If you've been wondering what to do with that extra cardboard around your house, an Instagram gardener may have your answer.
Patrick Vernuccio (@thefrenchiegardener), who shares tips on urban gardening and growing organic food, showed viewers how cardboard can protect plants from weeds and nourish the soil.
The scoop
Being a plant parent isn't always easy, but this hack will help your plants flourish without you spending a penny. Patrick gave three tips to make the best use of extra cardboard.
First, he shows viewers how to create wood chips from cardboard. Remove all the tape and labels from the boxes since they don't decompose and have harmful chemicals. Next, cut the cardboard into small pieces, place it on top of the soil for mulch, and water it so it sticks to the soil.
"It will keep your soil warmer and nourish your soil by decomposing," he says in the clip.
The second hack he offers is using cardboard as plain mulch to help keep weeds from growing. Take a piece of cardboard, place a gardening pot on top, and cut around the pot with a knife. Cut out the circle and add a slit so you can put it around the base of your plant. Next, water it and add a layer of mulch, like leaves or grass clippings.
Finally, if you have a worm farm, you can reuse cardboard to give your worms extra nourishment, which they will "transform into a rich fertilizer." Patrick says that worms will also lay their eggs in the cardboard cells and increase the farm's population.
How it's helping
While bagged mulch costs just $3.25 to $6.50 per bag, according to Lawn Love, it can get pricey if you have a large garden. These hacks will eliminate or at least reduce your need for mulch, saving you money and time on lawn maintenance.
Not to mention, some mulches contain nasty ingredients like rubber, construction refuse, and dyes that have harmful preservatives, as Big Blog of Gardening explained. You won't have to worry about toxic chemicals when you use cardboard since it's made of paper fibers — plus, it's recyclable and compostable.
Gardening can help you save money on produce if you grow your own food. Your mind and body will also benefit since working with nature reduces stress and helps you stay active.
Having a garden can also make the planet greener by reducing the heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere from the transportation of mass-produced, globally-shipped produce.
What everyone's saying
Commenters were grateful for the green tips and shared their experiences trying it out.
"It's also great to place over a pot of carrot or parsnip seeds to enhance germination times and success rates, Frenchie," someone shared.
"Wonderful advice: I do it, and my dirt [is] so much healthier. I place it under my stepping stones and before I place [mulch]," another added.
Another simply said, "So useful!!!"
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
