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What about the ink and chemicals in the newspapers sheets that the author is using? Wouldn’t that stay in the soil and pollute the crops?

CuriouslyC 2y ago
The microbes and fungi in the soil act as remediators for most organic compounds. Shouldn't be an issue, but you can always grow perennials in the bed that take time to grow rather than fast growing annuals if you're concerned.
- TuringNYC 2y ago
  I came here with the same question -- the ink. Why do you feel that the ink is an organic compound? Not sure if there is an easy answer here but this site: https://home.howstuffworks.com/pen4.htm https://home.howstuffworks.com/pen4.htm seems to suggest colored inks are inorganic and contains heavy metals.
  - CuriouslyC 2y ago
    The thing is that there is a lot of variation in ink composition, so it's hard to say universally. That being said, fungi tend to sequester heavy metals in their mycelium, see https://krishisanskriti.org/vol_image/03Jul201502072615.pdf https://krishisanskriti.org/vol_image/03Jul201502072615.pdf
    - dexwiz 2y ago
      But if you just compost the fungi, you are just back to where you started. With phytoextraction you have to incinerate the plant material afterwards. I know fungi aren’t plants, but similar principle.
      - CuriouslyC 2y ago
        You can harvest the mushrooms and throw them away.
        dexwiz 2y ago
        The fruiting body of a mushroom often represents only a fraction of total biomass. It depends on the species, but what we see above ground is more analogous to a flower than an entire plant.
the_gastropod 2y ago
As far as I understand, most commercially-used inks these days are soy-based, so shouldn’t pose an issue.
- davexunit 2y ago
  Yup! The general rule for sheet mulching is: no glossy print.
- addled 2y ago
  I know a lot of people have praised cardboard and I've used it too, but after sniffing some particularly smudged boxes from an Amazon order, I'm pretty hesitant now. I'm less nervous about things like pizza boxes (if not too greasy). Even if there are contaminants, they are already in my food.
  - fy20 2y ago
    I just use 'plain' cardboard in my garden - the brown stuff with text printed in one colour. It's pretty easy to get hold of from supermarkets. The multicolour stuff I send for recycling.
  - ornornor 2y ago
    Aren’t pizza boxes lines with PFAS or some other kind of forever chemicals which is why they can’t be recycled?
    - cricalix 2y ago
      The ones in Ireland are basic cardboard. You can tell from the way the grease soaks through and the cardboard goes all limp. The constraint for recycling them here is that the items up for recycling must be "clean and dry", and a pizza box is neither after it has been delivered with pizza in it.

CuriouslyC 2y ago

The microbes and fungi in the soil act as remediators for most organic compounds. Shouldn't be an issue, but you can always grow perennials in the bed that take time to grow rather than fast growing annuals if you're concerned.

TuringNYC 2y ago
I came here with the same question -- the ink. Why do you feel that the ink is an organic compound? Not sure if there is an easy answer here but this site: https://home.howstuffworks.com/pen4.htm https://home.howstuffworks.com/pen4.htm seems to suggest colored inks are inorganic and contains heavy metals.
- CuriouslyC 2y ago
  The thing is that there is a lot of variation in ink composition, so it's hard to say universally. That being said, fungi tend to sequester heavy metals in their mycelium, see https://krishisanskriti.org/vol_image/03Jul201502072615.pdf https://krishisanskriti.org/vol_image/03Jul201502072615.pdf
  - dexwiz 2y ago
    But if you just compost the fungi, you are just back to where you started. With phytoextraction you have to incinerate the plant material afterwards. I know fungi aren’t plants, but similar principle.
    - CuriouslyC 2y ago
      You can harvest the mushrooms and throw them away.
      - dexwiz 2y ago
        The fruiting body of a mushroom often represents only a fraction of total biomass. It depends on the species, but what we see above ground is more analogous to a flower than an entire plant.

the_gastropod 2y ago

As far as I understand, most commercially-used inks these days are soy-based, so shouldn’t pose an issue.

davexunit 2y ago
Yup! The general rule for sheet mulching is: no glossy print.
addled 2y ago
I know a lot of people have praised cardboard and I've used it too, but after sniffing some particularly smudged boxes from an Amazon order, I'm pretty hesitant now. I'm less nervous about things like pizza boxes (if not too greasy). Even if there are contaminants, they are already in my food.
- fy20 2y ago
  I just use 'plain' cardboard in my garden - the brown stuff with text printed in one colour. It's pretty easy to get hold of from supermarkets. The multicolour stuff I send for recycling.
- ornornor 2y ago
  Aren’t pizza boxes lines with PFAS or some other kind of forever chemicals which is why they can’t be recycled?
  - cricalix 2y ago
    The ones in Ireland are basic cardboard. You can tell from the way the grease soaks through and the cardboard goes all limp. The constraint for recycling them here is that the items up for recycling must be "clean and dry", and a pizza box is neither after it has been delivered with pizza in it.