If you grow courgettes, you know that they can be generous... but sometimes temperamental. Excessive heat, soil that's too dry or competition from weeds can quickly lead to a drop in production. But there's a simple, natural and virtually free way to stimulate their growth and triple or even quintuple your harvest: wet cardboard. Yes, cardboard! But used in a very specific way. Here's how.
Why does wet cardboard work so well?
When placed on the ground and moistened, cardboard acts as a natural mulch. It has a number of beneficial effects that significantly improve growing conditions for courgettes:
- Moisture conservation: by keeping the soil moist for longer, cardboard reduces water stress. Courgettes need a lot of water to grow.
- Thermal protection: in summer, cardboard prevents the soil from heating up too much, which protects the roots.
- Weed barrier: the cardboard blocks light and prevents competing weeds from growing around the plants.
- Promotes soil life: when it comes into contact with moisture, cardboard decomposes slowly and attracts earthworms, which loosen and enrich the soil. Living soil means more fertile soil.
- Less disease: by placing courgette leaves on a clean, dry surface such as cardboard, you avoid splashes of rainwater or watering, which spread disease.
How do I use wet cardboard for courgettes?
Here are the simple steps for using this technique at home, whether in the garden or in a vegetable patch:
1. Choose raw cardboard
Use unprinted, untreated cardboard, without scotch tape or coloured ink. Brown packaging cardboard, such as that used for parcels or banana boxes, is perfect. Avoid those that are shiny or coated.
2. Moisten the cardboard
Soak the pieces of cardboard in water until they are very soft. This is important so that they adapt to the shape of the floor and start to work quickly.
3. Place the cardboard around the plants
Place the cardboard around your courgette plants, leaving a space of about 10 cm around the stem to prevent excess moisture getting directly onto the stem. The rest should cover the entire surface.
4. Add a natural mulch if necessary
For maximum effectiveness, you can cover the cardboard with a thin layer of plant mulch (straw, hay, dry grass clippings). This looks better and prevents the cardboard from blowing away or drying out too quickly.
Result: faster growth and more fruit
Feedback from gardeners and permaculture enthusiasts is clear: this simple method can boost courgette growth and increase harvests spectacularly. By creating a moist, fertile microclimate at the foot of the plant, we give it all the conditions it needs to concentrate on what it does best: producing.
It's clever, environmentally friendly... and economical!
The other advantage of this trick is its accessibility: there's no need to invest in complex or expensive solutions. You recycle a material that you already have at home, you save water, you limit weeding, and you harvest more. What more could you ask for?
👉 Try the wet cardboard trick next time you plant courgettes, and get ready to stock up on ratatouille all summer long!