Why Newspapers and Cardboard are Better than Landscaping Fabric or Plastic

One part of gardening I don't relish is spring weeding. I live in an area that's very wet at this time of year - so I have to weed repeatedly as my garden gets going for the year. But I've learned there's a cheap and easy way to reduce weeding any time of year: Newspaper and cardboard. And I love it way more than the landscaping fabric or black plastic my neighbors lay down to deter weeds. Here's why:

1. Newspapers and cardboard are easy to find - often for free. Landscaping fabric and black plastic are relatively expensive.

2. Recycling newspapers and cardboard in the garden doesn't consume energy, unlike traditional recycling programs.

3. Newspapers and cardboard not only smother out weeds, they actually feed the soil nutrients and encourage worms to gather in the garden, aerating the soil and leaving behind their wonderful manure.

4. If weeds do manage to grow through the newspaper or cardboard, they are easy to pull out because the decomposing newspapers/cardboard make the soil loose. If weeds grow through plastic or landscaping fabric, they can be very difficult to pull out without cutting that expensive plastic/fabric and rendering it useless.

5. You never have to remove newspapers or cardboard. They decompose and totally disappear. Plastic and landscaping fabric, however, can be difficult to get rid of. I moved into our current home about 14 years ago. I don't know how long ago somebody laid down black plastic, but when I moved in, it wasn't keeping the weeds down...and all this time later, I'm still finding bits of it to pull out of the soil.


How to Use Newspaper in the Garden

Use only matte pages - no glossy ones.

1. Begin by weeding the area, or tilling under the weeds. (Do the latter only if the weeds aren't at the seed-making stage, or you'll just end up spreading weed seeds around your yard.)

2. Lay newspaper down on the soil, using 8 - 10 sheets at a time. Make sure the edges overlap at least a couple of inches, to keep sunlight from reaching any weed seeds in the soil. Water well.

3. Cover with a thick layer of organic mulch of your choice.

How to Use Cardboard in the Garden

Corrugated cardboard seems to decompose more quickly, but I've used thin cardboard (such as is used in food packaging), too.

1. Weed the area, or till under seedless weeds

2. Lay the cardboard down on the soil, overlapping edges by a few inches. Water well.

3. Cover with a thick layer of organic mulch of your choice.

By late fall, the newspaper or cardboard will probably be completely broken down. To keep spring weeding to a minimum, lay down a new layer of newspapers or cardboard at that time.