Mulching with brown grocery bags?

hasshoes · May 25, 2009

Is the dye used on the bags safe or will it put chemicals into your soil?

I saved bags from "Whole Foods" (a natural retailer), so I'd like to think they use "safe" ink. . . ?

hasshoes · May 26, 2009

Well I called Whole Foods and they said it's safe. . . they use a soy based ink. Yeehaw!!!!!

I need to stop using my reusable bags to get more free mulch, teehee.

kevokie · May 29, 2009

That's good to know, especially if we ever get a place where I can put a garden. I just started shopping there and keep the bags. I wish more stores used the paper bags.

ovenbird · August 31, 2009

More stores using paper bags is an especially good idea if they use recycled paper to make the grocery bags.

Farmers near our landfill wish more people used paper bags as well. Plastic bags blow from the landfill and into their fields. They have a lot of trouble with them getting into the combines and jamming them up. It is VERY dangerous clearing them form the combines. Plus there are plastic bags caught in fences and they are not a pretty sight.

habitat_gardener · August 31, 2009

My favorite use for brown paper bags is to cut them up and dry seeds on them after fermenting. The brown paper wicks moisture from the seeds without getting soggy like softer paper, it's easier to write on than paper towels or filter paper, and it's easy to turn up the edges so that I can dry more than one variety on a tray without the risk of any seeds migrating to the wrong group. It's also easier to separate the seeds when they're wet -- I use the tip of a pencil to slide them around. Also, it's a great way to recycle bags that are torn or have lost a handle. After the seeds have dried, I can put the pieces of brown paper bag in either the recycling bin or the compost bin.

May 25, 2009	#1
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Mulching with brown grocery bags? Is the dye used on the bags safe or will it put chemicals into your soil? I saved bags from "Whole Foods" (a natural retailer), so I'd like to think they use "safe" ink. . . ? __________________ Sara

May 26, 2009	#2
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Well I called Whole Foods and they said it's safe. . . they use a soy based ink. Yeehaw!!!!! I need to stop using my reusable bags to get more free mulch, teehee. __________________ Sara

May 29, 2009	#3
kevokie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 157	That's good to know, especially if we ever get a place where I can put a garden. I just started shopping there and keep the bags. I wish more stores used the paper bags. __________________ Kevin "A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins."- Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking

August 31, 2009	#4
ovenbird Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Eastern Iowa Posts: 27	More stores using paper bags is an especially good idea if they use recycled paper to make the grocery bags. Farmers near our landfill wish more people used paper bags as well. Plastic bags blow from the landfill and into their fields. They have a lot of trouble with them getting into the combines and jamming them up. It is VERY dangerous clearing them form the combines. Plus there are plastic bags caught in fences and they are not a pretty sight.

August 31, 2009	#5
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	My favorite use for brown paper bags is to cut them up and dry seeds on them after fermenting. The brown paper wicks moisture from the seeds without getting soggy like softer paper, it's easier to write on than paper towels or filter paper, and it's easy to turn up the edges so that I can dry more than one variety on a tray without the risk of any seeds migrating to the wrong group. It's also easier to separate the seeds when they're wet -- I use the tip of a pencil to slide them around. Also, it's a great way to recycle bags that are torn or have lost a handle. After the seeds have dried, I can put the pieces of brown paper bag in either the recycling bin or the compost bin.