No matter what you do in your yard to prevent them, those ugly weeds have a habit of rearing their heads as soon as you turn your back. Even if my backyard was filled to the brim with planting, I know they’d still creep in at the mere hint of a chance to torment me.
However, there’s a weed hack which won’t cost you a dime, as long as you rely on a morning newspaper to read your news. For those of you who turn to your phones for the latest updates, aluminum and glass won't have the same effect.
But, if you are old school, hold back from putting your newspapers out with the trash, and reuse them in your yard, because newspaper makes an ideal weed suppressant, according to green living expert Terri Bennett.
“Weeds are the bane of gardeners everywhere,” says Bennett. In a YouTube video for Howdini, she shares how to eliminate weeds in your yard without using toxic chemicals.
And she describes using newspaper as a “simple, cheap and perfectly safe solution” to get rid of weeds.
How to use newspaper as a weed suppressant
However, before you start, discard any newspaper pages with glossy pages. They will take longer to break down than uncoated newspaper and the inks may cause harm.
1. Soak your newspapers thoroughly with water to prevent them from blowing away.
2. Overlap your layers about six inches, ensuring there’s no gaps for weeds to sneak through. Use about 6-8 sheets at a time. The thicker the layer of newspaper, the better weed control you’ll get.
3. Give the layers of newspaper another soaking.
4. Cover up the newspapers with leaves, grass clippings, or bark, as it disguises the newspapers, helps keep them in place, and acts as a mulch.
How does newspaper work to stop weeds?
Bennett compares using newspaper to laying down black landscape fabric, but unlike the fabric, used newspaper won’t cost you a dime.
“Newspaper won’t let the sunlight shine through to the weeds waiting to emerge,” she says. Unlike plastic barriers, which can overheat, newspaper still allows air and water to seep through.
The newspaper also helps retain soil moisture, reducing evaporation (a must-have during high temperatures), and it helps manage the soil’s temperature, keeping it cooler in summer and warmer in winter, while adding organic matter as it decomposes.
And she adds, apart from suppressing weeds, “Newspapers also encourage earthworm activity, which will eventually break down the material, turning your present soil into better soil.”
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