Whether you love or loathe Amazon, there's a huge amount of packaging being delivered to homes these days. Even if you don't receive packages, other people near you probably do. Which of my tips for reusing packaging do you like the best? Are there any other ways you've used packaging in your own garden? Please share them below!
Worms love cardboard. I use cardboard egg cartons to start my seedlings. I can water from the bottom up by pouring water into the dish, in which the cartons sit, and the water wicks up. The seedling soil then stays fluffy instead of developing a hard top shell. I then plant the egg carton cells directly into the garden. Thus, I don't disturb the root system and the cardboard helps keep the seedlings damp. And here come the worms and their castings. Downside, mice love cardboard. I spray the area with a watered mixture of mint, garlic, and cayenne juice. Great ideas you present. I'm using more cardboard.
I do this with empty toilet paper rolls! I arrange them in plastic and cardboard trays from the shops before planting the ready seedlings in the rolls directly into the soil.
I bought a SunJoe cordless handheld vacuum to suck up the stink bugs, cucumber beetles and etc. Works like a charm! I had an almost bug free garden this past summer! All for under 20 US dollars! ❤
@@AtheistEve I have very few birds here and don't wish to invite more. When I dump the canister, the bugs are alive. So they get dumped in soapy water, so as not to re-infest my garden.
@@trulyblessed3732 I suppose, if someone had a large enough garden with enough distance from their veg patch and their bird table, they could use a vacuum to take the villainous insects far enough away. I’m just thinking of a way to justify a machine that removes all insects that at least restores the balance by leaving them available for birds. Usually, when I have to remove insects like slugs and caterpillars, I try to put them somewhere they will be able to either continue to live (on companion plants like nasturtiums) or where they can feed other animals or work for me (bird table, compost heap).
@@trulyblessed3732 My allotment isn’t all that big. But thanks for the congratulations on what I’m able to do with what I’ve got. I hope to do more next year. We can always do more for the environment.
I like to use plain cardboard boxes underneath mulch in areas where I'm replacing lawn with a new planter or garden. I've found the cardboard in combination with a couple inches of mulch to hold it in place works really well to smother the grass, and if you want to plant anything immediately is relatively easy to cut through. Much cheaper (and imo more effective) than landscape fabric!
I am having a Blue Peter moment :) Hands up those who remember - empty washing up bottles to make a rocket, etc. Thank you. You are such a cheery fellow to listen to. Great advice as always.
Greetings from Windermere, Florida zone 9b USA 🇺🇸 I shred my cardboard and use as bedding for my Can-O-Worms and 5 other Worm bins. 🪱 And I make cold compost with Grass clippings and shredded cardboard. And I lay it on the ground, in-between plants with a few inches of grass clippings on top👍 I'm 72, gardening for over 50 years and raising worms since 2009. I started a RUclips channel in September 2020. I thoroughly enjoyed your channel and subscribed 👩🌾👍
I’ve been known to ask for brown cardboard and newspapers on Facebook marketplace. I shred it up before using it as pet bedding and then it turns into a great addition to my compost
Slightly embarrassed to say... composting is my new favourite thing. Your channel is amazing and I'll be subbing to the site to use the planner. Thank you.
A suggestion on raking up leaves. I always used an old bed sheet. Rake them on the sheet, bundle them up, and throw it over your shoulder like Santa Claus. It isn't heavy. Haul it over to your compost and dump it in. Much faster than gathering leaves with a rake, wheelbarrow and your hands. I need to do more with my cardboard boxes. I either throw them in the compost or burn them in a camp fire when I get too many piled up.
Hello Ben! Shivering from a 6F degree evening, and 7 days of horrific cold, I am reveling in this video full of great ideas. You're a genius! Thank you so much from frozen Colorado USA
Great ideas! Composting the cardboard back to the earth was a 💡 moment. Until now just thought of it as an ingredient to make compost so I don't have to buy it in bags. As a new gardener I feel I'm relating more to the earth with every growing season, which is quite short here in Canada. Mind blown!
Everyone Please keep in mind that cardboard is candy to termites, they will come running for it! After all cardboard is ground up processed wood, basically 'pre-chewed' if you will, so they don't need to work so hard to eat it. The termites will love you for it and make a new home right near there. So if you are in an area prone to termites, don't use it, I learned that lesson the hard way.
I have noticed termites in different areas of composted wood chips, cardboard and old tree limbs as garden borders over the past 20 years, they never invaded my home due to using Diatomaceous Earth around the outside. Without pests, the world would be piled high with dead plants and animals. Wasps for pollinator's and ants for soil aeration, we somehow must learn how to exist with these pests. God is our master Gardener, everything works to the good of planet! Happy gardening!
