Planting on thick cardboard mulch?

[John in WI]

That is a great way to do it--once it dies back, all the root mass is still burried way down in the soil. It's my second year, but I spent a lot of the winter reading up on gardening. There are several things I wish I had known in the fall!

 

[Meadowlark]

The cover crop is something YOU CHOOSE that dies at the end of its season and doesn’t reseed to bother you again. ...

Not the way I use certain cover crops for soil building and weed control. Reseeding can make them much more effective when done properly.

See the thread:

Chop and Drop Cow Peas

This thread demonstrates how I use cow peas in a chop and drop process in my garden to organically replenish the soil to the status of “No N-P-K” required without the use of synthetic fertilizers. In summer, the peas have a maturity cycle of just over 60 days making it possible to have multiple...

www.gardening-forums.com

I use this technique to get 100% weed control and build soil which tests out at "No N-P-K required"...all for pennies worth of seed. It works with beans, soybeans, and field (cow) peas but cow peas are most effective for me. Relys on the ability of those legumes to RESEED themselves.

Here is a typical second generation of peas that have reseeded...

This becomes a third generation of impenetrable, tremendous organic matter in about 60days.

The primary benefit from cover crops for me is soil building. Weeds in general deplete soil rather than replenish it. However, weed control is a very important benefit of cover crops also in the home garden.

Take a guess...how many weeds penetrated this cover of garden alfalfa? Answer none, zero.

Sorry this thread kind of got highjacked but cover crops are a vital part of my gardening and very often misunderstood by many. Perhaps AI explains it better...

"Cover crops play a significant role in suppressing weeds. Let me explain how:

1. Weed Suppression with Cover Crops:
   • Conventional cropland fields are often left bare after cash crops are harvested. However, planting cover crops reduces or eliminates this fallow period.
   • Living roots and aboveground biomass from cover crops compete directly with weeds during winter and into spring.
   • After termination, cover crop residue can block sunlight, further suppressing weed growth during the cash crop growing season.
   • Some cover crop species even produce chemicals that reduce weed seed germination.
2. Effective Cover Crop Strategies:
   • Species selection matters: Choose cover crop species that establish quickly and produce substantial biomass. The goal is direct competition with weeds.
   • Seeding a blend of cover crop species is often more effective than monocrops. Some species grow quickly and die during winter, while others live into spring.
   • Continuous living vegetation provided by a mix of species enhances weed suppression1.

In summary, cover crops offer both soil health benefits and effective weed control"

 

[cpp gardener]

Well then, apparently the cover crop does become a ‘weed’ in this instance since OP doesn’t want anything other than the veggies he grows.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

There was a Scottish lady on here a while ago whose husband made her a timber frame. She mowed flat, put cardboard down, put the timber frame down, filled it with about 3" of commercial compost, and planted seed direct into that. She had pictures of a lovely mixed bed of annual flowers and veg. She said the next year everything had grown through the cardboard and improved the underlying soil, she turned it lightly and added more compost.

 

[Donatello]

Exactly what I’ve been thinking!!!

 

[Mr_Yan]

Only having 1 day a week, at best, seems like a recipe for problems by the end of the season.

Deep mulch paths with rows where you plant in? Maybe 4 to 6" wide "raised beds" with mulch filling up the rest of the volume between rows?

Carefully selected cover crops at a width that you can run a lawn mower between rows each week?

Just let a low level cover crop and squash vines take over?

 

[Meadowlark]

Only having 1 day a week, at best, seems like a recipe for problems by the end of the season.

It is. Been there and done that. It can be a disaster.

Back in the early 80's when I first bought this ranch and struggled to pay for it via a high paying job in Houston, I was only able to garden there once a week, if I was lucky.

The garden spot was originally part of a hay production field, so one can imagine the weed problems I had. It was actually virtually impossible to control the weeds on a once-a-week basis in that old hay field.

I was a big reader of Rodale press back then and switched over to 100% organic gardening. Rodale actually coined the term "regenerative gardening" around that time which was in fact just descriptive of organic gardening techniques.

I started using cover crops back then and that old weed filled hay field quickly became a once-a-week manageable garden.

Over time, and after retiring there permanently, I learned through experimentation how to build "No N-P-K required" garden soil using only the cow manure from my cows and cover crops grown in the garden aka hay field soil.... zero artificial synthetic fertilizers, zero chemical pesticides, zero fungicides, and zero unmanageable weed problems.

I'm happy to share with the Op how that can be accomplished. I've done it...hands on. It isn't theoretical nor speculation, it is fact. Cover crops work!

 

[Donatello]

What I propose is 2 rows of onions , 2 rows of corn. Then a walk way ,the cardboard with eggplant, peppers, another walkway of rubber , then the cardboard covered tomato plant and straight neck squash.
Most of the garden is covered with either cardboard or a strip of rubber walkway. The onions and corn I can handle the weeding. The walkways and cardboard should remain relatively weed free.
Does everyone get the picture?

 

[Mr_Yan]

It is. Been there and done that. It can be a disaster.

Very similar experience here. I had a community garden at my church from 6 to 11 years ago which was the same time my kids were less than 5 years old. My plot was 30' x 50' plus a raised bed 12'x4'. I had one evening and an hourish after service weekly up there. If you weren't very careful all the plots were a mess by the end of the season. The years I did heavy mulch in my in-ground part it worked great.

Once a week for maintenance and you're just asking for problems doing something people view as a standard veg garden.

 

[cpp gardener]

We have a student group that wants to take over some beds that were originally designed for them, but our manager at the time felt it would become a weedy, unkempt disaster in no time. He was probably right, but now they have ‘an advisor’ who is supposed to help guide them. They’re just getting started on prep work. I’ll post some progress pics for everyone’s entertainment. I don’t doubt their interest, just their dedication and ability to keep it up despite mid-terms, homework, report writing and finals.

 

[Mr_Yan]

We have a student group that wants to take over some beds that were originally designed for them, but our manager at the time felt it would become a weedy, unkempt disaster in no time. He was probably right, but now they have ‘an advisor’ who is supposed to help guide them. They’re just getting started on prep work. I’ll post some progress pics for everyone’s entertainment. I don’t doubt their interest, just their dedication and ability to keep it up despite mid-terms, homework, report writing and finals.

I'll see your student managed garden and raise. April 22 I am helping at my daughter's school to build a couple raised beds and a tool storage area plus I've been told we're putting in a water hose connection out there. These will be student veg garden beds where the students are 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

 

[cpp gardener]

OH, won't that be fun! Even shorter attention spans! We should compare efforts. I'll post mine if you post yours.