Lay newspaper 2–3 layers thick around garden plants, then cover it with several inches of straw or compost; the paper blocks light while the top layer holds it down

For years, newspaper mulching has been touted as a gardening time-saving tip, and today it has come back in a big way in gardening articles on the internet as a free and environmentally friendly method to prevent garden weeds. The idea is simple: lay newspaper over the soil to block light to weed seeds, then cover it with straw or compost to hold the paper in place and add organic matter as it breaks down. The claim is not as simple. According to the report titled “The Myth of Paper-Based Sheet Mulch,” by Linda Chalker-Scott, a Washington State University urban horticulturist and associate professor, the effectiveness of the technique is highly dependent on its application, both about location and the method used. The "it depends" is doing a lot of work here, and that's why this simple technique is splitting gardeners into two camps: the devoted and the very skeptical.

What the newspaper trick actually is

The technique is refreshingly simple. Oregon State University Extension guidance recommends three to four sheets of black-and-white newsprint placed directly on the ground around plants and overlapped at the edges so no bare spaces reveal the light, then topped with several inches of straw, compost, shredded leaves, or bark mulch. Straw or compost is the most common topping in home gardens, but OSU's own materials list wood chips and bark as equally valid options. Sometimes called sheet mulching, this practice requires little labor and can add organic matter over time as the paper decomposes. This can be a low-cost way to reuse material that might otherwise be discarded.


Where it genuinely works

Sheet mulching actually has support as a method used for an active vegetable patch (weeding, watering, and rotating crops throughout the year). The research review written by Chalker-Scott notes the use of newspaper mulch for many years in agriculture, where it has been found to decrease weed populations and, in some row crops, increase crop yields when the soil is constantly tilled and irrigated.

A peer-reviewed Oregon State University report titled "Sheet mulching and lasagna composting with cardboard," also suggests using the layering method (cardboard, newspaper or heavy paper on the soil, topped with mulch such as shredded bark, wood chips, or other compostable material) as a quick and cheap way to smother existing weeds in a garden bed of any size, particularly because it prevents weeds from getting enough sun to photosynthesize. Note that cardboard and newspaper behave differently: cardboard is thicker, breaks down more slowly, and blocks airflow more than a few sheets of newsprint, so the two aren't interchangeable without adjusting thickness. If you're just looking to get a productive raised bed that's full of tomatoes and peppers, then newspaper and straw is a legitimate low-effort, low-cost method of weed control.

Where it quietly falls apart

The tutorials often omit that the same research cautions against sheet mulching in permanent landscaping, around established trees and shrubs, or anywhere it will not be actively maintained. In Chalker-Scott's findings, in such places, newspaper and cardboard layers can dry out, become water-repellent and restrict the airflow and moisture transfer roots need.

She has also seen more shrub die-off in restoration areas where this type of mulch has been used than in areas that have been mulched with wood chips instead. In short: if you're following this trend because you want a shortcut you can set and forget, it isn't one. Sheet mulching is a process that has to be maintained, not left in spring and forgotten.

The takeaway

Now is a great time to consider watering, checking on, and turning over the top layer of your vegetable or annual flower garden, and if you are doing all three, newspaper mulch may be a truly smart and sustainable way of helping to keep cardboard and paper out for one more season (cardboard, when used, should be limited to a few overlapping layers for the same reason, too many layers chokes airflow just as badly as leaving it unattended). However, if you wish to throw it under a young tree or under a perennial border and forget about it for next year, you should use the correct wood-chip mulch. This is not a secret, nor the miracle shortcut the internet would like you to think this is, and that's where every little nuance comes in.