Paths Between Beds

[zabby17]

So, question for others who have multiple raised beds. What do you put on your paths?

I have 11 beds, in three rows plus a separate grouping, all in the middle of the yard (not against a fence), so there's a lot of path going on between them.

I hate to spend time weeding them, and if I don't they'll grow monster plants of all kinds, so I started mulching with cardboard covered by straw, which I can get fairly easily and cheaply from a local farmer.

BUT I am finding the upkeep a pain---all the paths really need a thick layer of new straw every year and, usually, a new layer of cardboard, too, if the path is to last all season. (This year I'm already too late renewing---there are weeds galore with the early warm weather.) Frustrates me to spend so much time maintaining non-productive space.

So I'm considering trying to get a local tree company to deliver a load of wood chips. I've used them once in the past on part of my paths when a neighbour gave me some, and they seemed to have more like TWO seasons in them before needing renewal.

But would they be twice as much work to spread in the first place? And would a tree place probably give me a load free if I asked, or does one usually have to buy them?

I"m really tempted to just pay someone to lay down gravel, but I know the minute I do that I'm going to suddenly have some reason to want to move the beds and I'll regret it.....

Advice welcome! Help save most of Zabby's garden effort for her PLANTS!

Z

[Rockporter]

Hi Zabby, you could check with your local landfill or transfer station and see if they have wood chips available. There are many cities that offer freee mulch and wood chips and others that charge a small fee. Ours here in Rockport charges $5 per yard for really good mulch.

Tree companies just might be willing to pass on the chips to you since they would have to dispose of them, so I would give them a try.

[nicky]

We get mulch/wood chips for free... There is a large pile by our local country library throughout the spring. The city throws its spring tree-cut-downs-&-trimmings through the shredder & local residents can help themselves. You can call your local waste/recylcing depot or public works dept. for the location in your area.

Forgot to add - we mulch our front evergreen tree area. The lower layers turned to beautiful rich soil within about 4 years - we add about 2" on top every 2 years. If I had the energy I would rake the un-composted wood chips away & take some of the black soil underneath for my other gardens. Too many projects on the go this year!

[Tracydr]

Don't do the gravel unless you love round-up! I have gravel and I've now let it get filled in with Bermuda, because the gravel/plastic from previous owners was awful. In the winter, I broadcast annual rye over the Bermuda and I'm amazed that it actually takes hold quite well, despite the the rocks and plastic. At least it looks nice.
If it wasn't such a pain to remove, I would remove it and put down carpet and wood chips. As many tree prunings that I have and the landscapers in the area that give out free clippings, I could easily do the aisles in chips.
I don't mind the rye but the Bermuda is a hassle, since it creeps into the gardens. I really have to keep the edges whacked down.
I have a little rotary push mower and a weed whacker. Takes about 30 minutes to do the whole garden, 4 raised, 16x8 foot beds and some outlying areas.

I use paving stone over black plastic between the beds. The main isle down the garden center is annual rye grass throughout the winter replaced by Bermuda grass during the summer. Around the circumference of the garden, inside the fence; I have outdoor green carpet which has lasted well for about three years. I buy the carpet pieces as remnants at Home Depot and cut it to fit. It works very well. Along one side of the fence, I placed thick, cinder block type stones to place containers on and grow a few varieties like the dwarfs in.

Ted

[ddsack]

I've always just kept the grass mowed between the front beds since I converted to them from an open garden plot more years ago than I can remember. I try to dig out the invading grass roots in the fall so there is not so much to do in the spring. Some years, if I have time before planting anything, I also have "painted" Round-up from a bucket on the three or four inches of grass outside of the boards, which helped a lot. I like the looks of grass between the beds, and it makes a soft and cool place to sit while weeding.

This spring, we had the local electrical company cutting brush down the power line right of ways. They normally chip everything and leave the chips where they fall, but if someone nearby requests them, they will bring you all you want - free! We got two large dump truck loads, and had more than we could use to spread generously around 16 beds. I could never have afforded to do this if I had to pay for them. The chips were still fresh and damp, and we had to spread them quickly, as the interiors of the piles wanted to heat up. My raised beds don't look very raised anymore! I hope I won't regret doing this, as I know my beds won't warm up as fast in the spring. But less maintenance with mowing and weeding, once the grass runners die out, should be worth it. We did have to buy the black landscaping fabric to put under the wood chips, but it's not that expensive.

On my other garden hidden back in the woods, I put fitted strips of old carpeting (donated by friends remodeling) between the raised bed rows. That worked really well, but it's been probably ten years, and it's starting to disintegrate and weeds and grass are growing on and through it.

[ScottinAtlanta]

I keep plastic tarps stapled to the side of each bed, ready to fold over the bed to protect against cold or extreme rain. When not in use, they lay on the ground between the bed. No weeds, and they are ready to use at a moment's notice.

