Are Paths a waste of space?

[veggiechicken]

Just idly thinking aloud here Feel free to join me!

I've been digging docks out of a woodchipped path and the soil in the path is better than that in the adjacent bed.
I could either

1. put the soil from the path on the beds,
2. walk on the bed and grow in the path
3. do nothing.
4. probably summat else that eludes me.

This made me wonder how much growing space is given over to paths and whether it needs to be.

In a way, paths are ground lying fallow. Could they form part of the bed rotation? Walked on one year but be cultivated next year?
Could they grow green manures - and be walked upon?
Do we really need paths?

So tell me, please,

How much of your plot/garden is given up to paths - rough %?
Do you need all these paths?
Can you think of ways to make paths more productive?

PS You didn't expect anything sensible I hope

[Jay-ell]

you could grow a green path with clover, chamomile, etc and if it grows too long strim it and either chop and drop mulch or add to the compost pile.

[Bigmallly]

I have dense buttercup paths that get mowed if that counts...............

[rary]

I have two raised beds against my back fence and a path between them and my main raised bed the path was made to allow access to the beds with a wheel barrow the other side of the main bed is close to a fence bordering flower beds and a play area for the boy's, the path at that side is just wide enough to allow me access, though that's still quite wide but there is no chance of moving the bed as its made up on top of concrete, but I do think that paths are required for access and applying compost etc., and of course for loading the barrow with my produce

[Guest]

In the veg patch 33%+ is paths. That sounds a lot but it works for me as I want something permanent so the girls don't walk over the bed and comfortable room to leisurely walk and potter. The veg isn't for £ notes profit so I don't need the paths to pay for themselves. However, I have wondered the same thing when it will come to flower patch. Rotating beds to paths is a bit faffey for my liking but there must be ways to get more out of them.

See you are not daft. Very sensible VC

Oh my Dad has made comments in the past about the amount he could grow cos of my paths. He is traditional and has one big bed and lots of rows

[Snadger]

The question seems to be paths or no paths? When gardeners set up a bed system they have to have paths between them.
If you grow traditionally there are no paths and you could be growing on an area you were walking on prior to growing crops..
Its really up to the individual whether they grow traditionally or with beds.(paths)

I like beds and permamnent paths myself with camomile and thyyme growing in joints between paving but lots on our allotment site use traditional methods.

You pays your money and takes your chance, beds or trad!

[Cadalot]

OK mentally and physically I could not deal with digging and de weeding the whole allotment, I need an infrastructure, paths that are wide enough for me to kneel down in and divide my plot into 2.4 x 1.2m beds where possible and on one plot smaller beds against the wall and the sloping boundary.

However I grow stuff in square flower buckets and this year I'm planning wild flowers for the bees and other pollinators at the end of the paths on the boundary with my neighbours, so they can be moved if required. I also always grow my early spuds in flower buckets that live on the paved area

http://cadalot-allotment.blogspot.co...ncer-road.html

Looking at my Spencer Road plot 43% is given over to paved area and paths but that includes the base to the greenhouse. In addition I'm installing a watering system so that each hose can cover four beds and the hose spur off the main run only has to be moved along the width of the paths so dragging it around does not cause any damage and its quick to water when I need too.

So for me paths are a must and the benefits outweigh the disadvantage of lost growing space.

[Penellype]

I used to consider paths a real problem. I hate treading on soil that I plant things in, but I like to use the space to the full.

When I first moved here the back garden was a rectangle of grass with a border along the fence, a slab path alongside the garage and some patio areas at the end. The path along the garage wall can't really be moved as it covers a drain. It also faces due north. Here it is this morning:



In summer it looks much nicer, because there are 3 pots of hostas (which also contain fritillaries which have been deadheaded) and the little grey troughs are planted with begonias which flower well in shade. I also use the end nearest the photo as a dumping ground for buckets of veg that have nearly finished - pot 14 is one of last summer's calabrese, still giving the odd edible shoot.

So I dug up the grass near the house, and made an informal pathway of 18 inch slabs with gravel between, and planted alpines and herbs in the gravel:



These 2 paths, plus a few strategically placed extra slabs, give me access to the whole of the garden area between the house and the lawn.

