Using Newspaper to Kill Weeds

You’ll need enough newspaper to cover your garden (a couple layers, at least.) If you’re a bigger fan of new media, ask your neighbor if they have any old newspapers lying around. Or, pick up a newspaper from the local grocery store–still a cheaper alternative to most other weed killing solutions.

Get the flower bed wet so that the newspaper will stick to the weed-infested soil.

Cover the entire bed with at least a couple layers of newspaper. The only soil that should be showing is that directly surrounding the plants that are supposed to be there. Leave a 3-4 inch radius free around the plants.

Immediately spray the newspaper with water. This’ll prevent a gust of wind from forcing you to start from step one again. Wet newspaper isn’t going anywhere.

Last step. Cover the newspaper with mulch. Shredded leaves or shredded wood chops will both do the trick.

The newspaper will suffocate the weeds while still allowing water and nutrients to penetrate the flower bed. In fact, as the newspaper decomposes it actually provides nutrients to the soil and organisms around it! Finally, if you’re worried about the chemicals used in the printing of the newspapers, don’t be–most are now printed using soy-based inks. If you’re still worries, plain cardboard can replace the newspaper.

If you give this a try, let us know how it goes!

Source: http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2013/05/how-to-smother-weeds-with-newspaper/