for those who have paths on their plot .......

[areia]

....what do you use?


mine came with paths which over time im going to narrow or remove the off side ones ( as i see it as wasted growing space) and keep the 2 main ones, now currently its wood chip/bark, but this while retains water, it holds slugs a plently, im considering just sand id love shingle but i have my own youngest and my cousins two lil horrors to think about, as what do kids love doing throwing stones.

the bark i can get free as the council drops off bark chippings for plot holders to use, thing is you can never be too sure if it contains any disease that could effect the plot in any way

one plot i noticed just has paths of folded newspapers

Any ideas for paths that could help keep the slug population lower

[VirginVegGrower]

I have raised beds and all my pathways are bark chip.

[Curlykale]

I have woodchips on top of weed membrane - it will probably need topping up each year or every other year, but it looks good and I haven't noticed many slugs on the paths - if anything I would say it deters them. I also have some paths made of astroturf - it's a bit bright but has done a good job of keeping the weeds down so far, although I am noticing that grass is starting to grow through it now (its been down for a couple of years).

[CaroltheCarrot]

I have type 2?? big grey chip stuff

[Aberdeenplotter]

Ask your Council if they have any old paving slabs. That way you will never again have weeds and you will have clean footing throughout the plot. I had to make safe the paths on my plot which is on a very steep plot and the soil is part clay. Extremely slippery and dangerous when wet. I've fallen many times. I've now laid over 100 on three half plots all salvaged from freecycle. Clean footing encourages my lady love to enjoy the plot as well. yes it takes up room but you can't put a price on safety.

[Zenithtb]

I recommend as above. We 'acquired' a load of curbing stones, and did this https://picasaweb.google.com/1006321...eat=directlink

Never worked better. As they're only dug into the ground, they can be moved if needed...

[Aberdeenplotter]

Ohh Zenith,

I've been in Valencia you know. The first time I was heading to Denia from from Alicante. The directions I got if I remember correctly said something like take the A7 from Alicante. From Valencia take the A7.Well dopey me took the A7 all the way to Valencia passed a sign that said Denia but I thought the instructions said go to Valencia so I did, but of course had to turn back till we could turn off to Valencia. for a few years I said I've been to Valencia you know but that was it. We did return to Spain for a holiday in Javea and then took the train to Valencia where we spent a scorching hot day including a visit to El Corte Anglaise where I was so amused at the number of changelings (don't ask) in the restaurant.

[The Large One]

1 part of my plot has been set as raised beds. In between i used hardboard from Wickes
it's hard wearing (been using it as a path in my home garden for 3 years and only now starting to look a bit tired but will last maybe 1 or 2 years more at least
bought them @ £5.39 per 8x4 sheet and made 2 sheets 24" wide
a plot neighbour said the other day he was a bit worried as i put it down thinking it would not last long but even he said he was impressed with its durability

[Bigmallly]

Free chippings & broken slabs as stepping stones work for me and I don't have slug problems..........

[Wren]

Grass paths.. They need a trim once a month but they look lovely and wear well.

Wren

[binley100]

Beds are edged with wobbly tin and when we get a round tuit the paths will be newspaper with bark chippings on top ... Must admit, didn't think slugs would like sliming over bark chippings ....

[Alison]

Bark on my plot, don't find it causes a slug problem, it looks great and I think that paths that mean you can access all parts of the beds without treading on them are essential. A friend of mine has gravel which I hate, really very painful to kneel on and the stones are really annoying when they accidently get kicked into the beds.

[Kaiya]

I just have weed suppressing membrane, but I don't think it's a long term solution alone. It lifts in the wind, even pulling pegs out the ground, and because my paths are narrow and so don't exclude light effectively enough in order to kill what's underneath (tallish grass and weeds in places) it needs the odd strategically placed crazy paving slab. However, it's something flat to walk on that tells me where my beds start and end, and it's unlikely to be nicked.

http://kailyn.co.uk/wp-content/uploa...82-300x168.jpg
http://kailyn.co.uk/wp-content/uploa...81-300x168.jpg
The edges are folded over and hemmed with spots of duct tape (some of which is unsticking now) to stop it fraying.

[dominic10]

Not only do grass paths need cutting but the edges also need tidying - grass can also be very slippy. The grass on our allotment site seems to seed at a very low height. We're going to use a mixture of freecycled paving slabs, old carpet cut down into path size lengths and scaffold boards - mainly because we want to be able to change the layout. Also we'll use stable litter round our permanent raised beds to keep down the inevitable weeds (we've just taken over a neglected plot). A relative used bark chippings and had a major slug problem but this may have been a one off so I'm not too keen to use this. We think the chippings had the slugs eggs in them.

[Wren]

Never slipped on my grass paths yet in quite a few years o working on them, an the edges need no more of a tidy than other paths.

Just a trim once a month. It's no big deal.

Wren