I use a sheets of newspapers under the mulch on my beds to suffocate weeds, and I don't bother to wait for them to decompose before I plant. I just make a hole in the paper and put the seedlings in.

From what I have read, I think the major concern is if you don't have organic material in the mix. If newspaper is the only thing you add to the soil, I'm told this will pull the nutrients out of the soil. However, if you're adding compost or some used coffee grounds or a sprinkle of grass clippings, this shouldn't be an issue.

Just my two cents. Your mileage may vary.

Good luck and happy gardening!
Dawn

Dawn,

There's compost in there and we add our coffee grounds as well. Thanks!

What about cardboard?

I used cardboard too this year. I've heard you have to be careful of shiny colored cardboard. (I know shiny colored newspaper ads have lead in the ink, so maybe that's why.) Just to be safe, I stuck with plain brown cardboard boxes.

It sounds to me like you're in good shape.

Dawn

we've done this the past two years (layered garden beds: newspaper or cardboard, manure, mulch, compost, a little peat) and have had wonderful results. We moved a couple beds this year and found a little old cardboard still remaining under all the layers but it never stopped anything from growing great, not too many weeds either.

I use newspapers as well. It's getting harder to find black and white, no color pages.I have to collect for weeks to get enough to line a bed with.You need at least 3 layers to block weeds or grass from growing up into your new beds.

I remember reading that newspaper in landfills is one of the slowest to decompose, but they were talking about when they are REALLY stacked up.

If you want it to decompose you should shred your newspaper, do so in no time if mixed with soil.
If you want a weed barrier put it down several inches thick, it will last several years.

I do some of each in my garden, love to shred stuff with the paper shredder, mindless entertainment.

I don't get a np subscription but my neighbor next door saves his for me instead of putting it in the recycle bin. Win-win.

Cardboard doesn't last as long as a weed barrier for me but a lot easier when starting a garden to use it to cover large areas. I go to the Sears store's garbage bin, lots of good BIG cardboard not mixed in with icky stuff.

Thanks everybody; great info!

I just checked on a bed I used newspaper on, so I thought I'd share what I found.

Last spring I used the newspaper method on a 6' square raised bed that had weeds literally growing shoulder high after years of neglect. I hacked and pulled until I could squash down the remaining weeds under layers of wet newspaper, and weighed it down with about a foot-high pile of dead leaves.

Other than checking now and then and pulling weeds that would pop up where the newspaper had peeled back along the edges, I ignored it all year.

Yesterday I went out and discovered that all that is left is about an inch or two of leaves, and no sign whatsoever of the newspapers I used. There are a few tiny baby weeds where the soil is uncovered, but when I moved things around I discovered the soil is loose and crumbly and very dark and rich-looking. I can't *wait* to plant things in there!

Dawn

So using if I used newspaper at the beginning of may, added my soil, compost, mulch. Planted in the soil and compost at the end of May -- this will be fine? Will the plant roots be able to penetrate the decomposing newspaper?

Thanks.