Oh, I guess if they come from the ground that makes sense! I don’t usually think of these details :-)
Black Agnes gave me great advice last year, and I put down newspapers – solid sheets – around my tomatoes and pepper plants. I didn’t see any weeds and the blight was mild. Do you shred yours or do you put down solid sheets?
Last year was my first year really gardening. And I have a new respect for our forefathers who tried to make it a growing their own crops. First the rains are an issue. Not enough water at the right times and it’s all for nothing. Luckily I have well water that we can’t drink but I can use it On the garden. It has too much dirt in it for us. Then once I got the beauties to grow, the bugs showed up! It was heartbreaking to have these beautiful floor sheen plants be decimated by the stupid creatures. And then if they survived that, once I got the produce looking good, then the critters showed up! What a challenge. It’s amazing our forefathers survived.
Whole damp heavy sheets of news paper.
Straw is also good but it does get buggy
( I’m a master gardener )
Two books that have good tips for new gardeners
LASAGNE GARDENING
GARDENING BY THE SQUARE FOOT
Both should be available at library or used.
If you have limited space, there are several books and articles on container gardening.
In 1980 was my first try at a garden. We put in some potatoes. One day I went outside and our front sidewalk was completely black. Taking a closer look we discovered they were potato bugs marching towards our potato patch. :-(. Never tried gardening much after that other then a few tomato plants and some zucchini and jalapenos. Don't do any now, but thinking of maybe a tomato plant or two this year.