction, and moisture retention it works very well in sandy country.
Mrs K
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 3, 2015 15:35:58 GMT -5
I only use straw. When I used cardboard it dried up and curled up. I get so much wind that I couldn't keep it wet and my straw blew off of the top of it but I can see that it would work well if you kept it wet and it stayed laying down.
I am definitely a fan of mulching. We just had one of the driest May's that I can remember and my garden soil was moist under my straw mulch.
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Post by mrsk on Jun 3, 2015 17:53:27 GMT -5
I wonder if Dessert woman tried it.
I don't keep it wet, just soak it very well when I start. then it all kind of melds togther.
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Post by lisaann on Jun 3, 2015 18:26:19 GMT -5
I've done it. It works great for me. But I cut to fit a bed and it is wedged in the bed and covered with grass and can't move because the cardboard is right under the boards. That keeps it from curling and all that stuff. ( Can't find a pic of that.) I cut circles in the cardboard and planted the tomatos and peppers. Then I did the RED bed and planted the tomatos and peppers on the RED plastic. Do it all. See what works best for you. I'm back to straight grass clippings this year.
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Post by desertwoman on Jun 3, 2015 19:41:55 GMT -5
I don't use cardboard. I tried newspaper once- multiple layers- but it dried out pretty fast. The native soil around here is almost all clay- a few sandy spots.
Nowadays I use crushed leaves and pine straw - about 3-4" I have a lot of both, they're free and handy.
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Post by James on Jun 3, 2015 20:53:04 GMT -5
I have used newspapers, several layers covered with grass clippings around the tomatoes. Works very well. Cardboard should work well too.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Jun 3, 2015 20:59:26 GMT -5
I have used it but I had to pull it out of the garden to till in the fall. Did not break down entirely. Same with newspaper. I still have pieces of newspaper floating around the garden.
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Post by Latitude33 on Jun 4, 2015 0:09:53 GMT -5
I have but only based on availability. Mostly I use bottle straw or bamboo leaves of which I have plenty.
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canadiyank
Blooming
Central WA, Zone 6B
Posts: 125
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Post by canadiyank on Jun 4, 2015 1:42:10 GMT -5
I have used it to smother weeds...it worked great. I topped it with grass clippings. Very few weeds got through. It looked pretty ugly but it did the trick!
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Post by kimmsr🕊 on Jun 4, 2015 6:25:43 GMT -5
I have used both newspaper and cardboard under other mulch material and have not seen the problems many report. What these materials do, mostly, is block sunlight from reaching the soil and any unwanted plants that might germinate with less of whatever is used to cover the paper. Where the newspaper or cardboard has been put down on unamended clay soils I have seen real problems with too wet soils and on occasion I have seen where the soil that was not a good healthy soil, with an active Soil Food Web, had the paper stay for more than one season, not a real problem however.
Wind can grab the newspaper or cardboard and blow it away, just like any other sail type of material, whole leaves do the same thing. To prevent that may require something more than straw or shredded leaves, or even grass clippings, maybe stones and rocks.
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Post by OregonRed on Jun 4, 2015 9:14:04 GMT -5
its common at the CG, people put bricks and rocks on the corners and stuff. they also use cardboard under the bark dust in the paths to block weeds.
I don't use it - is cardboard organic? or newspaper, seems weird to me... using something man made - what's it made with?? those are the kinds of thoughts that keep me from using it. (some use torn up newspaper in the 'bedding' of their worm bin too...)
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Post by ecsoehng on Jun 4, 2015 17:04:20 GMT -5
I always use cardboard. It is my current tool against wire grass. Cardboard and straw on top then I pull any runners that come up. The bed I have the tomatoes in now was completely covered in wire grass. I put a bunch of compost down, covered it up with cardboard and straw and then cut holes in it to plant the tomatoes. The tomatoes are doing great in there. Sometimes it does not all break down. That is not a bad thing. It keeps the wire grass down to a dull roar. Otherwise I think I would go insane from wire grass.
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Post by kimmsr🕊 on Jun 5, 2015 6:12:04 GMT -5
Paper (that includes cardboard) is made of cellulose, a plant fiber. Most of the paper comes from wood which has the lignin, the stuff that holds the cellulose fibers together, removed and some is bleached to change the color from brown to white, other paper is made from other plants as well as rags (cotton). Paper is acceptable for use by organic growers.
Some people, with a little knowledge of papermaking, are concerned about dioxins (a group of toxic chemical compounds) in paper that comes from the Chlorine used to bleach the wood pulp not realizing that all of the Chlorine is washed out of the pulp because even a small amount would weaken the cellulose fibers and make the paper useless for printing. But then newsprint (what newspaper is printed on) and the kraft paper (the brown paper) that most cardboard is made of are not bleached so the dioxin issue is not there to begin with.
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 5, 2015 7:32:31 GMT -5
I wondered about this issue a couple of years ago when I first heard about people using cardboard. I read a few articles and it seems that the solvent based inks and glues of the past have been replaced with soy based inks and glues. Of course if you are a purist - isn't soy GMO? I personally don't see it as an issue - just wondering.
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Post by claude on Jun 5, 2015 8:07:08 GMT -5
I love the way cardboard and straw hold down weeds. But here's a caveat ..I bought straw at home depo in a bale..it was not shrink wrapped..big mistake. It contains the shaft from seed. The ones that I've opened have been empty. but the quality of the straw is lacking. The shrink wrapped one matted down with a sprinkle of water..but this open bale doesn't mat..even with all the rain we got. I used it on my asparagus bed. It took the entire bale. Weeds were sprouting anyway. Yesterday, I pulled all the straw off and weeded the bed. It took hours..then I replaced the hay. Hope that it holds back weeding this time. Previously, if I bought a shrink wrapped bale it would last the entire season, mulching ALL the beds..and have enough to mulch asparagus a second time in fall.
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