Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: Rita Garner on January 02, 2006, 19:52:20
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I have just started sharing a lottie and am tasked with making the dividing path. Any ideas? The one I have had so far is wood chips between log wired edging. :-\
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Anything, but grass!
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There has been lots of discution about paths and I have progressed from carpets to weed suppressing material covered with woodchips, kindly delivered free by Halifax Tree Services.
I have heard of some sort of outdoor carpet that does not rot or fray,and is easy to take up in summer and shake. Has anybody had any experience of this? I would be interested in your opinion.
Rosemary
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We are in the process of building a path ( started last autumn ). We got loads of pallets and put wooden steaks in the ground. Got some 2" x 4" planks and took the small planks off the pallets cut them in 1/2 and nailed them onto the planks. Is going to look great when we have finished and we are doing it all from scrap wood. ;D
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There's a guy on my site with lovely grass paths, but he does put a fair bit of work into keeping them nice. There are all sorts of ways; I'm building a brick path down the centre of my plot but it's taking years. Then there are the original ones, probably built just after the site opened in 1840. They're concrete, and far too close to the hedges. When I lived in Cornwall, we used ashes from the coal fire.
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I have one long grass path!! :o Love it!! Bomb up it with a push mower once a week and it's no bother....or am I missing something...more than likely.. :-\
Paths across are just old bricks I found laying around.
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Most of my paths are either wooden pallets or slabs. A few small areas are large stones ...
I detest the idea of grass, it is always needing attention, but some people like it ...
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A good well maintained grass path can look superb, the main problem is that during the winter months they can become very slippy and muddy with use.
I have managed to slab my main path and find it much easier now
Derek
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The paths I inhereted are grass, but they are in for the chop, they are pure couch. >:(
I am going to use pine needles.
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I think I put this in another post somewhere, but anyway, remember that people start laying new patios etc in spring, especially around Easter time, so then is the ideal time to go scavenging for free old slabs. Quite a few of my paths have been made like this.
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The path I inherited up the centre of my plot was just a reservior of couch as well, and it was obvious that couch was spreading out from it across the rest of the garden, much of which had become a mat of the horrible stuff. That's gone now. I badly need the centre path though, which is why I'm making the brick one.
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think im going to get a load of weed sheet and just lay that.
wondering though how i will go on for it being hard wearing??
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Another thread mentioned keeping cardboard for paths. Doesn't this just go soggy and fall apart? And how do you keep it in place?
Yes, I haven't a clue what I'm doing :)
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I am using worn rubber conveyor belts scrounged from work.
Take about 15 seconds to lay / roll out! - point in the direction you want and kick instant path 25'X 2'.
If you know someone who works in a quarry etc may well be worth asking companies pay to dispose of these!
Ian
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My main path is concrete slabs with a stretch of rather old, slightly crumbly and very crooked concrete at one end.
On either side of this main path we have split the plot into beds about 4 feet wide and 10 feet(ish) long. These are separated by grass paths which are pretty and colourful. Maintenance consists of mowing, strimming or scything on a pretty irregular basis.
The new plot is just totally overgrown so I think we'll probably use existing grass as the paths - once we start cutting it the weeds will be controlled if not defeated ;) allowing us to concentrate on getting beds ready for planting.
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Once we edge our beds, we sieve the soil to get alot of the stones out for the carrots and parsnips to go in, this was then toss between the beds. so after 3 yrs, as we move down the plot. each path is built. a nice stone path and top off witht he wood chippings the local council provide. just barrowing up the hill to the plot was the only real work...lol
of course we had all the summer to get our plot in shape for this year.
I remember a friend made a fatal mistake by taking some gravel of the local each, which is wrong in the first place, but the salt in the mix killed his garedn...lmao. teach him
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I use a bed system with 18" earth paths between the beds (topsoil went onto the beds). I just hoe off the weeds if they pop up. The large paths up the length of the allotment (3 ft wide) are weed suppressing fabric, protected with chippings.
If I can get it free, I'm going to try a thick layer of HAY over all the paths this year, as recommended in my Booke - apparently it protects well, doesn't let the weeds grow through, and keeps soil cool and moist in summer. If not, leaves and hops, which I'll retrieve and add to the compost at the end of the season. If it doesn't work, I'll try another Booke! ;D
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I've been using 18-inch paths, and may have to rethink, as that's very narrow when you've got veg on either side; it can soon disappear under sprawling potatoes, for instance.
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YEp, mine are 2 feet and my toes still dangle in the next bed when I'm kneeling planting or weeding. ;D
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I found a site selling hessian at £1.50 a metre - cheaper than weed suppressant and biodegradable, I think. It's that stuff you nail on the underside of sofas, so it would be reasonably hardwearing - more than cardboard, anyway :) . Has anyone tried this?
