Why not Round-Up & Glyphosates In E. Hawaii ?

[Nucleus Hawaii]

Rob is right to question the chemicals used in corrugated cardboard.
Not all cardboard is made the same and corrugated cardboard uses glue to bond the kraft paper. In most cases corn starch glue is used but this can not always be the case and there are different standards etc. in different parts of the world and for different products.

The Nucleus Foundation is committed to community health (which includes environmental health) as well as community self reliance. It can be very difficult to balance between what is affordable, what is effective and what is ecologically sustaining. Cardboard and newspaper are not sustainable products long term at this time for Hawaii Island simply because they are not currently produced here. However since there is currently an abundance of these materials and it is a situation of turning rubbish into a useful tool, cardboard and newspaper mulching can be considered a short term sustainable method.

As for the ecological safety of cardboard mulch, here is some info we found, any additional info anyone would like to add would be appreciated, as cooperation and collaboration are crucial.

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Corrugat...board.html

http://www.permies.com/permaculture-foru...as-a-mulch

http://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Summer_...nclusions/


http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2263471

It appears that certain types of cardboard are safer to use than others. As is the case with newspapers (glossy VS non-glossy).

We will work further on this issue and bring forth new info as we find it. Mahalo Nui Loa

[Nucleus Hawaii]

Nucleus - I've been using Cimarron with great success to control ginger and also to keep fiya tree and guava from regrowing at cut stumps. I have always bought the manufacturer's claims of safety and figured that if the national park were using it, it must be okay. If I'm poisoning the land, however, I'll stop and go back to digging up roots and constant chopping. It's unclear from your response how dangerous this product is. But it seems you have a great deal of knowledge in this area and would love to know what is true.

Mauka, we wish we had more info at this time pertaining to those products. Info on patented synthetic chemicals is often difficult to acquire and even harder (for us laymens) decipher. We will try to get more info for you in the near future. Mahalo

[Nucleus Hawaii]

We will continue discussion on mulching and other gardening/ag techniques in the farming and gardening section of this site. Mahalo