This technique for easy organic weed control is one of the most essential gardening tips you’ll find at AOC – it revolutionized my gardening life, allowing me to have multiple healthy shrub and flower borders without having to weed and fertilize all summer long. If you haven’t done this yet, prepare to love it!
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Do you fight weeds in your garden? Do you ever feel like giving up on gardening because of the weeds?
In all honesty, there have been times I’ve felt like that, too, because I want to garden organically. So many of the articles I’ve read emphasized hand-pulling weeds as really the only way to get rid of weeds – or try smothering them in a mulch and hope they won’t poke through in a few weeks.
But I’m here to say, unequivocally, that there are ways to fight weeds that don’t involve chemicals. I’ve discovered how to minimize weeds in:
But the most life-changing (at least in my gardening life) for me are the five easy steps I use to control weeds in our garden shrub and flower beds – and not just for spring, but for the whole year!
That’s right, with the steps I outline below you won’t have to worry about weeds again until next spring. AND every year after that the weeds you’ll have to deal with will be less and less. Really! In only a couple of hours you’ll be done with most of the maintenance for your flower bed – all that will be left to do is water and enjoy the blooms.
What’s my secret?
Well, it’s not that much of a secret, since it’s a method that I’ve written about before. And told everyone I know. And maybe shouted it from the rooftops, ha! The technique involves:
Newspaper (or cardboard) and Mulch
Yep – and every time I write that, I swear I hear angels singing (I mentioned it’s life-changing, right?).
Since this technique is such a time and sanity saver (and pretty much the only reason I have shrub and flower borders throughout our yard to enjoy) I felt I needed to share the exact steps I take – with some before and after pictures – so you can see how easy this is. And how great it works.
Will this really reduce weeding in beds and borders?
When I get all our beds done using this method, I really do have a lot less work for the rest of the year.
Here’s proof from our previous cottage garden:
This is one side of the front flower bed that was covered in newspaper and mulch the previous summer (we use purchased garden compost for our mulch, which I explain below).
As you can see, there are just a few weeds here and there which are easy to pull thanks to all the mulch, with more concentrated around the stepping stones. That’s because it’s hard to get the layers of newspaper in between the stones unless we lift them, and obviously we didn’t take the time. If you lift up stones and layer paper completely under them, you will have even less weeds than this.
Now, for comparison, take a look at the other end of the same bed that we didn’t get to:
This end of the shrub and perennial bed never got its layer of paper and mulch. We ran out of the compost mulch and never finished the bed – in fact you can see on the right exactly where we ran out of the paper and mulch close to the stepping stones.
There are some plants in all the weeds on the left, but most of the green “groundcover”are little baby weeds, plus those early spring “poppers” (aka, bittercress) I hate. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Don’t let this happen to your flower beds – follow these five steps to organic weed control and make your life easier!
Check out the video we made about this technique and then read on for more details on the steps:
5 Easy Steps to Organic Weed Control
Step 1: Gather your materials.
- Garden tools: trowel and small hand rake, a small shovel, (my favorite shovel since I discovered it!) and a metal rake. You’ll need a good set of pruners, too, to cut back any plants that need it. I also always use a kneeling pad and carry my tools in a garden tote so I don’t have to run back and forth when I forget something.
- Mulch. You’ll need enough mulch to cover your area at least 2-inches thick. You can use garden compost like we do (don’t use homemade compost for this, though, as the weed seeds won’t have been killed like commercial compost), bark chips, tree trimmings, pine needles and even straw (though it won’t look as good in flower beds). Pros & Cons of mulches:
- Garden compost: Pros: we like the brown color of the mulch garden centers call “garden compost.” But the other benefit of using compost is that it feeds your soil as it breaks down acting as a fertilizer – and in fact it’s the only fertilizer I’ve ever used on my beds (strike another thing off the to-do list!). Con: it is more soil-like, so can grow more weeds than bark. If your area stays moist or is near areas where weeds blow in, this can be an issue.
