Try Cardboard Gardening to Save Money and Recycle

 

Photo source:  Birds and Blooms

"I’m a bargain hunter. A penny-pincher. A cheapskate. Nothing makes me happier than finding thrifty and resourceful ways to save money on the things I need or want. I’m also a gardener. And, as anyone who has ever tended a patch of tomatoes can attest, it’s alarmingly easy to spend a lot of money on a garden. So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered a super cheap, super simple way to have a better garden. Cardboard gardening!"  Comment from Birds and Blooms

I've been collecting cardboard so I can place it in garden beds and along the fence to keep the weeds out.  Actually, I am considering covering the whole yard and just have very large container gardens.  As I grow older, it has become harder to maintain it all, too expensive to pay someone else and if you don't maintain it, city code enforcement will fine you.  So I have seen cardboard and landscape fabric as my solution.  We will see!

This article has some interesting ideas for saving money in the garden using cardboard.  Always love learning new ways of saving money in the garden.  It has gotten way too expensive no matter which way you go.

Click here to go to the Birds and Blooms article.

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How To Eliminate Flowerbed Weeds With Cardboard

 

Photo source:  This Is My Garden

"Did you know that one of the easiest, safest and most economical ways to eliminate flowerbed weeds in – and keep your beds beautiful at the same time is with cardboard?

It’s true! When used correctly, not only can cardboard be an effective and inexpensive weed blocker – it can also help hold in moisture for your plants, regulate soil temperature – and even add organic matter back to your soil as it breaks down.

But the key to success when using cardboard in your flowerbeds is to know to use it correctly. That means not only keeping it under a layer of traditional mulch to still keep your beds looking great – but also knowing which cardboard products you can use safely!"  Comment from This Is My Garden

I am currently collecting cardboard and have the landscaping fabric to top it to control weeds.

Click here to go to the This Is My Garden article.

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5 Ways to Get Rid of Weeds in Your Lawn—Without Killing the Grass

 

Photo source:  Martha Stewart

"Weeds are more than just an unattractive nuisance. Certain weeds can exacerbate allergies, attract unwelcome pests to your yard, and compete with desired grasses for sunlight, water, and nutrients. These fast-growing plants quickly take over your lawn, weakening the turf, creating bare patches, and reducing your lawn's curb appeal. The longer they’re left unchecked, the harder weeds are to control."  Comment from Martha Stewart.com

Weeds in the lawn have been a major problem for me.  As an organic gardener, it is difficult to kill the weeds without killing the grass.  Martha Stewart always has good solutions to these gardening problems.

Click here to go to the Martha Stewart.com article.

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Preventing weeds in an established garden

Weeding has got to be one of the most dreaded tasks in the garden.

Click here for an article with great ideas to prevent weeds in an established garden.

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Keep Weeds Under Control

Weeding has to be my least favorite task in the garden.  My best method of keeping them under control is to pull weeds every day as I walk through the garden.

Click here to go to an article about weeds and keeping them under control from Mother Earth Living.

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Those pesky weeds!

Now is the time to cut down next season's weed population.

October is a perfect time to take care of those pests since we are out there doing seasonal maintenance.  Actually, anytime is a good time to avoid the over-population of the pesky weeds. 

The secret is to not let the weeds set seed.  Pull them out or kill them before they have a chance to seed.

Anytime I am walking around the garden, I make sure to go out with a plastic grocery bag and pull weeds here and there as I encounter them.  It is so much easier to keep them under control if you routinely pull them out as you are just wandering around.  

Want to identify the weeds that grow on your property?  What Weed Is It is an excellent article for starters.  It includes links to other articles and publications.

Weed Management Guide for Florida Lawns is another resource for Florida gardeners as well as gardeners in all zones since it includes some great information about weeds in general.

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