I have a 8 x 10 green house that I just bought and never thought about using all the bubble wrap to insulate the green house. Ben I just love watching you to start my day with your great ideas. I can’t imagine not starting my day without your great advise. Keep doing what you and I love. I’m 76 years old and I just love gardening and oh I start planting my garden tomorrow in Ohio
Ur fabulous’ n practical .. a born recycler Love U.. a legacy permaculture guru told me what U mentioned .. to beware toxins in cardboards & packaging 🙏♥️🕊🍃☀️
Hats off to you my good man. Your cardboard hack saved me a trip to the local recycling depot. I had resigned myself to a trip to rid us of a huge cardboard box we received with the purchase of our now 9 year olds trampoline. I now also score brownie points with our son for employing the, reduce, reuse and recycle method. Cheers!
Excellent tips, I have not thrown away a piece of cardboard for the last two years, it all went initially as ground cover beneath 5 8x4ft raised beds and now goes to the compost pile with my grass clippings,.I shred my cardboard first which is obviously a bit of a waste of power since it can be torn but my grip is not what it used to be and tearing it became a pain and the surface area is multiplied letting it break down faster and hotter.
The Styrofoam boxes make good containers for growing microgreens. Just line it and plant away. If you keep bees, the brown paper can also be used to start your smoker. Worms love cardboard and other paper products...use it in your worm farms. Paper run thru the shredder can be used in both places too.
Ive been happily hacking, tearing, and separating the layers of every piece of cardboard i can find. Its my new addiction lol trying tomake my first bag of compost from weeds and cardboard.
I shred my cardboard with a heavy duty cross cut paper shredder. It make excellent mulch. I have also used this as a rooting medium for cuttings. Michael
I’ve always used cardboard boxes when starting my raised planters. Don’t bother to clear the grass lawn, put the bottomless raised planter onto of it, cover the grass with the flatten box making sure you cover all the grass right into the corners. Then add your composted garden waste you been collecting over the last year if your good. Don’t forget those uncooked kitchen waste too ie egg shells, potato peelings etc. if you don’t have enough to fill the planter then add some soil or bought in compost try not to buy peat based compost and mixed them together. Water well if soil is dry. Have fun with your first crop.
What I love about your channel is that you pack so much useful information in consise video’s. They are really a joy to watch . Keep up the good work! Greetings from the Netherlands
You made my day! Not only did you share great information and tips, the aspect of reuse/recycle is always the way to go. Thank you so much for your channel.
Oh Ben, another great video buddy, thank you, I use practically all of these tips, I've even started making pressed paper bricks for the wood burner too
Hi Ben, thanks for all these tips. I don’t have a lot of cardboard to hand but asked at our local, small convenience store (the Coop for me) and they’re more than pleased for me to take some cardboard off their hands. Now off to our local coffee shop for their used coffee grounds….great way to make new friends too, everyone’s happy to get rid of their rubbish.
Great advise as usual. Good that you warn about plastic products. Knowledge is everything. You are teaching all of us to care for the environment. I love your doggie. Thank you for another thoughtful video.
Great video i use all my Amazon paper and cardboard for my composter. Once i get enough i cut them up into pieces and shred them through my paper shredder obviously after all the labels and tape is off, then they end up as my browns for the composter also shredding cardboard and paper is very therapeutic well i think it is when i do mine. Stay Safe, Barry (Wirral)
I simply couldn't agree more. All those cardboard boxes that Amazon ships to our doorsteps are one of the greatest wastes of our precious sustainable resources and an incredible nuisance - along with all those plastic bags and empty water bottles blowing around in the streets - in addition to all those plastic bags. Therefore, it's always better to shop locally and bring your own containers.
I did cardboard and be woodchips 2yrs ago. I had 4 van loads of arborist's chippings for free....they give it away. This November I see Wavy Caps amongst other fungi happily growing in the woodchips. 😃
Thanks so much, Ben! I've already sent this video along to the family. I've cut my plastic recycle in half by consciously choosing products in paper and cardboard such as detergent.
This is so good to know. I’m a new garden who adopted my garden from a once avid gardener who was in the house 60 years. Due to old age it was overgrown which I worked through my first year, now I’m uncovering some of her artistry. However the amount of styrofoam is exhausting at times!
Good ones, I use old paper towel and toilet paper tubes to blanch celery and leek stems....wait, I think I got that from you in an older video, see, you and your team are always full of the best ideas.
If you have a worm bin you can use most of this material except plastic to use as a bedding for the worms, they will process that in no time if it is moist.
Probably get this alot , you really inspired me to get into gardening.... I've watched all your videos and also built 7 boxes to plant in.. already have many veg and many sprouts.. also have a photo album for my seeds .... also started a worm farm ... thanks heaps man... keep doing what you are , I love it ! Cheers mate 🇦🇺🇦🇺
Hi Jay. This is really kind of you to say and I'm honestly delighted you've been inspired to get growing - this a really super news! Keep up the good work - bounteous harvests be with you! :-)
Don’t you love we’re all adapting to Bezos. I used to run over bubble wrap with a forklift. Sounded like a machine gun. Scared my goon coworkers. Loved it. I use it like you are now. I am post goon job . I get businesses to save me cardboard and shredded paper. Usually get a van load all at once. You can also raid the recycling bins and pick up bags of leaves thoughtfully collected for you. Lol
Great video, Ben. I made my first-ever no-dig vegetable patch this year, and was happy to take various cardboard boxes and packages from neighbours. It worked a treat!
