Paths between raised beds quandry

[Matt.]

I'd go with the grass option. It won't be as muddy as bare soil and you get the bonus of using the clippings as mulch. Mowing or strimming it close will soon put an end to any weeds that try and make it through. You can buy value grass seed from DIY chains and the like that won't break the bank but will do the job.

[carlseawolf]

i've got stones on mine as they where free to me when i was seiving the soil back in the beds ( my soil is about 8" deep then shaily plus stones )

[HappyMouffe]

We kept grass paths in our first half allotment and are in the process of digging them up, as it is couch grass.
On the full allotment we have learnt from our mistake and we're just digging the whole plot and removing as many weed roots as possible. Only then will we put paths in.

[JennieAtkinson]

[QUOTE=Matt.;151522 Mowing or strimming it close will soon put an end to any weeds that try and make it through.QUOTE]

Oh I hope so! I've got a real docken and nettle problem in my "allotment" area.

[Snadger]

Thanks for the welcome Jennie, it sounds like you have a very windy spot there, we have been told by the chap who owns the land it can get very windy, so we are thinking of leaving the paths mud and just compacting them down walking on them. Linda has worked out we could get 12 raised beds on here so we are trying to plan what to put in them.

Are mud huts not made from mud mixed with straw? Sprinkle straw over the top, trample down, and as well as keeping the weeds down it will mingle with the soil giving a mud brick base!

[greenfingers]

I have left my plaths 2 feet wide,i have dug out the soil to use in my raised beds,the weeds do not come back that quick as i walk on this every day,it also helps with heavy rain draining away.

[Vegmonkey]

I went with cardboard as a membrane to stop the weeds growing then put bags of blue slate down, manufactured by kelkay i think

[seasprout]

I wouldn't recommend bark if you are on a windy site. I tried it in the garden here and most of it has just blown away.

Yes i was going to mention that.. when do you want it back..?

[The Doctor]

I used wood chippings provided by my council for free. At the time I thought my luck was in, but now I have various mushroom fungi cropping up all over the place, on the paths and in the beds, that must have been transferred across with it.

Anyone know if this might cause me problems (other than obviously not eating them) like crop infections???

[euphoria]

On a previous allotment I covered all the paths with carpet cutoffs, Hessian backed are best as they rot down eventually. There is some controversy over the use of carpets due to chemicals that could be present but deffinatly preferable to weed killer. Carpets allow the rain water to soak through and can be then cover with something aesthetic. Bark can be got for free if you pester local tree surgeons, but i prefer straw. An annual covering keeps them neat and after some rain fall it doesn't blow about as one would expect. I have also collected old bricks in the past and laid them between paths infilling the gaps with sand, they look pretty. I get all my freebies, such as carpet and bricks. on freecycle as i love to recycle and hate spending money

[hazymonsoon]

paths

am new to this site so this is first posting paths are something i will have to think about too so all this advice is brilliant hopefully i shall be able to contribute useful info on allotment life in the near future

[gardenplot]

I have just put Weed Control Fabric & chip bark down round my beds
Looks neat.

Welcome Hazymonsoon and Andy to the frindly vine

[Hans Mum]

welcome from me too andy, i just have 'grass' paths....... not too difficult to strim others on our site use old scaffolding boards, old bricks or some just 'tread down' soil for a season then move them the next year,

welcome to Hazymonsoon too.......

[kallista2]

Hi I have done the same and instead of the membrane I have put down old carpet in between the beds which has worked really well. I use the reverse side of the carpet and then if you want to you can cover with bark chippings but I have not done that yet and the carpet is doing a really good job of repelling the weeds. Hope this helps

[muckdiva]

Hi Andy
Hessian backed carpet topped with a layer of straw. I tried cardboard with straw on top, and it worked ok, but no real match for the weeds after the wet summer. I weighed up the pros and cons of the carpet, but as it was wool, decided it was better to use it on the paths than send it to landfill.