We just had rain for much of three days, most at night which is excellent for plants of every kind and size. That includes the dandelions and bind weed that has purposefully been given fair freedom for three years due to all the benefits that they bring to habitat and insects. Both are superb nitrogen fixers, carbon sequesters, and ground cover. Dandelions are first food for hungry bees emerging from winter dormancy, dandelions being the first abundant blossoming flower in April. Currant bushes and plum trees follow. But, with the rain, the dandelions and bind weed will be vigorous and almost out of balance. So, …

Cardboard to the rescue!

I’ve been eyeing the garden and spaces nearer to the house for how to move the growing of edibles closer. Twenty-four years with MS has made anything requiring walking difficult. So, how about transforming dandelion patch to vegetable patch? Voilá!

Here is the patch we started with.

A car full of cardboard from a friend.

Remove all plastic tape and labels then place on top of the unwanted plants. If properly done, the plants, being deprived of sunlight and pressed down by the weight of compost or aged manure on top of the cardboard, will compost. Their biomass and root networks will nourish the soil from below while compost and aged manure nourish from above. With the soil being soaked from rain (and more starting now!), the conditions are perfect for this technique. It is used with effectiveness in areas that are more wet, like the UK or the eastern half of North America. Drier areas would require too much water to break down the cardboard. But, days in a row of soaking rain here provide excellent conditions to give it a try.

We laid out the base of cardboard, then put paper (whatever I had from friends that have passed on and left me reams of printing paper) and brown paper bags in spaces of overlap. Gotta block out light.

Then, Amalio had aged goat and sheep manure and hay from his stable. It was all broken down and composted. He spread it. Ideally, one wants about five inches of good tierra on top of the cardboard for weight and so that one can plant directly. He only had time to bring one small truck-bed full today. He had other duties to complete besides my spontaneous project! But, almost two inches is down, patted down, and then (just) rained upon. I will probably pull compost from my bin and make some hills to plant seeds in tomorrow. Let’s get it going!

There are three more spots to do as soon as cardboard is available. Gratefully, I have access to free aged manure of various non-horse hooved beings. In November, after everything is harvested and hard frosts have set Winter’s tone, we’ll cardboard the larger beds that have bind weed that has been given free roaming. It feels right.

Here’s a video from a master: Step by step, cardboard and compost