We always use cardboard in our garden but I never thought about the bubble wrap. Great ideas for my garden and channel. I have to show kids how to do this. Thanks.
You seemed very pleased with the 'bubble-glazing' gag 😁🤣 I buy off eBay rather than Amazon, most of the sellers pay income tax, but yeah, lots of cardboard and bubble-wrap, so this video has given me a few ideas! Thank you.
I usually burn or recycle the cardboard boxes. But since watching you, I have started to use it around the garden. I have 2 large boxes waiting by the compost to be torn up now. I hope you have a wonderful winter, Ben and look forward to more videos
EXCELLENT info... Just found your channel this am.. already have been laying cardboard down all over the garden.. But, you added sooo much more useful info.. Will do, as well.. Thank you!!!
Great information!. I get cardboard from the trash collecting bins of the big box stores. They do not like for people to do that (liability issue). I am just a beginning gardener, however, I do have chickens. They love to sit on the back porch by the door, esecially as it gets cooler. My cardboard use is to cover the steps to make poop collecting easier.
Omg Ben, I’ve had a long day and had seizures to top it off lol feeling achy and sore from falling to the floor etc….. and then I see your post. It’s cheated me right up and I’m saving it to my playlist. I get a lot of boxes and I spend hours ripping it up for the compost bin but there is some amazing ideas in here to think about and I’m gonna try that hotel idea, don’t know if lacewings live in my area as no idea what I’m looking for but would love to encourage them .
@@GrowVeg yea getting there. We know it’s part of life and gonna happen but still upset me every time, 17years later, would of thought I would have stopped getting upset by now!!!! But nope . I’m just aching in my legs and top of my arms from the spasms. Hopeif I don’t have any in my sleep, I regularly do, then tomorrow I may feel bit better and able to do something. Today has been another rest day. When I have multiple or very intense ones it can knock me out for days, if I have them day after day when I’m going through a rough patch, it can be a week or too as I don’t get the time to recover in between them. Luckily it’s been months since I was bad, hopefully will next year before another, meaning only one this year which is amazing. It’s been a tough year but I’ve done well now I think about it. As I hadn’t thought about it till now, usually it 3/4 a year on a good one. So even if it does happen between now and new year it’s still a good year really. Thanks for helping me get to this point in thinking. We have done well.
I've noticed much less bubble wrap this last two years and a shift to scrunched up recycled paper instead, this is a great thing. Also, I am seeing much more use of the starch based loose fill that can just go onto the compost heap. I never seem to have enough cardboard and I collect from many sources, having said that my main polytunnel seems to be full of cardboard righ now stocked up to fill my homemade hotbin, also in the tunnel...Steve...🙂
My shed is full and it’s moving to the bungalow now, just need the time and energy to shred it. Tbh then I would be able to put the compost into action but atm I don’t have the time or energy or dry weather to do it. Having to do things but by bit atm so it’s just having to wait. But a couple of months back we helped my Nan cut 10 inches of the to of her hedge as she felt it was too high compared to the ones either side so have 5 large garden bags full of that to put on the compost pile lol that should fill or near enough fill my pile with the added cardboard end shredded paper and spent compost and the cut downs from summer plants that are all bagged up waiting to go in . It’s all there just need to do it. I also went to the woods last week and collected loads of leaves that I’m using my strimmer and shredding them into tiny little bit…ad I mean tiny to make leave mold but I go so much I may see if I need to put some on the compost pile but I’ll still shred them as easier to break down, but if I don’t need them to balance the brown/greens then I’ll just make more leaf mold it doesn’t matter to me lol
@@cherylhowker1792 The easiest way to make leaf mould is to just put the whole leaves into a black bin bag, make a few holes with a garden fork for a little ventilation, do the tops up, put them somewhere out of sight, (I put mine behind bushes) and wait a year, and you have lovely leaf mould. You really don't have to shred the leaves first. My elderly neighbour told me how to do this years ago, and it works well, without unnecessary effort.
@@jesshothersall that’s all well and good if you want to wait years, I don’t I have done that with some but some I want to use this summer So I’m making it the way I watched to do it to make it quicker. I can make 4 loads in the time it takes to one bag
Great ideas!! I use the cardboard egg cartons to fill bottoms of big planters for a season. I however recycle the styrofoam egg cartons at recycle locations(Publix, etc). Also ground up autumn leaves can fill up bottom of big planters.....for a season....and they eventually compost out. Yay!! Ahna USA
I just bought a paper shredder that also shreds cardboard into compost-ready small pieces. My Daughter stole the entire bag of shreds right away as she keeps pet Rats, now she has to get a shredder too!
