Gardening is a rewarding hobby that brings beautiful flowers and fresh produce to our lives, but dealing with pesky weeds is an exhausting chore. These unwanted plants seem to pop up overnight, stealing vital nutrients, water, and sunlight from your carefully tended garden plots. While store-bought chemical weed killers are expensive and harmful to the environment, a simple, clever trick passed down from my grandma can completely stop weeds in just three minutes.

Her brilliant method relies on a completely natural, budget-friendly barrier made from old black-and-white newspapers and organic mulch. First, you lightly rake the soil and pull out any large existing weeds to create a smooth surface. Next, you lay down a layer of newspaper sheets across the garden bed, overlapping the edges by a few inches so there are absolutely no gaps left behind.

Once the papers are laid down, you lightly spray them with water so they stick firmly to the dirt and stay put. The final step is to spread a generous, two-inch layer of wood chips or shredded bark right on top of the wet paper. This top layer keeps the newspaper from blowing away, traps essential moisture in the soil, and gives the garden bed a clean, beautiful look.

This trick is incredibly effective because weed seeds absolutely need sunlight to sprout and grow. The thick, overlapping layers of paper and mulch completely block out the sun, smothering the seeds and forcing them to stay dormant until they eventually die off. Over time, the entire barrier will safely break down into the earth, adding rich nutrients to your soil while keeping your garden completely weed-free with zero effort.