Topic: Making a path

[hoonteo]

I've dug out a bit of a shallow ditch next to my first raised bed, am thinking of turning this into a path. Like I say, it's a shallow ditch, so what should I fill it in with?

[Lauren S]

Hi Hoonteo
How about covering the path with weed suppressant first and them top with chipped bark 
Lauren :)

[hoonteo]

That's a good idea, except that the ground is really boggy, by which I mean it really pools. Thats why I'm going to turn it into a path, plus it's next to my raised bed. As the land is on a bit of a slope, I've had to put a line of bricks under the bed at that end to make it level so I've got to fill the path in partly to hold the bricks in place. Hope I'm making myself clear.

[manicscousers]

we stuk some sand under the weed control before we put the wood chip on, it helped us  :)

[Gazfoz]

Pea shingle looks good if you don't mind spending a few quid down at the old B+Q

[Hyacinth]

...or Wickes or a builders merchants if there's one nearby...

[saddad]

Old hardcore, broken bricks and the like can usually be found on a lottie site.. use them to bring it up to the general level and you'll need less of the pretty/expensive stuff..
 :)

[hoonteo]

My husband's suggestion was to use a dry cement and sand mix and then put broken paving on top. How about this: two lenghts of wood on either side to hold the sand/cement mixture in and then broken paving on top, if needs be use bricks etc to bring it up near to level if needed first?

[euronerd]

I dropped dead lucky: I found some rubber sheets that had apparently been the base in a children's play area. They're about 2" thick and a sort of dense sponge. I've only had them laid for a few weeks but it's looking promising. 8)

Geoff.

[hoonteo]

I went back to the allotment today and i thought i'd tell you all aboutwhat i did. I've filled the ditch in with old bricks that I've found on the site which brings it up near level, and its looking good. It's got rid of the puddle. Its also given me an idea of where I want to put the next raised beds, basically four in a square with two paths intersecting.

[RobinGriffiths]

Yes wood shavings. I get a trailerload for £5 from a small timber/forestry place near Pwllheli. Newspaper covered by a 2" layer of woodsavings works well - still looking good 2 years on. The newspaper appears to have rotted away by now, but no sign of weeds. I'll probably top it up with another 1" or so this year.

[manicscousers]

hiya, robin..welcome to the site..we get our wood chippings free, if we pick them up from the recycling centre  ;D