Should You Use Newspaper as Mulch in Your Spring Garden? Experts Weigh In

Mulch has many important functions in the garden. It can help with weed control and can maintain soil moisture around sensitive plants. As it breaks down, mulch feeds the soil and provides your garden with important nutrients.

Commonly used mulch types include grass clippings, chopped leaves, and straw, but some gardeners also incorporate biodegradable household items, such as newspaper. But is it a good idea to add newspapers to your mulch? Here's what the experts have to say. 

Benefits

Newspaper can be an effective component of your garden mulch. Sheets or sections of paper can be used as a layer near the base of plants, sandwiched between soil and other mulch components. Since it's essentially just a thin layer of cellulose (wood pulp), newspaper breaks down in the garden as a carbon component, just as you would use in compost.

Until it decomposes, newspaper can function as a weed mat and will keep these pesky plants at bay for a time. "It can help suppress weeds, hold in moisture, and break down over time," says master gardener Angela Judd. "It could be beneficial as mulch if you use it as a layer underneath another layer of a different kind of mulch, like wood chips or compost."

How to Use It

The key is to use the newspaper properly and not cause more problems than you solve.

"Especially when wet, newspaper tends to mat down into a dense, paper-mâché-like layer," says landscape designer Jan Johnsen.

However, if this layer is too thick, it can create a barrier that prevents the soil from breathing. "This problem may kill off the beneficial microbes and fungi your plants need to thrive," she adds. "So never use more than 2 to 4 sheets thick, and always poke a few holes in the paper to allow for drainage and air flow."

It's also important to realize that not every part of the newspaper may be suitable for use in the garden. "While most modern newspapers use soy-based inks, glossy inserts—the colorful ads—can contain chemical coatings that you definitely don't want in your vegetable patch," says Johnsen.

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Drawbacks 

There are a few reasons why you might not want to use newspapers in your mulch. For example, mice, voles, or squirrels might find the newspaper appealing as a nesting material—or even as shelter.

Also, if your other mulching materials become dislodged, then the newspaper below can become visible, which isn't aesthetically pleasing.

Tips and Tricks 

• Consider similar techniques. You don't necessarily have to use newspaper; you can achieve similar weed-control effects with natural materials. "Of course, you can always use a 4- to 6-inch layer of partially decomposed, shredded leaves," says Johnsen. "This is 100 percent natural and mimics a forest floor. It provides the best habitat for beneficial fungi, which help your plants' roots thrive. But it won’t stop aggressive weeds as well as cardboard will."
• Prep the paper. You don't necessarily need to shred your newspapers before using them. "Use only plain, black-and-white newspaper; don't use the glossy inserts," says Judd. "Wet it down, overlap edges, and then top with compost or other mulch so it stays in place."
• Experiment with cardboard, too. "A better alternative is sheet mulching with plain brown cardboard," says Johnsen. "It's thicker and tougher than newspaper but has a much more open structure. This allows air to circulate underneath. Earthworms love the glue used in cardboard." She suggests removing any plastic tape, staples, and shiny cardboard.