Q:Could you suggest something I can use as mulch for my vegetable garden that would allow me to consider my produce organic? What about layers of newspaper with rotted sawdust on top? Answer: You can use newspaper and sawdust. However, you have to be careful with the sawdust to make sure it has aged. Fresh sawdust contains a large amount of fresh resins and the pH can be very acidic. Clean straw is often used as mulch by many organic gardeners. The straw can then be removed at the end of the season. Q:Some of my iris have root rot and they smell rotten. What can I do? Also, is this something that the daylilies could catch? If so, how could I treat them?