Salty Thumb wrote:
Since newspapers are mostly cellulose, they will take a while to break
down
especially if packed against hard clay soil

I've used 8-layer newspaper in quite a few places around my yard --
mostly to expand existing beds and reduce lawn space, but in a couple of
weedy, overgrown, neglected corners as well. The soil in these areas
were hard enough that I didn't want to make an effort to dig or till.
Not excessively full of clay, but too compact to plant in as was. I
scalped any grass or weeds, placed the newspaper, and covered.

The places where I covered the newspaper with just bark mulch took about
a year for the newspaper to decompose into scraps small enough to not be
recognized as newspaper. The places where I covered the newspaper with
soil or compost the newspaper decomposed similarly in about six to eight
months. Because of oddly shaped beds, and liberal overlapping, I did
have some places where I had pieces big enough to discard (in the
compost bin) when I dug holes for planting.

Overall, I have to say that using newspaper has been the best thing I
learned from this newsgroup. It comes ahead of shredding leaves and
using them as a winter mulch only because that one was pretty obvious.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug: Books for the Pacific Northwest gardener:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/nwgarden/index.html