Upcycling Cardboard for a Genius Garden: Here’s How!
When you go grocery shopping, do you often use cardboard boxes instead of bags? But when you’re back home, you’re unsure how to put them to good use? Below, you’ll find some helpful tips to transform those seemingly useless cardboard boxes into something ingenious for your garden.
1. Container for Seedlings
Never know where to place small seedlings because you don’t have the right pot for them? By repurposing cardboard boxes, you can create containers for your flowers. If you decorate the box, it could become a fantastic decoration for your home.
2. Large Pots for Big Plants
Larger plants that require the right-sized pot can be placed inside cardboard boxes for an entire season. If you want to keep the box with the plant in the garden, be cautious when it rains, as the cardboard may break down. To prevent this, you can place the cardboard inside a large plastic bag (like those for trash). The next season, plant it directly into the soil, providing excellent fertilizer to the plant.
3. Pathway for Your Garden
Do you want to create a pathway in your garden that leads to the outside or in front of your house? By recycling cardboard boxes, you can form an economical walkway. This solution will help suppress weeds, and if you don’t like the look of the cardboard, you can cover it with mulch.
4. Cardboard in Compost
If you decide to compost, you can add some cardboard to the usual scraps. Cardboard contributes nitrogen and carbon, two essential elements for the growth of new plants, to the soil.
5. Renewing the Garden
Place the cardboard on the grass or areas you want to transform into new flower beds. Add heavy objects like stones or bricks to keep the cardboard in place. It will take a few months or up to a year, depending on the climate, for the underlying plant material to die and decompose. Then you can create a new garden without the arduous task of turning the soil and removing those pesky deep-rooted weeds!
