supposed to only use news paper printed with soy based ink. how to tell, I don't know I tried the newspaper thing once and it turned into a big mess. after a few rain storms and wind storms I had shredded newspaper all over the yard.

You have to weigh it down with something - small rocks, a little dirt, etc. Once it's been wet a few times and settles in it stays put.

All black and white newspaper ink is soy-based these days. It is acceptable and is a good source of carbon for your garden and even you compost pile.

But what about the colored print? Our newspaper doesn't have a single page without color print on it.

Apparently even most of the color inks are soy based and have been for several years, at least that is true for the major chain newspapers. Whether it holds true for small town papers, who knows. So it boils down to your choice.

Used in moderation I don't see how it could be a problem and excess use of anything can pose problems. But there are many other, more beneficial for the soil, mulches to use - hay, straw, grass clippings, even cardboard.

Lots of discussions about this over on the Soil & Mulches forum.

Dave

I used newspaper last year with big success. The trick is to make the layers six or seven sheets thick and wet them in 5 gl bucket of water before you put them down. Try not to do it on a windy day.Pull clumps of dirt all around the edges or use rocks. I prepare my papers through the winter so they are ready to put down in the spring.. It usually takes a lot of papers. I try not to use colored sheets. This saved a lot of weeding.

I dated a girl as far back as `89 that worked for a newspaper company and was curious as to the ink that they used then. She asked a guy that ran the printing department about what the ink was made from, and from what he told her, it was all soy based.

I wouldn`t have any problems shredding paper and mulching it nowadays. I shred anything junk that shows up in the mail. Color or not, no worries here. Just my opinion on this.

I'm a printer by trade and all most all printing inks are soy based even color inks. I personally think glossy paper is fine to use, it's all the same ink. It's metallic inks and special inks like laser safe or inks for printing on vinyl label stock that I would worry about. But we're not mulching our gardens with anything printed with those inks as long as your using news print. I've done it and it works great for weed control. I usually put straw on top and it keeps it from blowing away. But now it just use the straw and skip the newspaper. You can till it all under when done.