- Bark Chips or Tree Trimmings: Pros: easy to lay (lighter weight) and tree trimmings can even be free. Weeds do not sprout in wood chips as easily as compost. Cons: doesn’t feed the soil on it’s own, as it takes nitrogen to decompose, though it can work if you spread it with another nitrogen source.
- Straw or grass clippings: these are mainly for vegetable gardens, as they don’t look very good around flowers and shrubs.
- Local mulches like pine needles, cocoa shells, and more: if you live in an area where these different types of mulches are available, definitely look into them. Be sure you know what they do as they decompose so you’ll know if you need to add a fertilizer.
- Newspaper or cardboard (the secret weapon!) – and LOTS of it. We collect newspapers all year long and use it up each spring. You can also use cardboard, but since it’s thicker, use it only in areas you don’t want to plant any annuals (like under trees or between large, established shrubs). It’s also harder to position around plants since the pieces are bigger. Cardboard does last longer, so you may get away with an every other year application. Paper grocery bags are good, too, cut and opened up, but newspaper is usually easiest to acquire.
Step 2: Trim shrubs and perennials, then lightly pull weeds.
I like to wait until late winter or early spring to do this instead of the fall, since the dead growth helps protect plants from frost damage and provides habitat and seed heads for the birds. Plus, there’s no way I’d find time in the fall to do this with all the vegetable harvest coming in, but I like the bird excuse better, ha!
TIP: Try to get the roots of the perennial weeds like dandelions, but for the annual weeds just pull any big ones so that the paper can lay down flat. The layers will kill any little ones left. Yes, this means you do NOT have to pull all the weeds, just cover those guys up. Yay!!
Step 3: Trim the bed edges by trenching a grass edge or cutting the grass near a permanent edge.
The bed pictured here has cement edgers, but many of our other garden beds are just grass (you can see a tour of our entire yard and gardens here).
I use a simple manual grass edger like this to cut a trench along grass edges, then pull out the sod pieces and compost them. Weed-whip grass against cement edging.
Step 4: Start layering the paper- your secret weapon.
Here are some points to remember when laying the paper:
- The thicker you layer the paper, the more weed-blocking it will do– I like to use 4 to 6 layers.
- Don’t use shiny, colored ads- just regular newsprint (which may have color, too- that is OK, just not the shiny paper). Note on the ink: the ink in newsprint is soy-based now, so it’s perfectly good to use in our organic landscapes like this.
- Overlap the edges of the papers a good inch or two- the idea is to not give an opening for the weeds!
- If there is wind, keep a hose nearby and spray the papers as you lay them to keep them stable before adding the mulch.
- If the ground is dry, water well first- like, you didn’t get to it earlier and it’s already July (not that I know about that, a-hem). Then spray the paper as well. The mulch will help hold in the moisture for that time of year.
- Lay the paper under soaker hoses, if you use them.
Step 5: Lastly, cover all the paper with mulch.
The more mulch you use, the better it will suppress weeds – a 2-inch layer is minimum.
This is where the magic happens and you go from weedy mess to clean and tidy – it’s such a great feeling of accomplishment – especially because you didn’t have to pull all.the.weeds. Better yet, it will continue to look great for months!
Newspaper and Mulch Q&A
What if I want to plant something later in the season?
It’s easy! Simply push aside the mulch where you want to plant, use a trowel to cut into the paper and bend it back (like a book cover). Dig a hole, place the plant in it and fill with dirt, tamp it down like you normally would.
Then replace the bent over paper (tearing if needed to fit around the new plant) and cover with the mounded mulch. No problem.
This isn’t as easy with cardboard, as I mentioned, so cardboard should be used in areas you won’t want to do any other planting.
Can you do this around trees?
Yes, this weed control method can be used around trees, too, instead of buying expensive “tree rings” or using plastic edging (than invariably gets nicked with the mower…). Here’s how to adapt this technique for trees:
- Lay a LOT of layers of paper (10-15 layers) right over the mown grass in a loose circle, tucking the sharp corners in on the outside as needed.