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Are you sure it's hardwearing? How much wear does it get underneath a sofa?
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Thank you Robert, you're right - I do find myself edging around the broccoli so as not to tread on the broadies in the next bed.
You've encouraged me to go ahead and make the paths a little wider (2 ft) which would make the beds 3 ft wide. Not much of a loss, cos the beds can be planted so intensively - and I'll be able to reach the middles so much better than with the 4 footers.
For me, this is one of the benefits of not making permanent paths or bed edges - if you want to make changes or experiment, it's easy to do without major building works.
Only problem will be administering brandy to lottie neighbours swooning at the 'waste of growing space' ;D
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Robert, hessian (or jute) is also used for things like bags and sacks, which is why I'm guessing it's hardwearing. Didn't mean to give the impression that all the furniture in my house is upside-down :D. If I can find any locally, rather than mail order, I'll get me a strip and try it out. It looks natural too :)
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I use anything which can be lifted up easily (mostly carpet) with a few rotting plants underneath. This way I can tempt slugs off the beds and kill them every week when I peel the carpet back.
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On my plot, I've gone for weed suppressing fabric covered by wood chippings. However, the weeds have now starting growing in the chippings. They're only little annuals, but still unsightly! Am I just unlucky when it comes to weeds, or has anyone else found this?
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Since I've just spent the morning digging out creepimg buttercup and couch, I've decided my grass paths will have to go. Off to the turf stack with them.
Carboard doesn't really work too well -I've tried it.
I'm used the pruning from the leylandii in some places -certainly ok over winter.
I'm not sure what to use on the paths I create -bare earth turns to plasticene here -although it does tend to stay bare and can be hoe-d. Do bark chips work ok -I'd have though that you got a nice growing medium after a few years?
Jeremy
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I'm going to try a thick layer of HAY over all the paths this year
Whoops, I meant STRAW. Hay will just grow a lovely crop of weeds! :-[
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I may be wrong but I don't think the hessian used under furniture is the same quality material as the stuff used for sacking. From what I remember, it's a much looser weave, and tears fairly easily. It may be worth a try though.
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To my mind, things like hessian and bark chippings have one big disadvantage - they cost money! Maybe I'm just tight, but somehow, it's so satisfying to build paths etc for free ;D
Me, I'm going to be out on the hunt for more discarded slabs in the spring...
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I have no transport bar a bicycle, so I'm stuck with stuff that's luggable in a rucksack. What I'm thinking of I suppose is something that's biodegradable, lightweight, reasonably hardwearing, cheap, looks good, won't harm wildlife, and will make me a cup of tea in the morning :)
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Maybe I'm just tight, but somehow, it's so satisfying to build paths etc for free ;D
Me, I'm going to be out on the hunt for more discarded slabs in the spring...
alot of local authories are now shredding thier road side hedge trimmings and offer this to allotment holders. ours deliver a very large tipper load every 6 months. and though it has been there all summer. suddenly the pile disappeared in the last 4 weeks. the mud paths to sticky maybe....lol
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My paths are wooden edged with weed supressing fabric and the bark shreddings on top that are free from the Council. Have to say when any weeds start showing through I just put more shreddings on top. We had loads of grass on our plot including as paths but we are gradually digging them out, especially as ours were couch grass. busy_lizzie
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I have been puzzling over the same problem of how to create durable paths and it has only just occured to me that I have access to loads of coal fire ash and cinders which is exactly what used to be used many years ago. They need edging as they are not good for the soil but if you have enough of them you can just keep putting them on layer upon layer and eventually you end up with a solid weed free path. :)
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Now that's what I CALL an idea Larkspur, will def. experiment with cinders (possibly near the pumpkin patch? ::))
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Supersprout, the only problem that I can see is that you need a good and constant supply. I can get mine from a coal fired steam engine in a museum. Cheers.
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We used to use them in Cornwall. They make a really good path but you do have to keep adding the stuff.
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At the moment my paths are couchgrass. Not really sure how to deal with this? Should I edge my beds with planks, but how deep would these have to go to stop the couchgrass invading the beds? Or should I get rid of the grass and use something else? Hmm - just adds to the long list of jobs I need to do on my lottie!
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Get rid of the couch and use something else; resow if you want grass paths. It's not worth keeping it, as if you do you'll have trouble with the stuff invading your beds for evermore.
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i use wood chippings nice and thick but you do need to have some boundary such as raised beds. the chippings eventually rot away but they are free to keep topping them up. grass - a nightmare and i hugely resent spending time on paths instead of beds.