Topic: Cardboard under trees?

[Mrs Ava]

We have now received our lovely range cooker, and inherited with it a LOT of cardboard.  This is regular, plain brown cardboard.  Can I use this under the apple trees on the allotment to stop the flipping nettles and brambles growing so fast?  With the 2 plots, and life in general, weeding under the trees is the last job I would ever do so anything that would help is a bonus.

I wouldn't smother the ground totally as I would want rain to reach the trees.  Good idea?

[manicscousers]

we tend to put it under fruit bushes, don't know about trees, it doesn't half keep the weeds down  :)

[supersprout]

If you cover the cardboard with e.g. straw, it will look nicer  ::) and when it rains it will encourage the water to stay put and eventually seep into the ground, rather than evaporating off the cardboard :)

I did read that mulch should be scooched back from immediately around fruit tree plants over winter, to make sure that winter did for some of the predators, then scooched back in Spring to stop the weeds.

[Mrs Ava]

Okay, good stuff then.  I shall keep it and use it around the trees.  I am not bothered about it looking nice, so long as it does the job!  ;D

[kt.]

As I have planted 2 apple trees this autumn, I will use the mulch idea in the spring & see how it goes. Hadn't thought of that. ;)

[louise stella]

Deffo put it round the trees for a couple of years - it helps them to establish without competition!  Remove it in autumn to allow the birds to get at the bugs!

Louise

[redimp]

When I put my vines in I mulched them with cardboard - has withered and rotted now that winter has set in.  I am going to replace it come spring and put some round my new apple trees and blackberry bushes.

[Mrs Ava]

Marvelous!  You are all telling me what I wanted to hear.  I shall use it, and probably bore you with photos.  ;D

[Mrs Ava]

Well, I did as I was told, here are the photos.

- this is before.  It doesn't look so bad, but come spring the ground under the trees becomes thick with dock and stinging nettles.


Here you can see the cardboard down, and I decided to take Supersprouts advice and I used the shreddings that my boss saves for me as a mulch.  Weighs down the card, looks nice, will be home to useful bugs like ground beetles, and in time, will break down with the card adding to the organic matter in the earth around the trees.

- looks nice huh

- and here you go.  I do have one more bag of shreddings at home, didn't have room in the boot..  That will cover the edges where I didn't quite have enough.

It looks great, very neat.  Am now thinking about the few permanent things I have, like the globe artichokes, and creating them nice edged permanent paths using the card and shreddings.

[cornykev]

Much better now it's covered EJ I had visions of tramps sleeping in them like cardboard city. ;D thats something else you've recycled EJ keep up the fine work.    ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;)

[manicscousers]

I've just done the same under the vine and cherry tree, great pics, should keep the roots nice and warm  ;D

[grawrc]

This is just fabulous Emma Jane! Could I use my recycling cardboard like that? (e.g the cardboard round yoghurt cartons, beer packs etc or does it have to be plain brown? Can I use shredded paper instead of straw/ mulch?

[manicscousers]

we put all that, ripped up, in the compost heap, possibly others would frown on it, but I hate the idea of cereal cartons, egg boxes etc, going to land fill  :), also, chopped up flyers, letters, bank statements go on there as well  ;D

[flossie]

That looks brilliant - I may have a go too another year
Thanks

[Mrs Ava]

I keep all of my paper shreddings, they have been earthing up my leeks to give me lovely long white clean stems.  Now that I don't need to do that anymore, my next job is digging a bean trench - I haven't done one for a couple of years and out plot is so dry, anything that can help hold on to moisture has to be a good thing, so the shreddings will be soaked, and piled in the bottom of the trench.  There is no reason why you couldn't use them as mulch on your plot - just wet them first.

The only reason I had so much brown card was because our new range cooker was delivered in a box, in a box, so we had loads.  PLus the Amazon boxes that came before Christmas.  The really shiny stuff I personally put our with our recycling as our council take that, but egg boxes and less shiny card gets wripped up and onto the heap.

I know what you mean Kev.  I have visions of all the local rodants setting up home in there it looks so cosy!

[kt.]

I seperate recycling stuff for the binmen at home and recycle some at the lottie. If I recycled everything, and with all the chicken cree crap too, I would not have any room for planting veg.... ::)