- Cover with 2-3 inches of mulch, but don’t mound it up to the trunk.
The tree pictured above was done last year, and you can see how it stayed grass-free all year. It needs another layer this spring to see it through the next year. Of course, you can give it a nice, cut edge if that’s something you like…I guess you can see which camp we fall in.
What do beds look like with wood chips?
Above is an example of my mom’s garden in early spring that we covered in cardboard and free tree timing wood chips (you can see more details on the clean up here, including how full of weeds it was!). This is an area that is constantly moist, so the regular compost didn’t work to keep the weeds down.
Even two years later, there were just a few weeds that needed to be pulled!
Do you have any more examples I can see?
Sure! Here are a few more areas around our previous home’s yard to hopefully inspire you:
Laying paper and mulch with soaker hose. You can see in the top left the area that still needs to be done, as well as the left side of the stepping stones.
I love how the new layer of paper and mulch makes the bed look so fresh again. See the dull color of last year’s mulch compared?
This clean and tidy look is what motivates me to get out there and get the beds cleaned up. That and the fact that I know if I get it done, I won’t have to do it again for another year!
I promise that if you use these tips for weed control, your gardening life will be changed forever just like mine was! Do let me know if you use this and how it works for you, too.
This article has been updated, it was originally published in March 2011.
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Juls Owings says
April 10 at 6:38 amyou need to make sure you turn your mulch every spring or it can start it’s self on fire. Just had 2 different home have fires due to this in Dayton OH area. Our ex son in law who does landscaping also told us of this happening. It can also draw termites, not for the wood it’s self but cool damp areas are home to them
Jami says
April 11 at 9:17 amThanks for bringing this up, Juls – I hadn’t heard of it, but did a little research and there much debate on 2-3 inch layers of mulch causing fires, and most seem to be attributed to cigarette butts (https://laidbackgardener.blog/tag/can-mulches-ignite-spontaneously/ and more). If it does happen its very rare and certainly would be according to where you live and garden (we’re pretty moist in the PNW).
As for the termites, any mulch can draw bugs but I feel the benefits outweigh the cons. 🙂
Dee Bourgeois says
April 9 at 5:31 pmHi Jami,
I watched your video on the 3 step method to controlling weeds. I’ve never used this kind of mulch before…didn’t even know that it was a mulch! Would you recommend the use of this method on a strawberry patch? I have a terrible time keeping this area relatively clean of weeds. What are your thoughts?
Btw…Your DH made me laugh….a little dry humor to bring it home!
Jami says
April 11 at 9:21 amI have used a similar mulch to this for strawberries, Dee. Our landscape center has a “barnyard compost/mulch” that I typically use for vegetables as it has manure in it for the heavier feeding plants. I have not lined it with paper, though. If you are having a hard time, I would definitely try it though. You can also cover the paper with straw or clean grass clippings – that might be better to keep your fruit clean.
Michelle says
May 29 at 2:44 pmHello I just found your site and I Live in Ontario Canada I already have flower bed but I would like to know if using your newspaper method is something that you have to do every year thank you so much I love reading your site so far.
Thank you
Jami says
May 30 at 11:08 amHi, Michelle and welcome! Nice to have you reading. 🙂
Yes, if you make it a yearly habit to lay the newspaper and mulch you will have less and less weeds to worry about. It builds on itself, feeding the soil and discouraging weeds. That said, there were always areas I didn’t get to every year and they were every other year and it was still good! Just do what you can, knowing that it will help you the rest of the season for sure.
