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I'm a great fan of cardboard, but it will harbour slugs! Thats fine if you apply it under mulch in Autumn to kill weeds and it rots away by early summer when your tender plants go it.
Last year as part of my no dig experiment I put a row of potatoes across a section of the plot that was traditionally double dug and totally no dig under cardboard, woodchip, compost etc. the crop was wonderful in the dug part of the rows and decimated by slugs where the cardboard sheeting was! But elsewhere I planted brassicas through cardboard and woodchip last autumn and slug damage was minimal. A beer trap was used once the weather warmed but the plants were big enough not to appeal to the slugs by then.
So you will learn the foibles as you go along.
As for sources of mulch/compost etc. I have found a churchyard that pile all thier leaves and hedge trimmings and grass cuttings out of the way. They don't want them and are Happy for me to take it away , best once it's partly composted so it's less volume to haul. Neighbours can be a source of compostable kitchen waste and garden waste if you ask. I also rake autumn leaves from the school field and local footpaths. Our local council give away free 'soil improver' once a year on a shovel it yourself basis, it's not great but it is free and makes decent soil improver or mulch (look out for small plastic content).
Local stables or horse keepers often have a surfit of ....stuff to give away. Try and get older material that has undertaken some composting already, or get it 'green' and leave it bagged or stacked a few months.
Cardboard is good added to green compostable waste to make rich compost. Woodchip if you can find a tree surgeon locally they may deliver (tip) a load to the plot and you can just barrow it to store or use. Beware of burying fresh woodchip, there is a risk of it withholding nitrogen from the soil it touches while it starts to break down, it doesn't seem to bad laid on the surface though.
I seem to get excited about this so I'll go away now.
Last year as part of my no dig experiment I put a row of potatoes across a section of the plot that was traditionally double dug and totally no dig under cardboard, woodchip, compost etc. the crop was wonderful in the dug part of the rows and decimated by slugs where the cardboard sheeting was! But elsewhere I planted brassicas through cardboard and woodchip last autumn and slug damage was minimal. A beer trap was used once the weather warmed but the plants were big enough not to appeal to the slugs by then.
So you will learn the foibles as you go along.
As for sources of mulch/compost etc. I have found a churchyard that pile all thier leaves and hedge trimmings and grass cuttings out of the way. They don't want them and are Happy for me to take it away , best once it's partly composted so it's less volume to haul. Neighbours can be a source of compostable kitchen waste and garden waste if you ask. I also rake autumn leaves from the school field and local footpaths. Our local council give away free 'soil improver' once a year on a shovel it yourself basis, it's not great but it is free and makes decent soil improver or mulch (look out for small plastic content).
Local stables or horse keepers often have a surfit of ....stuff to give away. Try and get older material that has undertaken some composting already, or get it 'green' and leave it bagged or stacked a few months.
Cardboard is good added to green compostable waste to make rich compost. Woodchip if you can find a tree surgeon locally they may deliver (tip) a load to the plot and you can just barrow it to store or use. Beware of burying fresh woodchip, there is a risk of it withholding nitrogen from the soil it touches while it starts to break down, it doesn't seem to bad laid on the surface though.
I seem to get excited about this so I'll go away now.
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