Use Newspaper for Mulch

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As summer approaches, it won't be long until fresh-cut flowers adorn the tabletop and summer vegetables are a part of every meal. Whether you're growing tomatoes or hollyhocks, pesky weeds often pose problems. If weeds seem to sprout faster than you can pull them, one easy and inexpensive way to keep them at bay is to use newspapers for mulch.

When Eugene Engeldinger describes how he couldn't get rid of quack grass in his potato garden, he started using newspaper covered with a mixture of leaves and grass to smother weeds. For mulch around his potato plants, he laid down two to four sheet layers of newspaper, leaving about 3 inches around the sprouts. He made use of lawn maintenance leftovers, such as leaves, grass clippings and pine needles, spreading a 2-to 3-inch layer over the newspapers. Engeldinger likes the extra cushion of the leaves and grass because it weighs down the newspapers, and helped keep the newspapers weighed-down and allows him to walk in the garden without ripping holes in the paper..

Patricia Lanza uses newspapers to mulch her entire garden. She begins mulching in the fall by spreading two or three sheets of wet newspaper over her garden plot, then adds peat moss, grass clippings and shredded leaves. When she uncovers her garden in the spring, rich, weed-free soil is all she finds underneath. Newspapers are biodegradable, but hold up for several months. They rob weeds of sunlight, but let water and air reach the soil. Plus, they're a great alternative to herbicides.

When mulching with newspapers, the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends using a layer of newspapers that’s about a quarter-inch thick. You should use black and white pages, because some of the colored inks may be harmful to your plants. Using organic ingredients in your mulch combination will help boost the nutrients in your soil. You can be creative with the ingredients you mix on top of your layer of newspapers—just make sure the materials haven’t been treated with herbicides.

So if you’re sick of weeds that keep coming back, try newspaper for mulch. Newspaper helps regulate the temperature of the soil and conserve moisture, so you’ll save time and water. Get creative and see what organic materials work best with newspaper. Think of the time you’ll save by not pulling weeds all summer long.

If you have experience using newspaper in the garden, share your ideas by posting a comment below.