Your Garden in the “News”

By Cheryl Gudz

Spring is here and it’s time to get your hands dirty!

First time, gardeners need more help than the pros, but even seasoned gardeners don’t have all the tricks.

cucumber plants coming of age

Recently, I’ve been hearing that newspaper can be a beneficial aid to your planting strategy. Can you believe it? Newspaper now has other uses than for puppy-training or wrapping breakables for moving. Laying a little newsprint down on the soil can actually help you push back weeds on new gardening beds.

“After planting, place newspaper on top of the soil and just hide it under mulch”, says this California gardener on her blog. The newspaper will break down organically.

Interested in other weed control alternatives? Tackle weeds growing in the ‘in-between’ places of your garden such as walkways and around patios by spraying vinegar directly on them. Some people get down to business and spray a mixture of gin or vodka with water.

Caution: Spray these concoctions carefully to avoid killing your other plants!

So this spring, pull up your sleeves, gather your old newspapers and put those hands to work!

Tags: gardening, natural weed alternatives, newspaper, spring