How to Avoid Weeds in Paper Mulch
Sheet mulching is a way to smother weeds and grass while simultaneously adding lots of organic matter to repair depleted soil. One of the bottom-most layers--and a critical layer--is the paper or cardboard. This layer prevents the weeds below the sheet mulch from coming through the thick mulch above and finding sunlight. Prepare this specific sheet mulching method, introduced by Toby Hemenway in "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture," in the fall to have it ready for spring planting. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Mower or weed-whacker
- Shovel
- Compost
- Newspaper, cardboard or other sheet paper product
- Manure
- Organic material such as loose straw or leaves
- Wood shavings or wood chip mulch
- Soil with finished compost, as needed
- Tin collars or copper wires, as needed
Instructions
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Mow or weed-whack the weeds or grass in the area where you want to create a garden or vegetable bed. If the soil is especially hard, loosen it intermittently with a shovel, but do not till. Spread a 1/2-inch thick layer of compost over the area. Lay newspaper, other waste paper or cardboard.
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Start laying the paper material on one end of the bed, adding several overlapping layers as you go. The overlapping ensures that even weeds snaking their way around obstacles can't make it through the next layer. The paper layer also helps conserve the moisture of the soil below.
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Work the paper layer to 1/2 inch thick. Do not step on the paper after you lay it, since this may cause tears that the weeds below can penetrate.
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Wet the paper as you go to prevent it from flying away and to kick-start the decomposition process. This layer is meant to block the weeds below until they die, but eventually you'll want your plant roots to penetrate through the paper layer to the soil below.
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Add a 1/4- to 1/2-inch layer of manure, then top the whole area with 8 inches or more of organic material such as loose straw or leaves. Keep the organic material lightly moist. Add 2 inches of wood shavings or wood chips to give the bed a finished look while it overwinters.
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Tips & Warnings
The few weed seeds that may make their way into the mulch bed will find little light and will probably get lost and decompose. The weeds that do come up won't have tight soil to anchor into, and can be pulled easily.
To plant seeds or transplants, make pockets of soil and compost in the sheet mulched bed where you want to plant. Cut an "X" through the paper layer of the sheet mulch to make sure the roots can easily reach the soil below.
Slugs might move into your sheet mulch bed. Surround new plantings with tin can collars or copper wire collars to protect them.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
