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nafex - [NAFEX] Mulching Blueberries with Newspaper

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  • From: "Gregory Miller" <gsm_nafex@hotmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Mulching Blueberries with Newspaper
  • Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:41:40 +0000

Ginda:

I have used the newspaper plus mulch method, and it works great.

HOWEVER,

I would not do it in the fall as it creates prime lodging conditions for various rodents. I had that problem using clumps of strawbales (that held together after getting wet) and had the problem of the rodent tunnels around some blackberries. I think it would be even worse with newspaper. I would suggest the spring, just as the grass is starting to sprout. It is easy to place that time of year, the mulch you put on will stay wet, and there is less time for the rodents to get established before summer comes.

I found that the rows that I treated with newspaper plus wood chip mulch had better growth and berry production. (It was one of those unintentional trials, where I didn't get to the last row until the following season.) I would suggest getting a wheelbarrow and filling it with water, and pre-soaking the newspaper before you put it down. The extra water helps hold it in place until the mulch goes on, and makes it easier to tear (I make a notch to go around the base of the blueberry bush) and to shape to whatever other irregularities there are in the contour.

I have a drip line under the newspaper, so water penetration isn't an issue, but I notice that IF the newspaper dries out, it makes a very effective water barrier.

Interestly, I have had gophers tunnel through the soil (easy digging), and they seemed to leave the blueberry roots alone--I guess they're too fine to make much of a meal. I'd be more worried about mice, voles, etc. munching on the bark.

This waiting method does add to your springtime list, but it crosses "replant blueberries killed by rodents" off of your list.

Best regards,

GREG MILLER
Spokane, WA
USDA Zone 6a


On 19 Oct 2003 at 21:34, list@ginda.us wrote:

Cleaned up the blueberry patch this weekend - wow was it overrun with
grass. I've been pulling everything I could see in the spring and
fall, and putting about 4 inches of shredded oak leaves on it each
fall, but that doesn't seem to inhibit the grass at all. This fall
I'm trying newspaper - at least three sheets deep, and then I'll put
mulch in top of that, either shredded leaves, or peat moss, or a
combination of them.

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