Cardboard boxes are a popular form of produce packaging. As a farmer or someone who likes ordering items online, boxes easily pile up. Instead of stacking up the boxes in the trash or recycling, use these four different ways to reuse cardboard boxes on a farm or in a garden.
Biodegradable Compost
Cardboard packaging continues to grow in popularity for numerous reasons. One main selling point is that cardboard boxes are better for the environment. Their natural composition makes them biodegradable and a more eco-friendly form of waste compared to other materials.
Reusing your cardboard for compost provides many benefits, including creating nutrient-rich fertilizer mixtures and minimizing landfill waste. Shredding and soaking the strips of cardboard before putting them into your compost bin breaks them down faster and makes your composting process more manageable.
Storage for Seeds and Tools
Boxes provide a means to carry and store items. Aside from using the boxes to transport and package your fruit and veggies, reusing them as storage containers provides them with added purpose on your farm. Along with the growing collection of boxes, seeds and tools also tend to come in abundance on a farm. Storing your various gardening accessories, tools, seeds, and extra soil in leftover boxes organizes your shed and puts the boxes to good use.
Raised Garden Bed
Filling your boxes with dirt creates a makeshift pot fit for various starter plants. They hold the soil in place and eliminate the need for plastic pots. On top of providing you with a DIY plant holder, breaking down the boxes into flat sheets creates an eco-friendly and efficient garden bed base.
Placing the cardboard sheets on the ground sets you up with a foundation that blocks weeds and offers a slightly raised platform. Layer up some soil or place a large box of dirt over the sheets, and you’ve got yourself a DIY raised garden bed that requires little to no craftsmanship. As a bonus, the cardboard will deteriorate over time and fill the soil with extra nutrient fiber for your plants.
Standing Plant Labels
Plant labels create an organized and efficient tracking system. They help those with an untrained eye or less-dedicated memory know what plant stands before them each time they visit the garden. Instead of buying new plant signs, transforming your cardboard box into a DIY label with tape, markers, and skewers saves you money and makes use of the tools already on hand.
There are numerous other ways to reuse cardboard boxes on your farm, from using them as an environmental alternative to plastic to makeshift garden edging. Reusing cardboard boxes allows you to minimize your waste, make the most of the items available to you, and implement more eco-friendly practices on your farm.
