Plain shredded paper is a safe and budget-friendly material when used correctly. Apply in thin layers and top with natural mulch to prevent matting. Shredded paper can also be used in your compost bin ...

Q: I work in an office that produces a lot of shredded paper. Is it safe to use it as a mulch or in a compost pile? A: First, a word of caution: Be sure that your employer permits removal of the ...

You've spent a weekend shredding old bills and school papers, and now you don't know what to do with the resulting bags and bags of shredded paper in your house. Here's the good news: You can reuse at ...

Flush with cardboard, the author adopts the common practice of using it as a mulching medium. Is cardboard mulch toxic? Recent research shows PFAS can accumulate in crop vegetables. A simple home test ...

Many years ago early in my agriculture/gardening career, I discovered a book written by a woman who developed a novel way of gardening. Ruth Stout’s gardening technique involved applying layers of ...

A rose by any other name may still be a rose, but mulches need defining. There are 17 different materials considered on the University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management website, and ...

A few years ago, a gardening friend suggested I place a layer of compost in my flower beds before mulching with my usual shredded bark mulch. As my garden seemed happy and required less care that ...

“You are what you eat” is an old saying, and it points the way to picking the right mulch for your landscape. It’s common sense that if you add several inches of anything to your gardens each year it ...

Mulch provides a variety of benefits for gardens, including weed control, temperature regulation, and moisture retention. Organic mulches, like compost and wood chips, decompose over time, enriching ...