Subject: Re: newspaper mulch
From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@flash.net>
Organization: Its-here-somewhere
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 08:15:33 -0700
Message-ID: <MOD$980523.21248@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
jmhinds @mindspring.com asks:
>.... if newspaper mulch between rows in the garden would
>be considered organic.
I think the problem is that there is no really tight definition of
"organic" that is acceptable to everyone. We have used as our
working definition for the rec.gardens.ecosystems' FAQ,
"the use of environmentally friendly materials and the use of
environmentally friendly cultural practices." There was a
lot of thought and a lot of discussion that went into that definition
and it seems to be pretty much on target.
The use of newspaper as a mulch may or may not be "organic"
because the materials in newspaper may or may not be environmentally
friendly. Most black ink used in most newspaper is soy based which
would probably be O.K. rehgarding environmental friendleness but a
lot of the colored inks do use heavy metals which would create some
problem.
The OCIA's certification standard is probably as good an organic
standard as therte is and it does not address the use of newspaper
as a mulch, per se, but does say that organic mulches can be used
if their content can be established as environmentally friendly. Again,
this would depend on newspaper content . . . bottom line, if there are
problem inks present in the newspaper, the practice would probably
not be "organic".
All things considered, since one doesn't know which inks were used,
it s probably not a good idea to use them between rows of edible
crops and is probably not a good idea for general soil safety. Heavy
metals are no joke.
Bill