Ben as usual a great video, the best one for me was the cabbage collar great idea! Love your cheerful Presentation great on a cold November day! Thank you ☘️☘️☘️☘️
Thanks for your video. Love the idea of reusing these cardboard for garden purposes. Although I’m from Thailand, which there is no winter, I got lots of new ideas. We have a land that we just plants some mango trees and we partially used all these cardboard boxes ( that we got from online shopping) on the ground to prevent all those weeds. Thanks. Just subscribed.
Brilliant video! So many great uses to keep waste out of the landfill and set to work in the garden. Every week I walk the neighborhood before trash day and collect a bunch of boxes. Cardboard is a great tool, and I'm glad to see uses for the other materials. Thank you!
Such a good video. Loved all the ideas. For the moment l am using the cartbord as a gras suppresser in the garden. Didn't thought about the bubble sheet, but now l know 😉
Whether you love or loathe Amazon, there's a huge amount of packaging being delivered to homes these days. Even if you don't receive packages, other people near you probably do. Which of my tips for reusing packaging do you like the best? Are there any other ways you've used packaging in your own garden? Please share them below!
We need bubble glazing to be a thing. Not sure how they'd do it, but it would look cool. 😁
I like the tree ties tip, but I do worry about microplastics.
Yep I always annoy the missus when we get bubble wrap......😁😆
I use all of my cardboard down on the allotment both as a mulch and shredded in my compost bin.
Don’t forget! Use bubble wrap before your greenhouse gets cold as it keeps keeps out as well keeping it in. ?.
Worms love cardboard. I use cardboard egg cartons to start my seedlings. I can water from the bottom up by pouring water into the dish, in which the cartons sit, and the water wicks up. The seedling soil then stays fluffy instead of developing a hard top shell. I then plant the egg carton cells directly into the garden. Thus, I don't disturb the root system and the cardboard helps keep the seedlings damp. And here come the worms and their castings. Downside, mice love cardboard. I spray the area with a watered mixture of mint, garlic, and cayenne juice. Great ideas you present. I'm using more cardboard.
I love using egg cartons this way - a superb way to re-use them. :-)
I do this with empty toilet paper rolls! I arrange them in plastic and cardboard trays from the shops before planting the ready seedlings in the rolls directly into the soil.
I bought a SunJoe cordless handheld vacuum to suck up the stink bugs, cucumber beetles and etc. Works like a charm! I had an almost bug free garden this past summer! All for under 20 US dollars! ❤
Are you able to dump the insect debris onto your bird table?
@@AtheistEve I have very few birds here and don't wish to invite more. When I dump the canister, the bugs are alive. So they get dumped in soapy water, so as not to re-infest my garden.
@@trulyblessed3732 I suppose, if someone had a large enough garden with enough distance from their veg patch and their bird table, they could use a vacuum to take the villainous insects far enough away. I’m just thinking of a way to justify a machine that removes all insects that at least restores the balance by leaving them available for birds.
Usually, when I have to remove insects like slugs and caterpillars, I try to put them somewhere they will be able to either continue to live (on companion plants like nasturtiums) or where they can feed other animals or work for me (bird table, compost heap).
@@AtheistEve Kudos to you for having the space to do that.
I don't. 🤷♀️
@@trulyblessed3732 My allotment isn’t all that big. But thanks for the congratulations on what I’m able to do with what I’ve got. I hope to do more next year. We can always do more for the environment.
I like to use plain cardboard boxes underneath mulch in areas where I'm replacing lawn with a new planter or garden. I've found the cardboard in combination with a couple inches of mulch to hold it in place works really well to smother the grass, and if you want to plant anything immediately is relatively easy to cut through. Much cheaper (and imo more effective) than landscape fabric!
Absolutely agree with you on this - a great free alternative to landscape fabric.
I am having a Blue Peter moment :) Hands up those who remember - empty washing up bottles to make a rocket, etc. Thank you. You are such a cheery fellow to listen to. Great advice as always.
Haha - very much remember that!
@@GrowVeg :)
Sunhalo, please explain how to make the rocket?
Greetings from Windermere, Florida zone 9b USA 🇺🇸
I shred my cardboard and use as bedding for my Can-O-Worms and 5 other Worm bins. 🪱 And I make cold compost with Grass clippings and shredded cardboard. And I lay it on the ground, in-between plants with a few inches of grass clippings on top👍
I'm 72, gardening for over 50 years and raising worms since 2009. I started a RUclips channel in September 2020.
I thoroughly enjoyed your channel and subscribed 👩🌾👍
Thanks so much for subscribing - wonderful to have you on board. Sounds like you're already doing great things with your cardboard. :-)
Glad you mentioned the lacewing homes
I’ve been known to ask for brown cardboard and newspapers on Facebook marketplace. I shred it up before using it as pet bedding and then it turns into a great addition to my compost
Slightly embarrassed to say... composting is my new favourite thing. Your channel is amazing and I'll be subbing to the site to use the planner. Thank you.
