sheet mulching

[jane k]

I'm wondering what all kinds of cardboard are o.k. for sheet mulching. Is the dye in food and beverage boxes harmful, like beer cartons, cereal boxes etc? I understand that newspaper ink is mostly soy based now, but I wonder about the other stuff.

[eco4560]

My approach is to use everything that comes across my path. The alternative is that you put it into the domestic rubbish stream instead - using fossil fuels to mix it with some really nasty toxins, and bury it under the ground (or dump it off shore).

In the big picture view - which is least harmful? A few print inks in your back yard, or the above alternative?

[Pakanohida]

I'm wondering what all kinds of cardboard are o.k. for sheet mulching. Is the dye in food and beverage boxes harmful, like beer cartons, cereal boxes etc? I understand that newspaper ink is mostly soy based now, but I wonder about the other stuff.

I grew up in a large printing company as a child around plate machines, guillotines, and presses. The ONLY inks that contain anything harmful now are the florescent colors & some metal inks, they contain cadnium; All the rest are fine since non soy ink cost more to produce then soy based.

[jane k]

I think I feel ok about using whatever cardboard I can find. It will be interesting to see how fast it breaks down in this Georgia climate. I'm thinking I'll more or less use the instructions in Mollison's INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE. It will be a challenge to come up with all the materials!

[annette]

Hi Jane

Just make sure you wet the cardboard very well before you put the other stuff on top.

[jane k]

I will be sure to wet it thoroughly! Cheers, jane

[insipidtoast]

Go crazy and get a lot more cardboard than you think you need! It just might be enough.

[adiantum]

I have wondered myself about the issue of toxins in cardboard, and pretty much conclude as eco4560 does. I can see the other point of view, though, especially when I get boxes of Chinese or Southeast Asian origin and I can see, on close inspection, tiny colored and reflective flecks embedded in the cardboard....what? Plastic bits, perhaps? What else do they put in there in those unregulated economies? But I'm almost inordinately healthy (people tell me it's the every day working outside lifestyle) with a strong immune system. If it were otherwise I might be more persnickety.
I lived and gardened for over 20 years in Georgia and I can tell you that cardboard and paper sheetmulch is the only (non chemical) way to deal with bermudagrass and nutsedge once they have become established.

[KerryF]

I lived and gardened for over 20 years in Georgia and I can tell you that cardboard and paper sheetmulch is the only (non chemical) way to deal with bermudagrass and nutsedge once they have become established.

Hand-weeding... every day, for ever... Or at least what seems like forever!

Like others, I use all cardboard and newspaper that I come across. I keep it in the working area next to my compost bins and either let it get rained on if I plan on using it soon, or chuck a tarp over it if I don't need any for a while. It can be plain brown cardboard boxes or cereal packets with the plasticy like sheen, multi-coloured and sparkling bits. Mostly it's used for the areas around beds that I walk on and I just chuck any weeds, weedy grasses etc that I pull on top of it. I've also used it on occasion when I've taken down a green manure. I fork the green manure lightly into the soil, sprinkle it with whatever left over organic mulch and compost I have, give it a good water, then cover it loosely with cardboard for a couple of weeks before planting into it.

Oh, I also use toilet roll and kitchen paper cardboard, or newspaper, as seedling pots for those seedlings that can be iffy with transplanting. My kids really like doing that