Maintaining Wild Tip
by Besa Schweitzer, chapter member
Prepare future garden beds for fall planting.
Lawns and weedy areas of new beds can be smothered with a layer of cardboard covered in mulch.
Cracks and joints in the cardboard can be sealed over with newspaper, several layers of newspaper can be used instead of cardboard.
Weigh down the cardboard with rocks and sticks until everything is covered in mulch.
Garden waste can also be spread across the soil as a layer underneath the cardboard.
Leave the cardboard and other layers in place for 6 months until all layers are decomposed.
The next season the new bed will be ready for planting.
About our new Maintaining Wild series:
To help you keep up with your native garden care in 2026 we’re posting a maintenance tip each week on our website and on Facebook. These tips will include native garden specific tasks as well as some basic gardening advice.
A new tip will appear weekly on Facebook, on Friday at 1 pm.
To join the discussion, comment on our Facebook page.
Stay tuned for a new garden maintenance tip each week to help get you out into the garden and make 2026 a year for Maintaining Wild. Let’s have a discussion and share our knowledge!
View all tips on a single page: https://stlwildones.org/maintaining-wild-tips/
