Paths between beds

[maytreefrannie]

Shredded timber for paths?

First let me confess I don't have an allotment (just a garden) but this seemed the most relevant section.

We had to have some big conifers cut down recently, along with the ivy, etc. that grew around them. So, a big load of timber is drying, but all the small pieces, leave, twigs etc. were shredded and now there's a big haystack-type mound of little timber pieces.

My question is - could they be used for paths between beds - would they keep down weeds? Or would they encourage pests?

I look forward to some knowledgable grapes' advice.

[Snadger]

Great for paths.........just put a membrane or even newspapers down first to supprees the weeds!

[teamladd]

As I have only just been allocated an allotment I have been thinking about paths too. I have posted on freecylce to see if anyone has any old paving slabs that I could have. I have managed to get 50 within a two days. You could try this as a free option.

[Incy]

We used our shredded woodchippings as a mulch under weed suppressant over the area we then built our beds on. After a year it had all mulched down and the soil was looking really great. Between our beds we have wewed suppressant material with limestone gravel on top. It saves slippery muddy areas to cross when it's wet (which being in Manchester is most of the time). Not sure how long it would last as a path before becoming slippery and slimey

[marathon]

I have wood chip and it's great, I put carboard boxs down then thick layer of newspaper which I soaked before covering with woodchip. So far weed free, first path was made 8 months ago

[miffy]

Wood chip is fab, it is soft underfoot, nice to kneel on and i also think it is deterring those slimy little veg munchers.

[snohare]

I got a couple of tonnes of this stuff delivered by a tree surgeon the first year I had an allotment plot. It was supposed to be well rotted so that I could put topsoil on it in raised beds and then plant into it.
It wasn't, so I ended up using it for paths. Did wonderfully, but as it rotted down the grass hasn't half jumped up ! The moral is it does great for a year to eighteen months, then it makes wonderful humus rich mulch/compost and needs replacing before the weeds get going amongst it. The more coniferous/resinous the tree materiel, the longer it takes to break down.
Note though that if you removed the trees due to fungal diseases like honey fungus or bootlace, you are spreading these all over the place and effectively dooming the area to never, ever, ever grow trees again. (Hot composted chippings are a different matter.)

[maytreefrannie]

Thanks for the helpful replies - I now have some ideas of what to do.