You're very kind!
And usually, someone OTHER THAN me will know an easier way to do a thing.
About cardboard: consider looking up "lasagna gardening". A lot of people swear by that, and many people I respect have said they did some (or all of their) beds this way, and it worked fine.
Instead of digging DOWN the way I do, they only build "up". They lay down corrugated cardboard (1-2 layers), or MANY layers of newspaper, being careful to allow no gaps. Just lay them on top of grass and weeds.Wet them to make sure they stay in place
Then add walls, and add 12-18 inches of COMPOST and compost-makings on top of the cardboard.
Add some soil or pure compost on the very top.
Plant in that. Like growing right in a compost heap.
They say it works fine, and the cardboard "brings the worms".
So water must drain through the cardboard, or run off through the base of the walls.
I wonder if roots can drill DOWN through cardboard, but weed heads can't push UP through it. Just speculation.
But "Lasagna Gardeners" can describe it better, and justify it better, than I can. Since it takes away the digging and trenching that I love, I doubt if I'll ever use it until I get too weak to wield a mattock.
Really, I enjoy cultivating soil more than I enjoy cultivating plants!
