I Have A Raised Garden Bed That I Have Covered…
Richard Asked
I have a raised garden bed that I have covered with black roofing paper; will I need to remove the paper before I plant my veggies?
The Gardener’s Answer
Hi, Richard in Kentucky: Home vegetable gardening is a great way to provide you and your family/friends with healthy, great-tasting food. There are many benefits to growing vegetables in raised beds, including the fact that they drain better since the soil is not so compact, and eliminate issues if you are dealing with poor soil conditions. As for the black roofing paper, I assume you have used this for weed control in the garden. It is not normally recommended since in most cases roofing paper has been treated with chemicals that can be leached into the soil and taken up by the roots of your edibles. This can affect the health of your plants, so you will want to remove the roofing paper before planting any vegetables, herbs, or fruit in this bed. In the future, newspaper or cardboard would be a better choice for weed control.