Wonderful! There's no need to feel shy about being a composting advocate - it's all good stuff!
It's been one of my favorite things for years. Lovely to see a kindred spirit! 💜And what's not to love about it?!
A suggestion on raking up leaves. I always used an old bed sheet. Rake them on the sheet, bundle them up, and throw it over your shoulder like Santa Claus. It isn't heavy. Haul it over to your compost and dump it in. Much faster than gathering leaves with a rake, wheelbarrow and your hands. I need to do more with my cardboard boxes. I either throw them in the compost or burn them in a camp fire when I get too many piled up.
What a great way to gather leaves - brilliant!
Hello Ben! Shivering from a 6F degree evening, and 7 days of horrific cold, I am reveling in this video full of great ideas. You're a genius! Thank you so much from frozen Colorado USA
Keep warm over there! Glad you're enjoying the video. :)
Great ideas! Composting the cardboard back to the earth was a 💡 moment. Until now just thought of it as an ingredient to make compost so I don't have to buy it in bags. As a new gardener I feel I'm relating more to the earth with every growing season, which is quite short here in Canada. Mind blown!
I'll use cardboard under woodchips to help suppress weeds and get some rich earth.
It's great to hear you're getting more and more connected to the earth. Gardening is great for that. :-)
I already use cardboard for sheeting, but this video gave me more ideas! I love re-purposing and re-using everything!
the paper is perfect for tearing up and adding to compost for more browns. I'm often a little short on browns so that works well!
Great suggestion. :-)
Another winner! Thanks Ben. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼✅
Love the aphid idea. All of this is brilliant. Thanks for sharing
Everyone Please keep in mind that cardboard is candy to termites, they will come running for it! After all cardboard is ground up processed wood, basically 'pre-chewed' if you will, so they don't need to work so hard to eat it. The termites will love you for it and make a new home right near there. So if you are in an area prone to termites, don't use it, I learned that lesson the hard way.
Thanks for the words of caution - good point.
I have noticed termites in different areas of composted wood chips, cardboard and old tree limbs as garden borders over the past 20 years, they never invaded my home due to using Diatomaceous Earth around the outside. Without pests, the world would be piled high with dead plants and animals. Wasps for pollinator's and ants for soil aeration, we somehow must learn how to exist with these pests. God is our master Gardener, everything works to the good of planet! Happy gardening!
We’re from the UK mate so not sure have ever had to worry about Termites before !
So if you don't use cardboard or wood chip, what do you suggest to bulk up your compost in termite susceptible areas?
So far I am not seeing termites. Instead, I am seeing worms, which I thought is great!
I have a 8 x 10 green house that I just bought and never thought about using all the bubble wrap to insulate the green house. Ben I just love watching you to start my day with your great ideas. I can’t imagine not starting my day without your great advise. Keep doing what you and I love. I’m 76 years old and I just love gardening and oh I start planting my garden tomorrow in Ohio
Thank you so much for you very kind words. I'm excited for you that you'll be planting (today!). Great to start the garden off for the year. :-)
Ur fabulous’ n practical .. a born recycler Love U.. a legacy permaculture guru told me what U mentioned .. to beware toxins in cardboards & packaging 🙏♥️🕊🍃☀️
Thanks Kawakeb, appreciate that. :-)
Hats off to you my good man. Your cardboard hack saved me a trip to the local recycling depot. I had resigned myself to a trip to rid us of a huge cardboard box we received with the purchase of our now 9 year olds trampoline. I now also score brownie points with our son for employing the, reduce, reuse and recycle method. Cheers!
It's a beautiful thing when that happens - delighted to hear it!
Excellent tips, I have not thrown away a piece of cardboard for the last two years, it all went initially as ground cover beneath 5 8x4ft raised beds and now goes to the compost pile with my grass clippings,.I shred my cardboard first which is obviously a bit of a waste of power since it can be torn but my grip is not what it used to be and tearing it became a pain and the surface area is multiplied letting it break down faster and hotter.
Well done on making such good use of it all Stu.
Before I started gardening, I HATED my spouses Prime addiction...now I appreciate all the cardboard and paper :D
Bubble wrap around plants - brilliant!!!
The Styrofoam boxes make good containers for growing microgreens. Just line it and plant away. If you keep bees, the brown paper can also be used to start your smoker. Worms love cardboard and other paper products...use it in your worm farms. Paper run thru the shredder can be used in both places too.
Great suggestions, thanks Roxanna. :-)
Ive been happily hacking, tearing, and separating the layers of every piece of cardboard i can find. Its my new addiction lol trying tomake my first bag of compost from weeds and cardboard.
What a great addiction! :-)
Great video- informative and so well presented! Such ingenious uses!