Mary K says
April 26 at 10:13 pmHi, Jami – Great blog post, and I’m looking forward to following your blog. I’ve been renting the past 10 years so haven’t done much gardening in that time. Still renting, but I decided to plant a “tower” vegetable garden this year (can’t bend and kneel like I used to). It’s a great concept; I just hope it works! I also have a small raised bed at the back of the yard that I want to seed with bee and butterfly flowers. It looks like it hasn’t been planted in years, and it’s filled with compacted earth and weeds. Do you think this method (using newspapers to cover the compacted earth, adding a couple of inches of planters soil, and then a few inches of compost on top of that) will work for planting seed as opposed to plants? Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Jami says
April 30 at 11:59 amWelcome, Mary! I’d say you can definitely use this method – as long as there’s room in the bed to make the layers on top of what’s there. Also you’ll want to dig out any perennial weeds like dandelion, violets, etc that have deep roots as they could just bide their time and come back. Grasses and small shallow weeds can all be covered. Use many layers of paper – or even cardboard since you won’t be digging through to plant a plant – to really give time to kill those weeds.
d macrae says
March 24 at 10:50 amDear Jami;
Thank you so much for sharing your sweat and tears with us so that we may be spared (teehee). I have put the commercial weed barrier paper down and still seem to have weeds/trees etc that poke thru it. I am to the point you describe…..reconsidering if I love gardening or if it’s masochism setting in! Especially with this ol’ nurses’ back of mine.
I am raring to go with your ideas. I think my biggest mistake has been been to economize on the mulch. I just have to accept that nothing is “dirt cheap” anymore including dirt.
Again I thank you for the free advise that you have so generously given to us all!!
Debbie
Jami says
March 24 at 2:31 pmYou’re so welcome, Debbie! I hope it helps save you time (and your back!).
Rose Walsh says
March 3 at 6:31 amHi Jami,
I just stumbled upon your page regarding weed control in the garden, and I really like this idea. We live in Cape May, NJ and I am wondering if you have any recommendations as to where I can find the garden compost that you refer. Does this come bagged, or do you buy it loose? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Rose Walsh
Jami says
March 6 at 8:44 pmFor smaller beds, you can buy it by the bag, but it would be too expensive for larger areas. Call landscape products company and ask if they sell garden compost by the yard. That’s how we get it. It can be delivered for a fee, too.
Kerri says
January 8 at 8:42 pmExcellent! Thank you for the kind response. Appreciate the help through your blog and insight 🙂
Kerri says
January 8 at 8:53 amHi Jami,
Thank you for the great help with this. I live in the greater Portland area and look forward to trying this technique! What do you suggest for beds with fall or spring bulbs in them. I assume bulbs cannot push their way through the newspaper. So should I skip the newspaper in those beds? Or if I do this technique in the fall, should it be OK by spring?
Jami says
January 8 at 4:52 pmYes, if you lay the paper in one season, the bulbs won’t have a problem coming up the next. I’d only use newspaper for beds with bulbs, though, and save the cardboard for areas you don’t want anything to come up for awhile.
I think you’re going to like this, Kerri!
Kyle Wayne says
January 3 at 1:57 pmI had never thought about using newspaper to prevent weeds from coming through. My aunt is looking to buy weed control supplies so she can get right on it before spring sets in. I think I will talk to her about considering using newspaper this year as well.
Cari says
July 10 at 4:30 pmI’d really like to use this method but I need a bit more advice. We’ve bought a house with lots of flower beds that have tons and tons of flowers and other plants. It was so beautiful for awhile but I wasn’t able to keep up with the weeds and grasses and the beds are being taken over. How can I use this method when there are hundreds of little plants to work around? There are literally hundreds of irises with their exposed rhizomes. Can I even cover up those rhizomes? I’m at a total loss. All I do is weed and I’m still losing the battle.
Jami says
July 10 at 4:49 pmAh, Cari, I feel for you! That’s discouraging for sure. This will absolutely work to keep your weeding down, but you do have to make a decision about removing some of the plants to affectively do this (it’s harder to apply the technique mid-season when everything is full-grown). And if there are grasses, you can’t ignore them or leave them growing in the plants, as they will just get worse. Especially the irises – I just had to dig up a section of my iris bed to try and remove all the grass roots and replant. You’re right about the paper-and-mulch with the irises, though – it doesn’t work as well on them, though you can cover the rhizomes for awhile and they’ll be fine. By next spring, it should be disintegrated and maybe helped keep the weeds away. In regular years, I weed and then add a thick layer of mulch without the paper in my iris bed.
