Using Newspaper in Your Garden

By
Josh F
-
Image via Pexels

Discarding newspaper in your weekly garbage is a waste, given that it’s recyclable. But before you toss it in the recycling bin, consider some of these uses of newspaper in your garden:

Seedlings

Make little newspaper shells to plant seedlings. Soak the newspaper in water. After a day, mix the pulp thoroughly. Squeeze out excess water. Press a layer into a small cup. After 3 days of drying, you’ll have a handmade planter.

Container gardens

Put a few layers of newspaper around the inside of your flower pots before adding soil and plants. It slows moisture loss and can make a good weed barrier.

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Compost

Put newspaper in your compost bin to neutralize the odor caused by the nitrogenous materials from the decomposition of grass cuttings and kitchen scraps.

Worm Bin

Line the bottom of your worm bin with shredded, dampened newspaper strips. The worms will feed on this together with kitchen scraps. Keep replenishing it.

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Added some shredded paper to the worm bin tonight, the white paper helps me keep track of where to add coffee grounds each morning. I set my #wormbin right outside my kitchen door so when I clean out my French press everyday all I do is add some water and open up my kitchen door to dump the grounds. Doing it this way also helps me keep the bin moist. I try and adapt my composting to my lifestyle, so that way it's not a chore. I elevate my bin with some 2 x 4 blocks and place it on top of the upside down lid to catch the excess water that accumulates which I just dump in my compost pile. #worms like to be fed on top of the bedding, so just dump in your waste and cover with some burlap or an old cotton shirt. When it comes time to harvest #wormcastings, I simply harveat about 1/4-1/3 of the bin and add it directly to the garden, worms and all, no need for sifting. How do you like to compost? If you want some tips on starting a worm bin let me know! • • • • • #soilfoodweb #notill #mulch #covercrop #chopanddrop #biomass #greenmanure #livingmulch #nitrogenfixer #nitrogenfixation #feedthesoil #feedthesoilnottheplants #growroots #growrootsnotplants #mycorrhizae #rootnodules #rhizosphere #compost #composting #wormcomposting #organicgardening #organicgarden #urbanfarming #urbanfarm #growityourself #thisistucson #whyilovewhereilive

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Trap pests

Damp newspapers are irresistible to pests such as slugs and earwigs as a daytime hiding place. Once they’ve all arrived, you just need to collect the newspaper and get rid of them.