5 Ways to Use Old Newspaper in Your Garden to Suppress Weeds, Protect Plants, and More

Keep Weeds At Bay

One of the biggest perks of utilizing newspaper in the garden has to be its ability to suppress and control weeds. Similar to cardboard, newspaper can “choke out” weeds when used in large enough quantities, starving them of vital nutrients and sunshine that they need to grow. Though it will break down beneath soil eventually, newspaper will still act as a great stop-gap for unwelcome garden interlopers, helping you break the cycle of weeds in your bed for at least a season.

In garden beds, use several sheets of newspaper (at least 5 to 7) to line the bottom of your bed before adding soil and compost on top. This will help put a damper on any weeds that try to spring up through the ground. Replacing your mulch throughout the season? Before dumping a new layer atop your beds, cover them with newspaper sheets and spread the mulch atop those to discourage the growth of any unwanted greenies.

Blanket Delicate Plants Overnight

Even the most novice gardeners know that there’s one sure-fire way to kill your plants prematurely: expose them to frost. While it’s not such a concern in the middle of summer, many growing zones—especially in the Northeast—can experience early bouts of frost in fall, long before you’re ready to hang up your gardening gloves for the season.

To prevent your crop from meeting an early death, you can cover delicate seedlings or plants with a few layers of newspaper, using small wooden dowels or even rocks to hold the paper down at the edges. A thick enough layer of paper (around 5 sheets) will protect your plant without being so heavy or cumbersome that you risk stem or leaf damage.

Make Seed Starter Pots

Pre-grown seedlings can be expensive, making seed starting a logical (and effective) way to cut costs while gardening. That said, the supplies necessary to do so, including a ton of mini pots, can increase your startup fees exponentially—and that’s where newspaper comes in. With a bit of handiwork, you can fold old pieces of newspaper into sturdy “pots” to use to start everything from tomato seedlings to watermelon vines. Even better, because newspaper is compostable, you can plant the vessels directly in the soil when it’s time to start your garden outdoors, eliminating all the extra steps (and mess) that comes with other seed starting methods.

Add to Your Compost Pile

Calling all composters! Did you know that paper is an essential component to successful composting? Paper adds carbon to compost piles, which helps aid in decomposition—especially if you put it in pre-shredded. It’s the ideal way to continue utilizing and recycling newspaper in your garden, long after you’ve started your seeds or filled your beds. Just avoid putting in any paper that features colored ink or glossy pages; they may contain harmful PFAS that you don’t want anywhere near an edible garden.

Create “Seed Tape”

Anyone who has struggled with shaky hands to plant itsy bitsy seeds (carrots and lettuce in particular come to mind!), knows how difficult it can be to plant certain vegetables with out loosing track of your seeds or accidentally dumping out a whole envelope. The solution? Newspaper, of course! Simply cut strips of newspaper and add dots of “glue” (a tablespoon of flour mixed with two tablespoons water) before placing your seeds onto the mixture. Once dry, you can easily transport your strip of seeds to the garden and plant it worry free at the depth suggested for your particular varietal.