Sharon, It depends mostly on what chemicals your husband is using. Somewhere on the container it should say if the chemicals are harmful to pets, birds, etc. If so, I wouldn't use the clippings. That said, I see no problem using less-toxic clippings as mulch on flower beds, but wouldn't put them on the vegetable garden. If you are working to be organic, then the residual chemicals could negate your efforts. Good luck with your gardens, and send some of that Tennessee rain to Texas!

nothing wrong with avoiding as much chem contamination as possible, and it certainly is worth thinking about - it's always good to know where your food comes from, and to avoid directly treated things one of the good points about composting is the ability of various bacteria to break down chems, at least those that are less "persistant" - the majority of things that might be found in commercially grown produce should be broken down by the normal composting cycle so that there is unlikely to be anything that would be called "toxic" by the time you use the compost in the garden paper and cardboard is primarily wood fiber [carbon], and the real problem with bleached papers is the pollution during the manufacturing process - composting will take care of any paper product, tho most avoid glossy things that may contain heavy metal inks - the majority of newsprint ink now is veg based, and degrades readily - worms actually appear to thrive on the glue used in cardboard for coffee grounds, they're not too acid - no more than other food waste, and the decomposer microbes actually prefer a slightly acidic environment anyway, neutralizing the pH as they do their job - grounds are fine in the compost or directly in the garden you'll find a range of opinions about it all, as with anything else in life, but it sounds like you're on the right track! Bill

I use the layers of newspaper topped by shredded wood mulch or bark to make new beds (have done so with hostas and am working on a rosebed now).... it works great, just like Julie's variation in the garden with grass clippings. The grass clippings (or leaves) would be more suitable for use in a veggie garden. Mainly I just wanted to add that I found it worked as great for the hosta bed that I put in last fall as it did for Julie's veggie garden. I've added several plants to that bed this spring and the newspaper is mostly decomposed as is the grass that I put the newspaper right on top of. The ground is really nice under all that too, worked just great! I don't think that the shredded newspaper that you mentioned originally would work as well. When it gets wet, it mats down and makes a soggy mess (I know 'cause I threw a bunch of shredded newspaper that I received as packing material into the compost bin and that's exactly what happened to it there - great for composting but I don't think I'd want a layer of just that on top of my garden. Seems it would be more soggy mess then good mulch).

Okay. I got anxious and did a search for more answers. According to the following link, both pine and oak leaves are acid-building for soil content. Not so sure how much acid I need to add. Hmmmm. The article at the link I give from Texas A&M Horticulturists states: "As previously stated, pine needles are an excellent mulch, especially when used in conjunction with oak leaves which have been at least partially broken down in a compost pile. Both are acid forming and help to maintain the acidity of the soil." Maybe someone who has used these as mulch can comment on their garden soil health? Guess I could do a soil test for pH, etc. Thanks. Here is a link that might be useful: Aggie Horticulture site