Q. I would like to cover lawn with mulch. I have heard to lay newspaper down and then place the mulch on top. How much newspaper and how much mulch works? I am thinking about using wood chips for mulch. Mark Bruser – Tacoma, WA
A. Yes if your goal is to replace the lawn without having to dig it up then you can use newspaper and mulch to replace the lawn. First step is to mow the area you want to convert as low to the soil line as possible. This is called scalping – a term used by turfgrass professionals for what can happen on uneven areas of turf mown by a large deck. While usually the goal is to prevent scalping your goal is to scalp the whole area. Then you lay down newspaper in an overlapping pattern. Make a six to ten sheet thick layer. If your lawn is weed free you can lean toward the six sheets. If you have a weedy lawn then lean toward the 10 sheets. Water down the sheets to set them in place (rain will work as well since you may be doing this in the rain this time of the year). Then you can mulch them with 2-3 inches of your favorite mulch – in your case wood chips.