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Going green in the garden
20/04/10
Edited by Andy Jowett. Home owners looking to recycle more, grow their own produce and save money can achieve all three by putting their old cardboard tubes and containers to work in the garden, according to one expert.
Writing on the Gardeners' World blog, Adam Pasco said that kitchen roll tubes and egg boxes make "great biodegradable pots" for seed sowing.
"The secret to using [them] is to keep the cardboard moist, otherwise it acts as a wick removing moisture from the compost within," he added.
Furthermore, roots can grow through damp cardboard into the surrounding soil, which means the cartons can be planted out as they will eventually decompose.
Mr. Pasco, who has been editor of Gardeners' World magazine since it launched in 1991, noted that it is important to ensure that containers sit below the soil line because they could otherwise dry out and restrict the roots.
Those households who have more cardboard than they can use for plants can still put it to use in the garden as an inexpensive ingredient in compost, he said.
