"Cheryl Isaak" wrote in message
...
We shred a lot of paper in my household and part of me keeps wondering if
there is something better than just sending it off with the weekly
recycling.

I've added it to the compost bin and to a few holes left by stump removal
with compost and such. While it doesn't break down quickly, it does rot
eventually.

BUT - I was wondering how it would work as a weed suppressing mulch. And
more importantly, if I soaked small batches with coffee grounds and tea
bags if I could make it look better at the same time

Thoughts folks?

If you had chooks, I'd suggest you put in the chook's nesting boxes or just
in their yard with scratch mix sprinkled in it and add weeds as well so they
could turn it into pre-compost material.

I'm not a fan of paper in the garden as, living in a climate that is often
hot and dry, I've found that laying sheets of newspaper out has a tendency
to form a mat that expells water. It does work to ameliorate weeds but I
find it's high maintenance stuff and I've come to like the contemplative
aspect of weeding.

I do ahve a friend who uses what I'd call 'chipped' paper in her garden
sprinkled like icing sugar (confectioner's sugar in USian). The paper is
put through some for of shredder in a legal firm and is the bits of paper
are so small that they are not much smaller than the size of a grain of
rice. As a very, very thin mulch, this stuff seems to break down quite
qucikly in comparison to sheets of paper and serves as a good form of summer
shading on the soil.

I suggest you give it a try and report back as it's alwyas worth a try. If
you are going to dye it in batches, I suspect you'll probalby get sick of
doing that in a short time anyway and can thus do an experimental sized bit
of your garden. Good luck.