Cardboard as a mulch

An interesting article about the effect of cardboard on the soil. Worth a read. I'm interested in your views on it.

https://gardenprofessors.com/the-cardboa...jcHZBaRJOs

I would say that the article doesn't give any powerful evidence of bad effects from using cardboard. My own experiences are that the soil seems fine once the cardboard has rotted and plants grow fine in it. So I will use it anywhere I want to slow the weeds down, without worrying about the effect of small amounts of glue etc.

I'm a fan of a well put together unbiased scientific approach to a controversial subject, they can be really helpful.

I can only see the permeability of cardboard being a problem if you're putting layer after layer of it down, or if you live in a very dry climate where the cardboard will take ages to break down. Here we get so much rain the cardboard gets soaked through and doesn't stay gas impermeable for very long. Worms and other soil life make holes in it, especially if its covered with something else like compost, manure etc. which sits on top and keeps the moisture in. A single layer is completely gone within a year.

I chortle at the idea that it's easy for everyone to put 4 inches of wood chip mulch down.

Its nice to see that someone is doing research into this but I can't really see any reason to stop using cardboard? Cardboard is the best thing since sliced bread as far as I am concerned and by using it and adding it as 'browns' to compost heap we are helping the environment methinks.
I use it under woodchip on paths and under other forms of mulch on beds ie compost, grass cuttings or any organic material that I think will add to soil fertility. It is a good weed suppressant and because once it gets wet it rots quickly, it can be planted into straight away.

Its best quality is its free and plentiful.

I have used newspaper as a mulch for the same reason but do have some doubts about the inks used in the printing process leaching into the soil.

Mention and explanation is given about the worm population. I agree worms can be found on the surface under cardboard, but if you dig down further you will find a propensity of worms there that weren't their before cardboard application. Worms mean aeration and will give a more friable mulch to grow in surely?

Nothing I have read in the article will stop me using cardboard and exploring new wasys of using it? For instance, I have beds covered with cardboard then grass cuttings on top that have been sitting weed free all winter. It is my intention to cover with cardboard again and add a smaller amount of compost. (once the supermarkets get the bulk cheap bags for sale) then plant through this. Is this Lasagne gardening? I don't know, as far as I am concerned it's Vinny experimenting with FREE cardboard usage to add more organic matter to soil.

Its nice to see that someone is doing research into this but I can't really see any reason to stop using cardboard? Cardboard is the best thing since sliced bread as far as I am concerned and by using it and adding it as 'browns' to compost heap we are helping the environment methinks.
I use it under woodchip on paths and under other forms of mulch on beds ie compost, grass cuttings or any organic material that I think will add to soil fertility. It is a good weed suppressant and because once it gets wet it rots quickly, it can be planted into straight away.

Its best quality is its free and plentiful.

I have used newspaper as a mulch for the same reason but do have some doubts about the inks used in the printing process leaching into the soil.

Mention and explanation is given about the worm population. I agree worms can be found on the surface under cardboard, but if you dig down further you will find a propensity of worms there that weren't their before cardboard application. Worms mean aeration and will give a more friable mulch to grow in surely?

Nothing I have read in the article will stop me using cardboard and exploring new wasys of using it? For instance, I have beds covered with cardboard then grass cuttings on top that have been sitting weed free all winter. It is my intention to cover with cardboard again and add a smaller amount of compost. (once the supermarkets get the bulk cheap bags for sale) then plant through this. Is this Lasagne gardening? I don't know, as far as I am concerned it's Vinny experimenting with FREE cardboard usage to add more organic matter to soil.

I'm pretty much doing the same

Reading the discussion section of the full study, cardboard reduces gas permeability but not by a big enough amount to significantly affect the total amount of gases in the soil. They also say the effects of reduced gas permeability would be reduced in field conditions where you would have planting holes and gaps in the mulch. So, not much to worry about in my opinion.

I use cardboard as a weed suppressant as well as a mulch, and possibly as stated it is not gas permeable, but if it is soaked as it goes down, as advised by many people who advocate its use as a mulch /suppressant then punctured with a garden fork this would increase its permeability, also compareing the availability and cost in comparison to woodchip, makes it a more viable option for me, I do think it is a more environmentally friendly than weed membrane or plastic sheeting, and though I do not have any scientific proof I do think it encourages worms into the area where it is used, also as it disintegrates and gets incorporated into the soil the texture of the soil looks to me, as if it has improved, so until someone can prove it is detrimental to the environment I will continue to use it.
I always find it strange how, when something that people can get at no cost or relitivly cheap, someone is sure to find a downside to it

The market gardeners have a special fork the width of the beds (in my case 2 foot wide) which has two handles. The fork is inserted then eased back and moved along the rows whilst walking backwards, which in my case is quite easy as I have beds either side. I will probably make my own from scrap metal and use it to 'ease' the soil through the cardboard and organic mulch before planting. In this way it will still aerate the soil a bit, relieving compaction at the same time.

The tool I will make will be summat like this as I am too tight to spend this amount on one! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spear-Jackson-8...th=1&psc=1

I look at that chart and think that cardboard is definitely my best option in terms of how easy it is to get to, compared to the other materials she mentions.

I laid down thick cardboard (probably thicker than she would approve of, and in big, whole pieces too - not at all three dimensional or torn up), with hoss muck on top and my garlic is growing like the clappers and I have pulled only a handful of weeds out since October.

The cardboard I lay down has never stayed hard, or had trouble sucking up moisture. If I found I'd put down cardboard that didn't, it would be pulled up immediately, because it's clearly covered in stuff that I don't want in my beds anyway.

I think science is really interesting, and I believe in evidence, but you can also make science tell you what you want to hear, and she's not providing evidence, she is only theorising.