That said, it will be a lot easier next year in early spring to paper and mulch before the plants start growing (you’ll be able to see the tops of the plant mounds to paper around)- and when you do it then, it keeps most of the weeds away the rest of the season, so you can just enjoy it. 🙂
Jerry says
June 8 at 8:52 amEgg shells are excellent for keeping tomato worms away from your plants because they do not like to crawl across them, it hurts their little feet. TRY IT!
Deb Halvorson says
March 20 at 5:22 pmWe grow our vegetable garden in raised beds. We mulch with grass clippings. They keep the water in the soil and my garden is practically weed-free. Where it used to take an entire day to weed (it’s a big garden) I can now weed the whole thing in 15 minutes a week. Grass clippings are free and compost in by the next spring. We don’t use chemicals on the grass so we’re completely organic. They provide a nice uniformity to the look of the garden as they dry like straw. Saves a whole lot of work!
Jami says
March 20 at 8:36 pmI love raised bed gardening, it’s the best, isn’t it, Deb? What do you use on your paths between the beds? More grass clippings? Just curious, we use both gravel and straw in different areas, but they both have their own pros and cons. 🙂
Deb Halvorson says
March 21 at 5:44 amActually, we patterned our harder after one we saw on P. Allen Smith’s show on PBS. We started with our tilled garden, laid out landscape timbers to form 4 foot wide beds, leaving enoug hspace between them to accommodate the width of our lawn mower, and laid down sod. Our garden is simply beautiful, there are no spaces between rows to weed, and I rarely need to put my feet in the dirt to harvest or care for my plants. I can garden barefoot! It’s an investment in money and time to do it this way, but it’s a one-time outlay. This year we are building an irrigation system so watering will be almost automatic as well. That has been our weak point in past seasons. I expect much higher yields and hope to provide the majority of our food this year. Thanks for the section on food preservation, by the way. Your readers have offered some great time saving tips. This is the first year our entire garden will be grown from seed, started indoors as it is still quite cold here in Ohio. The great thing about gardening is there is always something new to learn and try, and no matter what, the results are delicious and healthy!
Jami says
March 21 at 11:15 amThat does sound beautiful, Deb!!
Dawn says
March 6 at 9:42 amHi I just found your site and was curious if you know if the newspaper will help control ant issues? In florida we have serious fire ant problems so I tend to stay away from mulch but I’d the newspaper helps control them I would definitely be using mulch much easier on the pocket book!
Jami says
March 6 at 3:14 pmHmm, I don’t know Dawn. I would think that paper wouldn’t keep them away though – can’t they just cut through it? We don’t have them here…
Janet says
June 18 at 5:24 amGreat ideas! I just moved into a house that has beds entirely around the house and then a small bed in the back yard off the patio. I just finished the small bed and didn’t use any plastic or landscape fabric because it’s always such a pain to add plants. I just mulched very heavily and figured I could control the weeds in this small bed by hand. But the rest of the beds are too large to do this with and I’ve been searching a better way. So thank you for this….I’ll be using it!
JoAnn says
May 18 at 9:03 amIf I used mulch instead of compost, do u think id have to remove it to put newspaper down every year?
Jami says
May 18 at 4:32 pmThe newspaper breaks down in a year (mostly) and cardboard makes it about 2 years, JoAnn, so if there was any mulch left (there are all kinds of mulch and I use the compost as mulch here, but I’m assuming you mean bark chips or the like?), then yes, you’d have to rake it up to reapply the paper to get the benefit of smothering the weeds. A finer mulch would need to be reapplied at that point anyway, which is why we do both at the same time. 🙂