Gardeners urged to follow '10 minute' cardboard rule for new plants

Deliveries often arrive in cardboard boxes, ready for homeowners to recycle the packaging, but you could find another use for them that's eco-friendly. As a gardening expert has shared,

you could repurpose the boxes into a zero-waste plant pot for new plants. The handy tip was offered by blogger @Joesgarden, who boasts over a million followers on TikTok. "Today we are

back and I am showing you one of my favourite ways to use up all that extra left over cardboard from deliveries. "I'm sure most of you like me, from time to time order something

which arrives in a cardboard box. Well instead of throwing them away, they are actually very useful around the garden," the expert shared in his viral post. In the TikTok video, he

explained how to easily convert the box for your garden. Joe advised: "Remove any of the plastic packaging and soak in some fresh water for about ten minutes. Once soaked, remove the

damp cardboard and trim into strips." "While the cardboard is still nice and damp, wrap it around a jar or a tin, making sure to push the bottom down hard," he continued.

"Pop over an elastic band and leave these somewhere nice and warm to dry. After a few hours, you'll have these perfect little eco-friendly pots, which can be used to start seed and

planted out whole to avoid root disturbance." The viral clip amassed over 180,000 views and lots of comments, reports the Express. One enthusiastic comment read: "Wonderful

idea!!" Another said: "Wow... brilliant!" A fan echoed: "Thank you for a great idea." A different commenter shared: "Good idea, normally use the toilet roll

cardboard/ kitchen towel." Another pointed out: "You can also use cardboard tube out of toilet paper." Someone else said: "Nice. Too bad I never have a free cardboard

box." A viewer added: "A lot of my packages are just plastic pouches instead of boxes." Homeowners could also use cardboard to stop light from reaching weeds and prevent them

from breaking through the soil. This is ideal for anyone hoping to establish a new garden bed. Aaron Steil, a horticulture extension specialist, told the Martha Stewart website:

"Cardboard is great for killing existing vegetation to create a garden bed." While you can leave the cardboard as it is, you may wish to cover it with mulch to prevent it from

becoming an eyesore. The tip is simple to try at home. To use it, you need to lay down a layer of corrugated cardboard where you want your garden bed to go. Then, you water the cardboard,

add a layer of compost, and water it again. The no-dig gardening method protects the soil, minimising erosion and protecting microorganisms that could otherwise be disturbed. However,

it's worth noting that this tip could cause the cardboard to break down faster. You'll also want to avoid waxed cardboard, which could contain chemicals that aren't good for

the soil.