The Cardboard Hunters

Text conversation with Shane today:

Me: So. Many. Cardboard. Boxes.
Shane: Where? Should I come get them?
Me: By Sam’s. TONS. Yes. Come get them. We’ll help you load them.
Shane: Be there in 5.

This is totally normal for us.

The backyard homestead is in another period of transition. We’ve lived at the little house on Pine for 5 years, and each year has brought a new adventure. Many of these adventures begin because we’re learning, and today was an example of this.

We’re decreasing our yard “mowing space” and instead encouraging a permaculture environment. This spring, we’ve started adding mulch to the homestead. Lots and lots of mulch.

We’re creating mulch pathways, mulch between the garden beds, and mulch to connect islands of fruit trees. So far, we’ve ordered 10 cubic yards of mulch.

The areas that we’ve mulched this year won’t always contain mulch. We want to encourage plant growth in these spaces eventually. {this is where the cardboard comes in…}

On the homestead, cardboard is being used as sheet mulch, a layer underneath the additional mulch we have delivered from our local home & garden shop. It works as a barrier for the grass, but also helps maintain a moist environment for the soil.

Not only does it suppress “weed” growth {or plants we don’t intend to grow in those spaces}, it also encourages plant communication. Or rather, it speeds up those lines of communication, since it provides a matrix for mycellium, which increases the vitality of the soil by providing channels for circulating nutrients. Cardboard acts like leaf carpeting in a forest.

So, we’re trying to mimic a forest on the homestead. {With our 21 trees, we will have a forest one day soon…} We’re working with nature, instead of against it.

We originally started with “landscape fabric” to stop the grass and weed growth, but cardboard has already proven to be much more effective. Plus, cardboard can be free if salvaged!

We’ve spent the last several weeks hunting down cardboard. A couple of the offices on our campus relocated, which gave us tons of free boxes. Today’s score was awesome, too.

It’s gratifying to find something that mimics natural processes, having spent a lot of time pulling up grass and other unintended plants in the vegetable beds and berry patch. Now we have more time to enjoy the garden!