Re-use, reduce, recycle! ⭐️
Absolutely! :-)
I shred my cardboard with a heavy duty cross cut paper shredder. It make excellent mulch. I have also used this as a rooting medium for cuttings. Michael
What a great idea. :-)
@@GrowVeg I only use the American made brown cardboard. The Chinese grey stuff is unattractive. Michael
I’ve always used cardboard boxes when starting my raised planters. Don’t bother to clear the grass lawn, put the bottomless raised planter onto of it, cover the grass with the flatten box making sure you cover all the grass right into the corners. Then add your composted garden waste you been collecting over the last year if your good. Don’t forget those uncooked kitchen waste too ie egg shells, potato peelings etc. if you don’t have enough to fill the planter then add some soil or bought in compost try not to buy peat based compost and mixed them together. Water well if soil is dry. Have fun with your first crop.
All very wise advice, thank you! :-)
It is incredibly satisfying listening to you and watching you do these garden hacks!
Thanks Amy, appreciate you watching. :-)
I really like the bubble wrap insulation and the lace wing hotel!
Hi. I'm soooo glad you said NOT to use styrofoam as a filler. Thank you.
What I love about your channel is that you pack so much useful information in consise video’s. They are really a joy to watch . Keep up the good work! Greetings from the Netherlands
Thanks so much, that's very kind of you to say. :-)
You made my day! Not only did you share great information and tips, the aspect of reuse/recycle is always the way to go. Thank you so much for your channel.
You're very welcome - thank you for watching!
Clever gardening!!!!
ooohhhh. I like the cabbage collars.
Oh Ben, another great video buddy, thank you, I use practically all of these tips, I've even started making pressed paper bricks for the wood burner too
What a great idea to make pressed paper bricks!
Hi Ben, thanks for all these tips. I don’t have a lot of cardboard to hand but asked at our local, small convenience store (the Coop for me) and they’re more than pleased for me to take some cardboard off their hands. Now off to our local coffee shop for their used coffee grounds….great way to make new friends too, everyone’s happy to get rid of their rubbish.
You're doing them a grand service Christine - everyone's a winner!
great ideas ! thank you
Love having boxes for the garden ❤
Your garden is beautiful and fresh. Thank you for sharing your tree planting experience 💚
Thanks so much for watching. :-)
Great advise as usual. Good that you warn about plastic products. Knowledge is everything. You are teaching all of us to care for the environment. I love your doggie. Thank you for another thoughtful video.
Thanks for watching Helena. :-)
Awesome - they should teach this in schools!
Thanks for so many great ideas! Greetings from north Wales, UK.
Cheers Peter, appreciate it. :-)
Thank you so much, for sharing your video, very good ideas and I will use for my garden, your dog soooo cute 😊
That's great to hear. :-)
That's a fantastic video. I think the idea for cabbage collars is a great idea and one I will be using next year! 😊
Great production and ideas
Great video i use all my Amazon paper and cardboard for my composter.
Once i get enough i cut them up into pieces and shred them through my paper shredder obviously after all the labels and tape is off, then they end up as my browns for the composter also shredding cardboard and paper is very therapeutic well i think it is when i do mine.
Stay Safe,
Barry (Wirral)
I know what you mean about it being rather therapeutic Barry!
I simply couldn't agree more. All those cardboard boxes that Amazon ships to our doorsteps are one of the greatest wastes of our precious sustainable resources and an incredible nuisance - along with all those plastic bags and empty water bottles blowing around in the streets - in addition to all those plastic bags. Therefore, it's always better to shop locally and bring your own containers.
Absolutely!
I did cardboard and be woodchips 2yrs ago. I had 4 van loads of arborist's chippings for free....they give it away. This November I see Wavy Caps amongst other fungi happily growing in the woodchips. 😃
Sounds like it's doing some great things in the garden. :-)
Thanks so much, Ben! I've already sent this video along to the family. I've cut my plastic recycle in half by consciously choosing products in paper and cardboard such as detergent.
Those are great ideas ! I love the fact that you think garden even when you open your packages !
I thought I knew what you had today, but I learned several ideas! Thx
Some great ideas I didn't know about... Love repurposing
This is so good to know. I’m a new garden who adopted my garden from a once avid gardener who was in the house 60 years. Due to old age it was overgrown which I worked through my first year, now I’m uncovering some of her artistry. However the amount of styrofoam is exhausting at times!
Styrofoam certainly can be! Hope the garden continues to progress a-pace. :-)
Great ideas, excellent mentality - thanks!
Absolutely brilliant ideas Ben. You’re a genius!
Cheers John!
Good ones, I use old paper towel and toilet paper tubes to blanch celery and leek stems....wait, I think I got that from you in an older video, see, you and your team are always full of the best ideas.
Thanks Jo! Yes indeed, paper tubes also have a universe of uses. I also like them as biodegradable pots for seedlings.
If you have a worm bin you can use most of this material except plastic to use as a bedding for the worms, they will process that in no time if it is moist.
