g'day luke,

use all and any coloured glossy or not most inks nowadays are soy based and teh colours are from vegetables or mineral bases.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

Luke, I think it depends on how well broken down your bed is, and what kind of seed/seedlings you're planting.

Mulch material that is in the process of breaking down is not a good place for either, so what most people seem to do is either pull the mulch aside and tear a hole in the paper, and plant directly into existing soil, or pull the mulch aside and place a good double handful of soil/compost or planting mix/compost on top of the newspaper (if it isn't really thick) and plant into that.

With good contact with the soil, several layers of newspaper will break down quite rapidly. The seeds/seedlings will need some instant nutrition as they start growing, and they can't get it from the mulch until after it is broken down. But you can pull the mulch back around the top of the compost as soon as the plants start growing. Just be sure to allow enough light.

Len is right about the newspaper inks, most are soy. If you're worried, call your newspaper office and ask, but something like 95% of papers were made with soy inks several years ago, due to recycling methods.

Sue

thanks for the info!

Luke