How to avoid weeding the garden!

[druidessemily]

Great tip! I've heard of this method before, and am glad to see it works!

I live in Mississippi, and we're moving to a house with a HUGE yard in a few weeks! I am so excited, I will finally be able to have a non-container garden. The yard has an abundance of pine trees, so I was wondering, can I use pine needles instead of grass trimmings or mulch?

[thickbluebug]

wow! That looks great!

[swatkitty]

Congrats on the move!!

When I was researching my blueberry plants, they suggested putting pine needles around them because there's some kind of special nutrient in them that they like. Blueberries, Azaleas, and Rhodedendron all need more acidic soil and that's one way to get it to them. So I'd read up on it before adding it to anything else (unless you mix it with other things, I guess).

Originally Posted by druidessemily Great tip! I've heard of this method before, and am glad to see it works! I live in Mississippi, and we're moving to a house with a HUGE yard in a few weeks! I am so excited, I will finally be able to have a non-container garden. The yard has an abundance of pine trees, so I was wondering, can I use pine needles instead of grass trimmings or mulch?

[swatkitty]

Here's an updated picture from last month. The cucumbers and squash are starting to peter out now, but it's still weed-free! I think that everything grew so well because the weeds weren't taking the water and nutrients from the rest of the plants. Plus, it's been between 90 & 100 degrees all summer, so it keeps everything from drying out.

I've harvested a TON of giant yellow squash, cucumbers, green peppers, a head of lettuce, 3 watermelon the size of canteloupes (must be the breed), a few buckets of roma tomatoes, and a bucket of big boy tomatoes! Whew!!

[katieyj]

That looks great. I recently had DS pull all of the shrubs etc from the front of the house, with plans of redoing it with tropical plants (we're in FL). I was really dreading the weeding and then how to keep weeds out, but now I have something to do with all the newspapers. And DH can do this in the veggie garden this Spring, which means we may get some veggies

[cuzisaidso]

That's really cool!

[frogmama]

I am going to have to try this method - I was concerned about the paper dyes and inks but I recently subscribed to Organic Gardening and my very first issue they addressed this, that it is non-toxic. I would stick with the regular newsprint, though.

dont forget to check with your local newspaper place to see if they have extra newsprint lying around. You would need LOTS of it!

[cody82414]

great pics OP!!
I did this last year and it is SUCH a breeze!

[giffgator]

I'm going to try this around my pool cage.....YEAH!!! I have weeds sprouting up all over and want to plant some bushes.
First, I'm going to plant my bushes and then spread the newspaper all around. Then, I'm going to place dark bark on the newspaper. This is going to not only look great.....it will be weed free and SUPER CHEAP!!
My thanks to you SWATKITTY!!

[WillaD]

has anybody thought about the ink from the newspaper getting into the
veggies,does the ink run off the newspaper into the ground,i love the
idea and want to try this method of weed control