We live near a "Denton" Texas. The city collects all the fall leaves residents place in the streets after raking their yards. They also collect all the downed trees and branches after storms each year and run them through a chipper. All of the material is then composted and sold to homeowners and landscapers. I think they charge about $30.00 per yard for small loads and the price decreases for larger loads. They always have a lot of really good compost and mulch on hand, but it sells about as fast as it makes. It's a pretty good deal because residents get the material they need at a price below what they would pay for Miracle Grow and Fertilome bagged products and the city makes some money in the process. I've never bought any, but if I needed larger quantities to place around my beds, I would buy it.

Ted

[b54red]

The biggest problem besides renewing things like wood chips and straw is the fact that if you keep your beds long enough they will not be raised. Eventually you will have the area between the beds raised up too much by the repeated placement of mulches. There is also the added problem of spillage from the beds when tilling and turning soil that seeps down into any ground cover you use. I just use my weed whacker and occasionally Round-up on a very calm day. After 30+ years of walking on the area very few weeds can grow well on the very compacted soil between my beds. It is also much easier to pick up spillage and return it to the beds.

[kurt]

My neighbor was tired of the maintenance of the weeds and bugs brought in with the free wood chips and mulches so he went ahead and bought some of the astro turf type material and he swears by it.All he does is roll it up once or twice a year and hoses it down in his regular yard and puts it back.

[Tormato]

Eventually, I'm going to level my paths, and top them with (free!) bricks.

For now, I have to put up with unlevel paths that turn into a slippery mud
(dn't ask) when it rains.

Tormato

[zabby17]

Thanks so much for all the info and suggestions!

It's interesting to read about everyone's experiences, even the ones that wouldn't be my style. I am intrigued by the old carpet/astroturf idea, but I think I really want to stick to organic material that will eventually decompose, including for an underlay. And I'm definitely not interested in mowing, and have never bought Roundup in my life; would really rather smother most weeds and just pull or live with the few I miss.

So I probably will try wood chips, with cardboard underneath, and try to renew them before they get too thin. Hopefully every second year will be enough (or maybe I'll try for half the garden every year). I hadn't thought of my bed eventually ending up less raised, but I think I'm OK wiith that (and could lift them up &add more topsoil if I change my mind).

Thanks for the suggestions of places to ask about obtaining wood chips! I'll try them all.

Like Tomato, I might go for brick one day (though I have no source of free ones yet!).

Z

[habitat_gardener]

I've used wood chips (free from tree trimmers) over cardboard or newspaper for almost 10 years at a community garden. The level of the paths has not changed for 2 reasons: one, the mulch shrinks as it decomposes, and two, when the mulch has turned to compost, I occasionally sift the path materials and harvest the compost.

Since the first season I've used mulch (up to 6 inches) with a light-blocking layer underneath, I haven't had to spend more than a minute a week weeding -- and that's only because the neighboring plots still nurture bermuda grass and bindweed. I did, however, spend a lot of time pulling the weeds and digging as much of the roots as I could find before the first time I mulched.

[zabby17]

habitat gardener,

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Can I ask a few questions, since it sounds like you're experienced with what I want to try?

- How often do you add new wood chips?
- What's the easiest method you've found for spreading them---presumably fill a wheelbarrow, take to spot desired, dump, rake, repeat?
- What do you use for sifting? I am not sure I'd be willing to make that effort (are you getting the idea that I'm more than a bit of a lazy gardener?), but I'm intrigued and might try it once every ten years or so. But sounds like it would need a big compost screen?

Thanks so much to all for the advice.
I see in my last post I was a bit snippy about mown grass between paths and using Roundup; I didn't mean to be, and I'm sorry! Those aren't my style but I sure don't have the one and only way to garden. b54red and ddsack, I bet your gardens look great.

Scott in Arizona, questions about those tarps---do they last more than one season? Are they heavy-duty tarps? Do you bring them inside in the off season? I've got one black tarp made out of something heavy and rubbery that the previous owneres left in their shed, and I find it amazingly useful. I turn compost on it, I lay it down over the worst, weediest paths while waiting to renew the straw, I haul leaves on it.... it's been out in my garden the seven years since I moved here and looks the same as ever.

But the tarps I've bought at the hardware store, some kind of green poly stuff, and used to cover wood piles and other things, start getting holes by the end of one year outdoors and are pretty much useless after two. I think the cold here is one of the culprits---makes plastic brittle.

Thanks again, all!

Z

[ScottinAtlanta]

It's Scott in Atlanta! I said tarps, but I should have said plastic sheets. I bought the 2 mm thick plastic sheets - 25 feet by 10 feet - for very little at Lowes or HD, and they seem to last the entire year. I walk on them, wheel on them, they work fine. I don't know if they last two seasons yet.