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Gardener demonstrates brilliant hack using old cardboard boxes: 'Simple, affordable, and effective'

"It's gonna be great!"

One TikTok gardener shared a resourceful tip to combat unwanted weeds and grass in your garden: Use cardboard boxes.

Photo Credit: TikTok

One TikTok gardener shared a resourceful tip to combat unwanted weeds and grass in your garden: Use cardboard boxes.

Rachel (@hydrangeaandhome) engaged in a multipart project to build a garden bed for a recent haul of clearance hydrangeas. From making a clean edge for the bed to digging 44 holes for the plants, she created the perfect environment all the way down to the soil.

One step was adding cardboard boxes to the bed to smother grass and weeds.

@hydrangeaandhome

Getting so close to finishing my floating hydrangea bed and I can't wait to see it all come together! One of my favorite ways to prep a new flower bed is by layering cardboard over the grass. It's simple, affordable, and effective — it smothers weeds, breaks down into compost, and helps build healthy soil for your plants.

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"One of my favorite ways to prep a new flower bed is by layering cardboard over the grass," she wrote. "It's simple, affordable, and effective — it smothers weeds, breaks down into compost, and helps build healthy soil for your plants."

There are many advantages to redoing your yard like this, and people are killing their lawns to go with native or low-maintenance plants that save time and money on watering and weeding. Sheet mulching with cardboard or replacing your grass with ground cover are simple ways to also avoid toxic fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, utilize a natural approach with kitchen scraps and companion crops.

Some low-maintenance, eco-friendly lawn options include sedge, clover, buffalo grass, succulents, and other options you can find on Audubon's native plants database.

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Native lawns and flower beds like this one help protect pollinators with a more sustainable ecosystem that helps preserve biodiversity and the global food supply.

The cardboard approach caught the attention of many users. 

"That is gonna be stunning," one admired. "I can't wait until it's all grown."

Another added: "That's a lot of cardboard!!! It's gonna be great!"

"Been doing this for years!!! If a weed pops up, it's so easy to pull!" someone else shared.

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Mowing the grass 🌱

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