Great tip, thanks Bob.
Probably get this alot , you really inspired me to get into gardening.... I've watched all your videos and also built 7 boxes to plant in.. already have many veg and many sprouts.. also have a photo album for my seeds .... also started a worm farm ... thanks heaps man... keep doing what you are , I love it ! Cheers mate 🇦🇺🇦🇺
Hi Jay. This is really kind of you to say and I'm honestly delighted you've been inspired to get growing - this a really super news! Keep up the good work - bounteous harvests be with you! :-)
I use cardboard boxes labeled for recycling and the brown paper for bulb, tuber, rhizome, and root vegetable storage.
Brilliant Sherri. :-)
Love the cabbage collar cardboard method. Ty so much for sharing.
Don’t you love we’re all adapting to Bezos. I used to run over bubble wrap with a forklift. Sounded like a machine gun. Scared my goon coworkers. Loved it. I use it like you are now. I am post goon job . I get businesses to save me cardboard and shredded paper. Usually get a van load all at once. You can also raid the recycling bins and pick up bags of leaves thoughtfully collected for you. Lol
Great to have people saving it for you!
I am using an office paper shredder to shred my cardboard. I bought the Amazon basics:) working like a horse :)
Great idea!
I’d love to see your beautiful pup more in the video xx great content as always. I can’t believe it’s free on RUclips.
Thanks so much. Rosie often makes an appearance but can be fickle - so we're at the mercy of her whims as to whether she makes an appearance or not!
Great one. Keep up the positive attitude :) your passion gets more people into the garden!
Thanks so much - and will do!
Love this video!
Great video, Ben. I made my first-ever no-dig vegetable patch this year, and was happy to take various cardboard boxes and packages from neighbours. It worked a treat!
So pleased it worked out for you. Well done on setting your veg patch - hope you've enjoyed some good harvests. :-)
Great video Ben. Loads of excellent useable tips for gardeners in this one
Cheers Tony, you're a gent sir. :-)
We always use cardboard in our garden but I never thought about the bubble wrap. Great ideas for my garden and channel. I have to show kids how to do this. Thanks.
You're welcome. Bubble wrap is very handy stuff. :-)
Your absolutely right. How have you Ben
You seemed very pleased with the 'bubble-glazing' gag 😁🤣
I buy off eBay rather than Amazon, most of the sellers pay income tax, but yeah, lots of cardboard and bubble-wrap, so this video has given me a few ideas! Thank you.
Couldn't help feeling smug about that pun!
Brilliant! Lots of inspiring ideas here! Thank you!
I usually burn or recycle the cardboard boxes. But since watching you, I have started to use it around the garden. I have 2 large boxes waiting by the compost to be torn up now.
I hope you have a wonderful winter, Ben and look forward to more videos
Thanks so much Tonie - and you. :-)
Fantastic recycling ideas here
EXCELLENT info... Just found your channel this am.. already have been laying cardboard down all over the garden.. But, you added sooo much more useful info.. Will do, as well.. Thank you!!!
Great stuff - so pleased you found the channel. :-)
Thanks Ben, I love the idea of the lacewing hotel. I am also glad to have some use of all the bubble wrap. Keep it up and I'll keep watching.
Thanks Donna - I'll keep the videos coming, don't worry. Glad this video offered some handy ideas.
I love this video! I always have cardboard boxes that I am looking for ways to use up. Thank you SO much for sharing such great ideas!
Great information!. I get cardboard from the trash collecting bins of the big box stores. They do not like for people to do that (liability issue). I am just a beginning gardener, however, I do have chickens. They love to sit on the back porch by the door, esecially as it gets cooler. My cardboard use is to cover the steps to make poop collecting easier.
What a great way to collect the poop. :-)
Great ideas for up cycling or repurposing packaging material. Thank u for sharing these tips. ❤
Omg Ben, I’ve had a long day and had seizures to top it off lol feeling achy and sore from falling to the floor etc….. and then I see your post. It’s cheated me right up and I’m saving it to my playlist.
I get a lot of boxes and I spend hours ripping it up for the compost bin but there is some amazing ideas in here to think about and I’m gonna try that hotel idea, don’t know if lacewings live in my area as no idea what I’m looking for but would love to encourage them .
Thanks for that Cheryl. I hope you are feeling a lot better today. :-)
@@GrowVeg yea getting there. We know it’s part of life and gonna happen but still upset me every time, 17years later, would of thought I would have stopped getting upset by now!!!! But nope .
I’m just aching in my legs and top of my arms from the spasms.
Hopeif I don’t have any in my sleep, I regularly do, then tomorrow I may feel bit better and able to do something. Today has been another rest day. When I have multiple or very intense ones it can knock me out for days, if I have them day after day when I’m going through a rough patch, it can be a week or too as I don’t get the time to recover in between them. Luckily it’s been months since I was bad, hopefully will next year before another, meaning only one this year which is amazing. It’s been a tough year but I’ve done well now I think about it. As I hadn’t thought about it till now, usually it 3/4 a year on a good one. So even if it does happen between now and new year it’s still a good year really. Thanks for helping me get to this point in thinking. We have done well.
