Embedded Files
Sheet mulching is an easy technique that allows you to conserve water, keep down weeds, and improve the soil all at the same time!
You will need:
- Lots of newspaper, office paper, mail, cardboard, old clothes (cotton, wool, or other natural fiber)
- Water
- Mulch (pine needles, leaves, shredded bark mulch, wood shavings, or gravel
*The mulch layer is an essential part of the process.
Mulch conserves water, keeps soil cool, suppresses weeds,
and rots into healthy compost! Thus, you should only
have to sheet mulch once or twice a year.
Steps:
1. Apply ½-1 inch layer of the decomposable material
2. Wet the layer with some water
3. Cover the decomposable material with about 2-4 in. layer of mulch
Sheet mulching tips:
Sheet mulching tips:
This is best done in the fall so that the material has time to decompose over the winter, however it can be done at any time of the year! It will take about 6 months for the material to fully decompose and enrich the soil
Don’t sheet-mulch on a windy day. Water well, or do this project after a rain.
- Have a bucket of water or hose handy. Chop down large weeds; small ones can just be mulched over.
- Wherever you’re mulching (paths, borders, between plants), apply 1-2 inches of your sheet layer; we think newspaper is the best sheet mulch. Open up the sheets if possible, and overlap as you go to avoid gaps. If the material starts flapping around, throw some water on it. It’s a good idea to wet the sheet layer, but this isn’t vital.
- Keep the sheet layer six inches away from the base of plants so that water can get to roots. Cover the sheet layer with about 2-4 inches of mulch; enough to cover whatever ugly stuff is underneath. That’s it!
Sheet mulching is also a great way to prepare a plot that you won’t be using for a few months.
- For example, if you want to turn a lawn into a garden, sheet mulch right over the grass in early fall; when you return to the plot in spring, the grass and weeds will have decomposed under the sheet mulch. Just poke holes in the sheet mulch to plant your new garden.
Page updated
Report abuse