Green Gardening: Black and white and spread all over? Newspaper mulch

I often write about the many valuable qualities and uses of compost. Many of you have written to me to say that, indeed, mulching generously with compost has made your plants happy, transformed the lawn, and saved you countless hours of weeding.

Others, however, are now writing to ask how to get compost that isn't so costly. They'd love to use lots of deep compost mulches, but it's just too dang expensive for them. Still others kindly remind me that for elderly folks, spreading heavy loads of compost is just not practical.

Well, here's a good-news reminder for everyone: You can make great compost for free with recycled paper and grass clippings or plain old leaves. Lightweight and extremely easy to move around, paper, grass or leaves are really just as effective at suppressing weeds as any commercial compost you can (or can't) buy.

If you have access to a large paper shredder, run all the newspapers you can muster through it. Even if you shred newspapers by hand, your compost will mature faster and look a bit nicer than when you use whole sheets. If you don't have a paper shredder, then you can simply cover up the paper layers with a bulky but light natural material. Whole or shredded leaves, grass clippings, straw and sawdust or wood shavings are some common ones. Coffee grounds and hazelnut hulls are less common but just as effective.

If parts of your garden are seriously weed infested, this is an excellent time to use lightweight, recycled newspaper to solve your weed problem. Doesn't that sound pleasant? At this stage of my life, I am very fond of passive weeding techniques that do not require a great deal of effort on my part.

Among my favorites is smother mulching. This involves heaping on more mulch than the weeds can outgrow -- as much as 12 to 18 inches deep. If heaping is not in your vocabulary, an alternate technique called "causing it to be done by others" is also very effective. Do a version of this now and let it sit all winter. Come spring, the weeds will be dead. At that point, you or someone else can rake away the excess mulch or simply plant right into the bed.

A modified version of this technique is especially valuable for those who are gardening from scratch or renovating existing gardens where total plant removal is impractical. To give this simpler technique a try, choose an area you want to plant come spring. Mow or weed-whack the weedy mess, then layer on newspapers with only black ink. Glossy color supplements are apt to have heavy metals in the inks. Less glossy ones usually are safe, but don't use them unless you know they are printed with soy-based inks, as this newspaper is.

Work on a damp and drizzly day, or wet down the paper with a hose as you spread it out. On windy days, keep newspaper in place with wood, rocks or soil. Many garden writers suggest that stacks of four to five sheets of newspaper is enough. In my experience, it's better to use 10 or more, especially if your weeds are thugs.

On poor soil with a long-term weed problem, I stack a whole daily paper, opening each section fully and wetting it well. This is also a splendid way to mulch garden paths, especially if you then cover the paper with something more attractive, like wood shavings, sawdust or finely shredded bark. Well-wetted, these thick pads of paper will break down slowly but surely (left dry, they can take years). As they gently molder, they prevent pretty much anything from growing beneath them.

In garden beds, cover eight to 10 sheets of newsprint with a deep layer of shredded leaves or dried glass clippings. A foot or two of these absolutely free materials works wonders on poor soil. So will a blend of grass clippings and chopped straw. Never use peat moss, which sheds water when dry and is almost impossible to rewet once it is spread.

Plain straw is always a good option too, especially if you have access to a farm. A delightful woman, Ruth Stout (sister to Rex Stout of murder mystery fame), used nothing in her large garden but bales of straw or spoiled hay sold cheaply by farmers. Her garden was legendary for exceptionally low-maintenance productivity.
Ann Lovejoy is the author of many gardening books. She can be reached via mail at: 8959 Battlepoint Drive N.E., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

Source: seattlepi.nwsource.com