I use ripped up corrugated cardboard as bedding in my worm bin. The worms love it and lay their cocoons in the little spaces in the corrugation
I always enjoy learning something new here. Thanks!
Excellent sharing
I've noticed much less bubble wrap this last two years and a shift to scrunched up recycled paper instead, this is a great thing. Also, I am seeing much more use of the starch based loose fill that can just go onto the compost heap. I never seem to have enough cardboard and I collect from many sources, having said that my main polytunnel seems to be full of cardboard righ now stocked up to fill my homemade hotbin, also in the tunnel...Steve...🙂
My shed is full and it’s moving to the bungalow now, just need the time and energy to shred it. Tbh then I would be able to put the compost into action but atm I don’t have the time or energy or dry weather to do it. Having to do things but by bit atm so it’s just having to wait. But a couple of months back we helped my Nan cut 10 inches of the to of her hedge as she felt it was too high compared to the ones either side so have 5 large garden bags full of that to put on the compost pile lol that should fill or near enough fill my pile with the added cardboard end shredded paper and spent compost and the cut downs from summer plants that are all bagged up waiting to go in . It’s all there just need to do it.
I also went to the woods last week and collected loads of leaves that I’m using my strimmer and shredding them into tiny little bit…ad I mean tiny to make leave mold but I go so much I may see if I need to put some on the compost pile but I’ll still shred them as easier to break down, but if I don’t need them to balance the brown/greens then I’ll just make more leaf mold it doesn’t matter to me lol
@@cherylhowker1792 The easiest way to make leaf mould is to just put the whole leaves into a black bin bag, make a few holes with a garden fork for a little ventilation, do the tops up, put them somewhere out of sight, (I put mine behind bushes) and wait a year, and you have lovely leaf mould. You really don't have to shred the leaves first. My elderly neighbour told me how to do this years ago, and it works well, without unnecessary effort.
@@jesshothersall that’s all well and good if you want to wait years, I don’t
I have done that with some but some I want to use this summer
So I’m making it the way I watched to do it to make it quicker. I can make 4 loads in the time it takes to one bag
Nice ideas esp. the seed bags
I cut my cardboard up for mulch, gel packets in my seed box and paper to line pots with big holes. I'm going to save the bubble wrap now too.
You're doing so much already Rosalind - top job!
Great ideas!! I use the cardboard egg cartons to fill bottoms of big planters for a season. I however recycle the styrofoam egg cartons at recycle locations(Publix, etc). Also ground up autumn leaves can fill up bottom of big planters.....for a season....and they eventually compost out. Yay!!
Ahna USA
That's a great use of leaves!
Styrofoam is not recyclable! Avoid buying anything that comes in it.
LOVE this.... a video to encourage helping bugs rather than the typical im a gardener so i must kill everything to protect my veg! Thank you !!!
You're very welcome. It's so much better if we can work with nature where we can. :-)
I just bought a paper shredder that also shreds cardboard into compost-ready small pieces. My Daughter stole the entire bag of shreds right away as she keeps pet Rats, now she has to get a shredder too!
Very useful things those shredders!
Ben as usual a great video, the best one for me was the cabbage collar great idea! Love your cheerful
Presentation great on a cold November day! Thank you ☘️☘️☘️☘️
Thanks Fiona. Very miserable weather today!
I'm excited and inspired to use our packaging material. It's been sitting in piles waiting for this information! And just in time for the cold months.
Thanks for your video. Love the idea of reusing these cardboard for garden purposes. Although I’m from Thailand, which there is no winter, I got lots of new ideas. We have a land that we just plants some mango trees and we partially used all these cardboard boxes ( that we got from online shopping) on the ground to prevent all those weeds. Thanks. Just subscribed.
Brilliant move to prevent the weeds. Thank for the sub too! :-)
Hello, some great tips on re-using packaging. Thanks for sharing and take care 🙂
Brilliant video! So many great uses to keep waste out of the landfill and set to work in the garden. Every week I walk the neighborhood before trash day and collect a bunch of boxes. Cardboard is a great tool, and I'm glad to see uses for the other materials. Thank you!
Glad you manage to make the most of your neighbour's boxes. :-)
Awesome video!!! This is so creative
Great video. I use cardboard to start a new bed. I never thought about using bubble wrap for insulation. Love it
Pure genius!
Wow thank you for these useful tips😃
Such a good video. Loved all the ideas. For the moment l am using the cartbord as a gras suppresser in the garden. Didn't thought about the bubble sheet, but now l know 😉
Bicycles arrive in big boxes, so bicycle shops are a great source of big sheets of cardboard. Really quick way to cover my allotment!
Smart tip, thanks Tom!