The patio area at the end of the garden was dug up a few years ago to make a vegetable garden. As this is bounded by a 14ft high leylandii hedge, I had to leave a 3ft wide path so I could put up a step ladder on a level surface to cut the hedge. This is also quite a shady area except in the lightest months. Here it is this morning:



Everything here can be moved to cut the hedge. The Japanese maple is on a trolley and can be wheeled from one end of the path to the other, out of the way. The cold frame and cloche currently contain strawberries. This is another useful dumping ground for temporary pots.

The veg garden area is not quite a rectangle, about 5'6" to 6ft wide, so it needs a path down the middle. It also isn't level, with a slope from the hedge towards the lawn. After a lot of jiggling about with slabs I decided to make a permanent 30 inch wide bed with a proper edge to hold the soil in (bottom left of the picture) and a slab in the middle for access. I plant onions around the slab so there is only one 12 inch square "wasted". In front of the raised edge I have a permanent 18 inch path for access. This is wide enough to get between rows of bigger plants and also to stand a bucket on if I need to. At the moment it looks like this:



Another useful dumping ground for easily moved pots. The beds in front are narrower (about 18 inches to 2ft), which is fine as there is no access the other side due to the trellis.

Finally, in the front garden, I decided to refine this idea to give access once a year to paint the new fence. This time its a bark path (the base is very uneven due to the old tree stumps from the leylandii hedge that was cut down):



Every one of these pots is easy to move, and there is just enough room with a couple of strategically places stepping stones (hidden by the wallflowers) to give access for watering. The fence is filling up slowly, waiting for the half hardy trailing plants to give it some fresh colour.

[Thelma Sanders]

In a way, paths are ground lying fallow. Could they form part of the bed rotation? Walked on one year but be cultivated next year?
Could they grow green manures - and be walked upon?
Do we really need paths?

Isn't this what the Gertrude Frank method solves? sow spinach/& or chop and drop leaf waste between rows (where you walk) and then next year plant there? She just had a very rigid plan which made it seem very complicated when it really isn't

I must admit to digging up one of my big paths earlier this year, to give me more growing space and more crop flexibility.

As a side note our allotment rules say that 75% of the plot must be cultivated, so too many wide paths would earn you a black mark

[Bren In Pots]

My beds are none dig with quarry tile paths between them if I got rid of the paths I'd have to get my spade out so this way works out best for me. I suppose if I'd got lots of space I might do things differently.

[Jay-ell]

Isn't this what the Gertrude Frank method solves? sow spinach/& or chop and drop leaf waste between rows (where you walk) and then next year plant there? She just had a very rigid plan which made it seem very complicated when it really isn't

I must admit to digging up one of my big paths earlier this year, to give me more growing space and more crop flexibility.

As a side note our allotment rules say that 75% of the plot must be cultivated, so too many wide paths would earn you a black mark

Some sites say that paths less than a specific width (2 or 3 feet) class as cultivation, wider paths count as patios/structures.

[Greenleaves]

I like paths and have loads I like the concept of dig a bed move on and it gives me a sense of achievement. I am lucky to still have over 600 mtrs2 of growing space even with paths.

But as Snadger says 'Horses for courses'

[ESBkevin]

You have to remember that roots and micorrizal hyphae are not limited to the bit of soil under the green part of the plant, indeed they will reach for nutrients all around and well maintained hyphea will reach several meters fron the plant, the fact that you think it's a path means nothing to the plants. It just goes to show the benefits of mulching with woodchip or indeed mulching in general.

[mic]

Have seen somewhere (probably YouTube) where someone just used scaffolding boards for walkways so could always move them when suits

[Bill Door]

Well I was an allotment neighbour to a young garden (84). He watched many people come and place raised beds all over the place. His opinion was that we should leave space to walk around a planted area, but it should never remain as a walk way. He dug it all over in Autumn/winter and started again in the spring. His thought was that the "fallow" bit of ground came good the next year, particularly if he sowed grass seed on it. He would point to those that gave up their plots and say "there you are, raised beds are no b****y good!".

I must admit that the ground I took on had a raised bed and in the end I took it out and just dug the ground. We youngsters (62) need to be told, but sometimes it is good fun to watch others struggle.

regards

Bill