Good question, champagne. A lot of it goes through at the edges of the individual sheets of newspaper. And a lot of it probably goes straight through the paper. And then there are the holes around your plants. What percentage gets through which way I don't know. I just know that when it rains, water doesn't run off of my garden.

Test it out ... put a sheet of damp/wet newsprint over a pie plate and pour water over it. Water goes right on through. Same when paper is over the soil. Once it is wet/damp it holds water like a sieve. I don't know at what sheet #/ply layers water is repelled.

Here in Maine, the newspaper soaks up the water, and keeps the soil moist for days. There is no run off.

When I put newspaper down as mulch I find it a lot more efficient to put the newspapers into the garden cart, fill it with water, then lay the papers on the ground. They get a lot wetter that way than when I tried to put them down dry, then water them. Also, here in Oklahoma when the winds are "rushing down the plain" it keeps them from blowing away before they get wet.

I find wet paper tends to tear too easily, it is just difficult to handle. Any newspaper I put down is dry and as soon as that paper is down some kind of mulch material is place on it to keep it from being blown by the wind. It does go without saying that I do not try to put paper down as a mulch on days the wind exceeds 10 miles per hour.

I rarely use newspaper as mulch any more. I like nice thick cardboard better.

I've had cardboard stashed under my deck for weeks for a couple of new planting areas I plan to make. It has just been too hot and humid to do anything outside.

BTW, Kimm, I'd never been to Michigan until last week. We spent a week on Big Lake Platt, near Sleeping Bear Dunes. What a pretty place and the dunes are impressive. I loved that Mi weather- cool and no humidity. Don't know that I'd tolerate the winters so well, though.

Karen

If you spread newspaper around the garden, I would leave enough space around each plant for watering. I usually hand water, and target the plants themselves, not in between. When mulching the gardens, I usually mulch after a good soaking rain to conserve the moisture. With paths, it can be wet or dry, doesn't really matter. Usually I put down cardboard and then wood chips and am trying to kill the crabgrass or weeds that have grown in the path, so having the ground be dry might actually kill them faster.

Here in Florida's sandy soil, I fill a tub with water, add the newspaper and while they're soaking, water the 'soil'. I lay down the soaked newspaper by the section so seldom have a problem with the paper tearing. It's easy to tear numerous (wet) sheets at one time when you must work around a plant or post. If the paper has begun to dry by the time I've finished an area, I water again before putting down the mulch then water the mulch. I've found that by keeping the materials damp, the rain or irrigation water will wick down to the soil without first being sucked up by dry newspaper. BTW, I've also used cardboard and found it does last a little longer than the newspaper. cora