Shredded Cardboard in Gardening: Environmentally friendly ways to use your used bedding
The benefits of using cardboard bedding for your animals are truly endless. One of the biggest benefits is that it is completely bio-degradable. Making it excellent to use in the garden even after it’s been mucked out of your pet’s pen. Especially for smaller pet owners. There are a variety of additional uses for your cardboard bedding even after it’s intended purpose. That’s why in this blog we’re going to explore all the different ways you can use your used shredded cardboard in gardening.
For larger pets such as horses, which produce a large amount of bedding waste. You can still take advantage of cardboard in your gardening. Whilst it’s likely you won’t need all of it, you can take small amounts little and often to bring into your garden to keep the cardboard topped up as it decomposes over time.
Mulching
One of the best uses for your leftover cardboard bedding is mulching. This process improves the soil’s structure and temperature. Spread it around the base of you plants and moisten thoroughly. This traps in the goodness, making sure the soil retains moisture, regulates the temperature and adds more organic matter to the soil as it breaks down. We recommend you to not use the cardboard which has been in toilet areas and therefore might change the pH of your soil.
Composting
If you have a composter, adding cardboard to it can help add carbon to the soil you want to produce. Try and add it in layers between other organic material so that it breaks down better and mixes more with the other materials.
Weed suppression
By placing a layer of shredded cardboard in your plant beds, you can effectively stifle weed growth. The cardboard acts as a barrier, blocking weed seeds from reaching the soil and sprouting. It’s a non-chemical, eco-friendly way to wage war on those pesky invaders.
Overall, using shredded cardboard in gardening might seem a bit odd. But it’s a great way to continue the use of your animal bedding extending its life and promoting a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Benefiting both you and your garden.
Looking for environmentally friendly, bio-degradable bedding for your pets? check out S4Bed’s recycled carboard animal bedding.
Please note: As our S4Bed cardboard bedding is made from 100% recycled cardboard it may include coloured inks which could potentially put chemicals into your soil. We recommend using the untreated pieces of cardboard contained in the mix to achieve the best results with your garden, alongside researching into whether it’s the right match for your garden.
