Shredded paper mulch

[Wolf K]

We've been shredding old records. I seem to recall that shredded paper makes a good mulch. Is this so? Anybody have experience with it?

[Scooter the Mighty]

It depends on the paper, and how much bleach and other chemicals is in it.

[Travis M.]

What kind of ink is on the paper?

[Joshua Putnam]

I generate far too much paperwork at the office (insurance agency), so I've been using shredder output in the garden for some time. Works very well, holds up for several months, gets tilled into the ground in the fall and decomposes over the winter. When I have too much for mulch, I composte it directly, works fine there, too.

[David E. Ross]

I use the output from my shredder around camellias and azaleas. I lay it out quite thick and wet it.