Newspaper and cardboard

I’ve worked for a lot of different people, helping them with their landscaping. I’ve seen just about every kind of store-bought weed barrier used… and fail.

But there’s two that work every time around here: cardboard and newspaper. Yep. Sure it’s not as pretty as the landscaping fabric, but (unlike the fabric) it actually works.

Cardboard is probably the easiest to use. Just lay it down, wet it so it’s completely soggy, then cover with rock, wood chips, or whatever you’re using. Its best application is in walkways and large sections with wood chips (since it won’t show up as easily).

Newspaper is better to use when trying to do an area where you have to work around your plants. Tear the newspaper into strips, soak them in a bucket and work with your hands until it’s a chunky-mushy mix. Take the mush out of the bucket and drop where you want it by the handful. You don’t want to skimp… make sure your layer is thick. We have weeds. Strong, determined, mutant weeds. And it blocks them. Even the ones that drink Round-up for breakfast.

Leave a good four to sixes inches of space between your plants and the newspaper slush cover. This leaves room for the plants to grow uninhibited, and creates a basin/water-wall for watering the plant directly.

Now a lot of people will tell you not to use the newspaper with color print, like the advertisement sections, because it has heavy metals in it. So, I went and took a look at it. The only ones I wouldn’t use are the ones that have shiny gold or silver print (mercury and arsenic in those)… but the rest of it? Well, it’s the same metals that I just bought in my liquid fertilizer. However, I can’t really control the amount of the root-burning metals leaching from the ink. I won’t use the colored stuff near my plants, just under the walking areas.

Also… don’t use the newspaper with a lot of color ink (the shiny pages) in any worm compost boxes. The excess metals can be harmful or even deadly to your worms.

For really stubborn weed areas, use a combination of the two. Put down an inch of paper paste then cover with cardboard.

Newspaper is also a very good barrier against cutworms. Before you put your potted plant in the ground, scoop out an area larger than you need, layer it with newspaper, then plant. Cutworms don’t like newspaper. The newspaper will also attract beneficial worms and hold moisture closer to the roots of your plants.