Spending a Saturday on your hands and knees pulling weeds out of your garden does not sound nearly as fun as simply sitting back with a cold drink in your hand, looking out over a weed-free garden.
One TikToker shared a cheap and easy hack for suppressing weeds so you don't have to waste time pulling them. "I'm trying a new trick in my garden this year and it's absolutely saving the day," she says in the video.
The scoop
Katie, also known as The Homesteading RD (@thehomesteadingrd), explains that she just planted a glorious garden after moving into her homestead, but the "busyness of moving" distracted her from weed pulling, so she shared her solution.
@thehomesteadingrd 😩Are you drowning in weeds, too? Check this out! Walking paths are typically the last to get weeded (it's low on the priority list!), so cardboard is a great option for low-maintenance weed control for these areas. It's also a great way to repurpose those boxes! We have A LOT of boxes from moving...🫣 However,don't use any old cardboard in your organic garden. Avoid using the following: ❌Shiny or waxed cardboard ❌Heavily printed cardboard ❌Tape (but the brown paper tape with strings through it is okay) Additional tips: ✅Use rocks to hold the cardboard in place ✅Cardboard can be composted, but I plan to keep it separate from my organic garden compost pile (no mystery ingredients for me!) Have you tried using the cardboard method? #weedcontrol #weedingtime #gardening101 #gardenhacks ♬ original sound - The Homesteading RD
"Featuring — my new cardboard walking paths," she says while revealing her huge garden with a long strip of cardboard pieces lying down the middle of the path. "I prefer to keep it to my walking paths only because, yes, it's pretty clean cardboard, but it's not necessarily organic. So I like to use organic straw for on top of my plants."
Katie adds some details you'll want to keep in mind if you give this a shot in your garden. Make sure the cardboard you use isn't shiny, waxed, or heavily printed. You also want to pull off any tape, although she adds that the brown paper tape with strings through it is okay.
"I added this cardboard last week, let's see how it's doing," she says while lifting up a piece of cardboard, revealing the smashed weeds. "Not bad, it's dying back quickly … If you're drowning in weeds, too, definitely give it a try."
How it's helping
Laying down cardboard and covering it with mulch is a popular way to suppress weeds. It is much less work than pulling weeds by hand, cheaper than buying weed killer, and helps retain moisture in the soil. Plus, it's a great way to dispose of your cardboard boxes.
It's also way better than expensive landscaping fabric, which doesn't even work well and sheds microplastics throughout your garden.
Hacks like this go a long way in ensuring you have a successful garden, which goes a long way in improving your physical and mental health.
A study from the University of Colorado shows that people who garden are healthier on average than people who don't since they tend to eat more fiber and get more exercise. Other studies have shown that gardening can lower your stress and improve your mood.
Growing your own food can save a significant amount of money at the grocery store. Produce is not cheap, so getting what you need for dinner from your garden saves money and time. It also reduces the energy used in transporting and packaging the produce at the store.
What everyone's saying
"Love this," one person commented.
Another said, "I usually heavily mulch with hay we bail our selves. but still fight weeds. I'm gonna try this."
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