Just a short note of caution. If you are going to use cardboard to mulch, be careful if and when you pick it up. I have had cardboard on the ground in the backyard for a week. Today my husband moved it to plant an orange tree and a foot-long black snake slithered out from under it. I didn’t see it, but my husband did. I want to provide space for wildlife and don’t mind the snake as long as it isn’t poisonous. I don’t know Florida snakes so I have no idea if it was dangerous or not. I guess we’ll just have to keep our eyes open for it.
Tag Archives: cardboard
Compost Ratio, 30 brown:1 green
Master Gardener Harriet Gord-Noghani’s summary of compost is that it should have a 30 brown carbon to 1 green nitrogen ration. Brown carbon includes twigs, leaves, sawdust, wood chips, newspaper and shredded paper. Remember that the twigs, leaves etc should be shredded. The green nitrogen part could be kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and manure. It is critical to keep the 30:1 ration, so don’t load the bin with green grass clippings or only throw in kitchen scraps, or only throw in shredded paper. It needs the 30:1 ratio.
Note: It is best to avoid adding weeds to the compost unless the compost temperature gets to 135-140 F. A high temperature will kill the weed seeds but anything lower than that keeps the seeds alive and potentially able to germinate when you use the compost on your garden.
After Harriet’s compost lecture, we each received a compost bin. My shredded newspaper, letters, extra paper from the printer, etc. will go into the compost bin today along with coffee grounds and a few kitchen scraps. I’m using larger pieces of cardboard and brown paper bags that don’t shred easily as mulch directly on the soil.
I wrote in an earlier post, More on Cardboard & Newspaper Mulch, that you should avoid using newspaper with colored ink because it might contain harmful metals. Harriet assured me yesterday in her lecture to the Master Gardener trainees, that this is not a fact since ink with lead and other metals are not legal to use.
(From what I can see on the Internet this morning, the EPA banned the use of ink with lead, etc in 1985. My excuse for not knowing about the ink is that I was living in Singapore at the time and mainly listening to BBC broadcasts on the radio for news. A surprising amount of stuff happened in those years I was overseas and didn’t have access to daily news. That really is no excuse. My comment about the colored ink came from another website. I hadn’t verified the accuracy of the statement. I teach my students to verify, verify, verify. I didn’t do what I teach. The Master Gardener program is about learning and applying current scientific research. For me, that is one of the highlights of the program. )
More on Cardboard & Newspaper Mulch
I’m not the only one using cardboard to mulch:
- Make a Bed (with cardboard) (on Away to Garden)
- Corrugated cardboard – is it ok for mulching (on Horticultural)
I can’t believe I got rid of the large cardboard packing boxes by sending them to a recycling center. What was I thinking? I should have moved them from the front yard to the backyard to start working on the weeds in the back area. (I was just so tired of living in a moving/unpacking mess but also responded to neighborhood questions about why the lawn was covered with cardboard and a tarp.) Now I am saving newspaper and the few small cardboard boxes that I have to apply to the back area. That area is now fenced in so won’t cause questions about why I’m spreading cardboard around.
To use cardboard or paper, remember to remove staples and sticky labels. Newspaper should be stacked at least 5 sheets thick and the sheets should overlap a few inches on the edges. Avoid using newspaper with colored ink since the ink may include metals that maybe be harmful. For a long-term solution, cover the cardboard or newspaper with mulch and leave for a season. It can be tilled into the soil in a year when it has decomposed.
(see my previous posts Smother the Weeds and cardboard mulch)
