jaciqltznok

does this help with weeds??
I do it all organically, so my lawn has weeds, we won't srpay anything..

Veronica

Yes, it is true you can compost 100% cotton.
You can find this information at the Maryland Cooperative Extension, under Backyard Composting,
Troubleshooting and Often Asked Questions.

www.hgic.umd.edu/documents/hg35.pdf

Always check with you local Cooperative Extension, when you have garden questions. It's a great source of information.

natalieg

Yep....the weeds do still grow underneath the paper, but very little weeding now, only in the rows, between the plants!
The first year I did it, I did like they recemmended and tore the paper into strips (easier to blend in at the end of the year) had weeds grow up all over the place. It breaks down just fine with the tiller! The grass clipping help some as well.
However, the best way I have found to control the weeds is to place the paper down at least four pages thick, then I lay the next layers of paper over the edges by at least six inches. then a good watering, then grass and sprinklers as normal.
I know this is a lot of newspaper this way, but it works so well. Takes me a bit of time to lay it in a big garden, but well worth it (just don't try it on a windy day till you get the grass on it). Sometimes I haven't saved enough so I do it as I get the papers and grass. Then, at least I am only weeding part of it!

Edie

NO FOR THE BIRDS! They can choke on the small strips. Better yet, use it for tying down tall plants, tomatoes, vines but not to let the birds put into nests or even let the birds have the opportunity to get them. You can use embroidery thread in small pieces that they can use for their nests. I always save my threads over the winter and put them into the shrubs and the birds pick them off, but please not the fabric. Edie

glowworm

Fabric takes a long time to decay. The dye in the fabric will contaminate the soil. The soil will be unfit for organic gardening. I don't know the purpose of gardening with quilt scraps but I do know the dye will contaminate. Hope this will help.

redmadder

I compost them because, yes, they get tangled in the tiller. Stuff things with them? I could have a couple of sofas by now.

glowworm

I know that newspapers makes a great mulch. Just think about where all that printing ink goes. Printers ink and dye contaminate the soil. I am sorry to be a downer. Just think about it.

ptquilts

On the other end of the scale, we had a lot of LARGE pieces of polyester double knit and did not want them for quilting. DH sewed them together on his treadle and made a garden quilt for covering the garden on frost nights. Works great, doesn't blow away, doesn't decay (we leave it out most of the time). And it is colorful.
He made it HUGE and I wound up cutting it in half to make the pieces more manageable. It was very heavy all in one piece.

ptquilts

Newspaper Inks

Newspapers were once printed using dyes and pigments which contained hazardous minerals like lead, cadmium and chromium. But according to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) efforts were taken to address this issue, and slowly heavy metals were phased out of the inks. To encourage more and more recycling of the newspapers, soy-based inks were developed that made newspapers absolutely safe and devoid of any harmful inks.

NAA states in its website that most heavy metals were phased out of printing inks in the 1970’s as per the new regulations set by EPA. It also says that although there are a few metals that are still used in trace amounts to make certain pigments, they cannot be considered hazardous because of their very low concentration.

from
http://www.brighthub.com/diy/lawn-ga...les/71007.aspx


I will have to try this, I battle weeds every year.

Homemother

Yes, I was wondering about the chemicals in the fabric and dyes. I'll check it out.