DIY Cardboard Projects & Ideas For Garden

Sherin Woods is a California-based DIY enthusiast and garden design aficionado. With a background in Environmental Science, she combines creativity and sustainability in all her projects. A Pinterest favorite, Sherin is committed to eco-friendly solutions and has contributed to various home and garden publications. Her areas of expertise include DIY project planning, sustainable garden design, and content creation.
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If you love to recycle and have cardboards– don’t throw them, use them in your garden. Check out these DIY cardboard projects and ideas for the garden.

What do you do with cardboards? Throw them, that’s what they’re for– you might be saying! But have you ever wondered, cardboards can be useful? And, here are 9 great DIY cardboard projects and ideas for the garden for you to look at.

1. Composting Cardboards

Cardboard compost

Using cardboard in compost is a rewarding experience that makes great use of boxes taking up space. However, wax-coated cardboards must be avoided. Shredded cardboard works best for composting. If you cannot shred it, just rip it into small pieces removing any tape or other plastic stuff in the process. Read this post to learn more on how to compost cardboard.

2. Cardboard to Suppress Weeds

cardboard weed barrier

If you are looking for any effective organic solution to stop weeds in the garden your search ends here– Using cardboard is one of the best ways to stop weeds. It is completely biodegradable and lasts for a season or two. First of all, trim the grasses or weeds to the ground level and then just lay down the cardboard pieces above those unwanted plants. Once done, soak the cardboard slightly with a garden hose and cover it with a thick layer of mulch or rock. Find out more details and how to do it here.

3. DIY Cardboard Butterfly Garden Ornament

DIY-Butterfly-Lawn-Ornaments

If you have a boring fence, these butterflies are the perfect way to jazz it up. These cardboard butterfly ornaments are easy to make and use a lot of household items you may already have on hand. Here is the tutorial.

Also Read: DIY Garden Fence Decoration Ideas

4. Cardboard Seed Starter

Cardboard Uses in Garden

Cardboard egg carton seed starter works great for starting seeds. They are of the perfect size to start seeds. Just fill the seed mix in individual cups and plant your seeds. Once they are ready for transplant, cut out each cup and plant them directly into the desired pot or in your garden bed. Check this step by step tutorial for more info.

Cardboard Cereal Box Seed Starters

Cardboard Uses in Garden 2

Brightly colored mini cereal boxes create cozy little homes for seeds as they work their way out through the soil to become big grown up plants. Here is the tutorial.

5. Shoe Box Planter

shoebox planter

Upcycle those shoeboxes you usually throw away into a container garden. This project is quick and easy. All you need is potting soil to crowd the shoeboxes and plant the plants. This type of planter won’t last long but when the plant has outgrown the planter, you can simply plant them in a large planter or in the garden. Read on learn how to make this.

6. Seed Box from Upcycled Shoe Boxes

diy-seed-box

Growing plants from seeds is a fun. You anticipate and wait impatiently, but where to put your growing collection of seeds? Here is a clever solution. First, select 2 shoe boxes or cardboard boxes. One of the shoe boxes will become the seed box, the other will be used to create dividers. Check out this step by step tutorial and learn how to make this.

7. Cardboard Birdhouse

carboard-bird-house

Definitely, you can not make the best birdhouses out of cardboards but it is a great idea to recycle. You can still create lovely colorful birdhouses. Place such birdhouses in shade from rain and the wind. See more about this here.

8. Cardboard Owl

diy cardboard owl

If you love owls here is a cool idea for you. These cute little owl ornaments are made from hand-rolled cardboard. These are eco-friendly, durable and perfect for home and garden decor. View more of it.

9. DIY Cardboard Box Storage

diy cardboard box storage

Have a cardboard box? Make this storage box for you from it. You can keep your small garden tools in it or seed packets etc. This frugal idea worths a try. Read the full post on Instructables.

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If you love to recycle and have cardboards-- don't throw them, use them in your garden. Check out these DIY cardboard projects and ideas for the garden.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Thanks for this post. I like to use cardboard as the base for my no-till, no-dig gardens. All it takes is four inches of good compost on top and you can plant immediately! Charles Dowding teaches it best if anyone is interested.

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