Growing in cardboard boxes
@jowitt.europe asked me to write about my experiences gardening in cardboard boxes, so here goes....😁
So, I have only been gardening since 2020. I don`t want to use plastic containers, but anything else is extremely expensive in Japan. I have to admit that I did buy some plastic pots to start with, but I am transitioning out of those.
The ground here is a heavy clay soil. We also have a long rainy season where there is a standing water for multiple days in a row.
Having said that, I hope to gradually amend my soil so that I can plant in it. In the mean time, the garden is full of cardboard boxes. Some cardboard boxes are sturdier than others, and of course, you want a deep box for plants that need room to burrow down the roots. (I guess that is most plants).
Despite the rain, the boxes last about a year. They can be composted after they fall to pieces. I water in the boxes and the rain dumps all over them, but they do fine in the short term.
One of my long term goals is to amend the garden, and then just pull up the box when it is in bits, so the plant can just grow down where it is planted into the ground (post rainy season) I am not sure if that is going to work or not.
But, yes, if you need a planter for about a year and are not in a position to make or buy a lot of planters, cardboard boxes will work.
Comments
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Very resourceful, thanks for sharing.
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@Kuri and Kona thank you! I find this information very useful. If they hold one season - about 4-5 months - that’s more than enough. I might plant potatoes and see how it goes. I order fruit directly from farmers in Spain and they come in very solid cardboard boxes with holes. I will start with these.
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@jowitt.europe I hope that this works out for you. I have potatoes in carboard boxes growing right now. The carboard does need to be sturdy, but as you stated that yours are, it should not be a problem.
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Sorry, I accidentally clicked on the `Post comment` area again, and now I can`t figure out how to delete this comment. I already made my comment above. But rather than leaving this blank, I will write a few inane lines to explain why it is not blank. It is not blank because that would be a waste of a perfectly good comment. Writing something is better than writing nothing, even if writing something amounts to as much value as nothing. But by writing a comment that amounts to nothing, am I even writing something? 😉
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If you need a way to make the boxes a bit sturdier this might help. A youtube video for growing in cardboard and how to reinforce it...
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I (or any mod) could have deleted this extra post for you, but your explanation is one that certainly deserves to stay.
I love your sense of humor. 😄 It make me laugh this morning.
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@Kuri and Kona What a great idea! Thanks for taking the time to write this post so that the rest of us know about it. In my honest opinion, there's too much plastic in the world and I'm always looking for a way to reuse and upcycle what we already have, and grocery stores here in the US (is it the same in Japan?) are generous in giving away their used cardboard boxes before they get crushed and go into recycling.
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@vickeym That is a great solution for reinforcing the cardboard! Maybe you could every weave old material strips (old blue jeans) in the wire and have a planter!
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@Kuri and Kona where do you live? What region?
Hey could you tell us your Kopen region? Check this map here to ID your region. www.yourplaceonearth.com
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@LaurieLovesLearning Yes, I knew I could have appealed to a moderator for help, but I thought that since the post had been started, I might as well finish it. Glad that it brightened your day a little bit. 😀
@Udi315 I hope that these tips help you! Boxes are easy to obtain for free in Japan, but the plastic problem is much worse here. It is very hard to buy vegetables that are not wrapped in plastic. Even the zero waste organic store that I sometimes shop at wraps all of their vegetables in plastic. I once asked an employee why that was, and she seemingly embarrassed, explained that customers expect it. If you buy a bunch of bananas, they will be wrapped in plastic. Most stores have single carrots wrapped in plastic. The list goes on...
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@Marjory Wildcraft I'm having trouble figuring this out. My computer won't let me zoom in, and the phone doesn't display the complete chart.
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@Kuri and Kona bananas & individual carrots wrapped in plastic? I can imagine that would create a lot of extra unnecessary waste. 😞
I found that there is a chart almost at the bottom of the world, just off of Antarctica. That you can move to see. The other chart doesn't fully display on my phone either.
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@Marjory Wildcraft Never mind. I am okay now. 😊
@LaurieLovesLearning Thank you, that got me sorted. It looks like I am CFA. Yes, the plastic thing is really a big problem. Stores routinely give small plastic spoons if you buy ice cream, and a plastic straw if you buy a drink. Then there is (as mentioned) the nearly unavoidable heavily wrapped in plastic of absolutely (almost) everything. I am growing as much as I can, but am not able yet to fully avoid buying vegetables from the store. Maybe that day will come.
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@Kuri and Kona the guys who helped make that map were volunteers... I am going to ask them if they can fix it for mobile display, and honestly the colors are very difficult for those of us who have our own ideas of what a color is. LOL
I'm working on it.
Also, I'll be circling back around to upgrading those zone reports later in the quarter.
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@Marjory Wildcraft Yes, I had trouble figuring out my color at first, too. 🤣 But like you said, volunteers put it together. Thank you for all that you do for the forum!
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@Marjory Wildcraft Yes, the colors! They are so close in shades on the map, min is a semi educated guess. But I sent it to you annyway. lol
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Thanks for sharing, @Kuri and Kona ! I'm going to keep this in mind if/when I need temporary garden beds! :)
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@Merin Porter No problem. I hope that it works out for you!
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I have tried to find a code for my region. As the colors are a bit confusing, may be deciphered codes could help to identify the place more precisely. I guess that Austria is in DFB with a bit of ET as it is mountainous.
I find this map or system very interesting to explore different parts of the world having similar growing conditions. I find it a great idea.
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@Kuri and Kona Would it be possible to create some raised beds that are simply edged with large rocks? You have a lot of rocks in Japan, and make wonderful rock gardens. From a gardening point of view, that should work fine.
Another option is grow bags like these. I will be using a similar product for my potatoes this year. Perhaps they are available in Japan?
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I am moving toward raised beds; the first are concrete blocks, but the second will be Vego raised beds. My order has not arrived yet. I may use cardboard boxes for a few things if I need to, maybe for potatoes and sweet potatoes. I think it may take some time to put together the 5 Vego beds that I ordered.
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Here’s a link to an updated map. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include the knowledge of our fearless leader but the colors actually match. When I chose from the linked map, it had me off by a couple thousand miles. I’m hoping it will let me change my answer!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification
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@VermontCathy Thanks for the idea about the grow bags. I have seen them here, but they are always plastic grow bags. I will have to keep an eye out for the fabric ones. As for the rock idea, I would have to buy a lot of rocks, but the garden center certainly sells them. 😃
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@Kuri and Kona You definitely want heavy fabric bags, not plastic.
I don't think I've ever seen these locally, only online. I suggest you look at the online Japanese equivalent of walmart.com or amazon.com.
If you sew, you could buy some hardware cloth or other heavy outdoor fabric and sew your own.
The rock idea doesn't make sense if you have to buy the rocks. I thought you might already have a supply. If you have to purchase the raised bed walls, buying wooden boards would make more sense.
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@VermontCathy I`ve never seen anything like that for sale locally, but took your suggestion and hunted online. Bingo! I found some cloth planting bags that seem like what I would want online, and went ahead and ordered some. I can`t wait to get started with planting in them. They will take up less space than carboard boxes in the garden, and last longer, too. 😄
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I had a tree company drop off logs in my yard and i used those to line garden beds. It looks pretty cool.
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