Tried the cardboard mulch trick on my peppers and now half of them are dead

Jordan Reed · 2026-10-25T19:10:03.224879+00:00

I laid down wet cardboard around six pepper plants on my third-floor balcony in Sacramento last month to cut down on watering, and between the slugs hiding under it and the roots staying way too soggy, four of them croaked. I get why people swear by this on garden beds, but on a balcony where the pots don't drain like real soil, it just turned into a slug hotel. Has anyone made this work in containers, or should I just go back to plain straw?

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Tried the cardboard mulch trick on my peppers and now half of them are dead | Balcony Veggie Gardens - Librear