How to Use Newspaper As Garden Mulch
Using a garden mulch will produce two different results in your garden plot. The mulch will hold moisture in the soil so you don't have to water as frequently, and it will keep weed seeds from sprouting in between the rows of plants, reducing the amount of time you need to spend weeding. Commercial garden centers sell many forms of mulch for your garden, from wood chips to rolls of black plastic. You can achieve the same results in a greener way by recycling newspapers into biodegradable garden mulch. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Collect your newspapers for a couple of weeks until you have a substantial pile. Remove the colored and slick inserts like coupons and ads, leaving only the black and white pages for the mulch.
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Run your newspaper through a common office shredder if you have one. This will make it easier to arrange the paper around your plants. If you don't have a shredder, cut or tear the papers into 1/4 size sheets.
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Water your garden if it didn't rain the night before. Soak the soil thoroughly.
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Lay a layer of paper in your garden rows, right up against the stems of your plants. Sprinkle a shovelful of dirt onto the paper to keep it from blowing away. Fill in all the empty space between garden plants with newspaper shreds or sheets. All you should see is newspaper and plants when you are finished.
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Water the paper with a fine spray from your hose or a sprinkler until the paper is soaked through. Leave the paper in place throughout your growing season. It will decompose into the soil as the summer goes on.
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Cover the newspaper with any organic material you have laying around your yard, such as leaves, straw or grass clippings.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
