Newspaper as a soil improver?

[Willow]

Has anyone here ever tried using shredded newspaper as a soil improver? I've very heavy pure clay soil and would like to plant potatoes without having to spend extra money on organic matter.. We've got some compost nearly ready but it wont be enough for the area.. I've always been told that 'any' organic matter will do to loosen the soil.. hence the newspaper idea..

[AnnaB]

Hi Tina

You can use it, the soil should be double dug and the paper put into the trench. I wouldn't use it too thickly, try and add other matter like the girls stuff and uncooked vegetable waste.

What they don't tell you about planting potatoes to improve the soil is that all the digging you do improves it anyway!!

Anna

[Willow]

Thanks Anna, I wanted to prepare the soil now and am a bit concerned about the length of time it would take for chook poo and green waste to break down enough.. I thought perhaps the newspaper didnt need to break down the same way..
I added the chook poo and and old bedding onto last years veggie beds till the end of december and have been digging it all in nicely. Hopefully it will be ok..

[AnnaB]

hi Tina
If you put it in a foot or so deep trench, it will be below ground and quite different to just spreading it on top. Well done for all you have done over the winter it will reward you well (weather permitting!!)
Anna

[Mo]

My soil is sandy (with glacial clay parts) and I put thick layers of grass cuttings in the trench and plant the spuds in that then cover. They (Gardeners Question Time 35 yrs ago?) say that the moulds when it breaks down competes nicely with the moulds that cause scab, which you get in sandy soil. It starts to rot down but you can find the bottom of the trench when digging them up and the spuds come out clean. As I earth up I put more layers of grass. Never tried newspaper except a few sheets from henhouse in compost heap.

[Dave]

it will give the worms something to read!

[Willow]

[lancashire lass]

Don't put too much paper down as it can have a detrimental effect on the nutrients (such as nitrogen) that can be made available to the plants. The grass cuttings idea is very good, and I find that my first cuts of the lawn sometimes coincides with planting the potatoes.

The grass cuttings also provide some moisture and warmth as it breaks down (particularly if the soil is still chilled), and as Mo says, the potatoes are then easier to harvest. I didn't know about the scab but my soil is very heavy clay.

[Richard]

Newspaper is good when dug under Runner Bean plants. If there's a drought, the paper retains the water longer.