When it comes to making mulch at home, there are two great reusable items that are my favorite. They’re not the only options you have but they top the list for me. These are newspapers and old tires. Making mulch from tires is difficult at home when you don’t have the right equipment and tools at home but mulching newspapers is super easy and just takes newspaper and your hands.
Tips for Making Mulch out of Newspaper
Newspaper is a popular choice for making mulch at home because it is cheap and usually very abundant. While more and more people are making the choice to cancel paper subscriptions and opt online instead, there are still more than enough opportunities to find unwanted newspapers that need a new life.
Here are some tips for making newspaper mulch:
You can use the slick advertising inserts but they are thicker and harder to work with than regular newspaper. They may also take longer to break down. Newspaper works great underneath decorative rocks and mulch and will smother weeds, making it nearly impossible for them to grow up in the area. If you live in a warm, damp climate (like me), then apply your newspaper mulch about five sheets thick. If you live in a colder, dry area, you can use about two sheets for your newspaper mulch. If you’re trying to smother an aggressive weed or plant, you want to go thicker with the newspaper so it smothers the plant out. Be sure to always cover the newspaper mulch completely with a decorative mulch. The main purpose of this if to prevent the newspaper from clumping up when it gets wet and blowing away. The decorative mulch will hold it in place. Seeds cannot push through newspaper mulch so don’t bury them if you want them to grow.
You will need to replace your newspaper mulch about once per season unless you apply it thicker in order to last past one season only.