I have just taken on a new plot, 80m2. I'm just about to put a 5ft by 7ft shed on it and i am thinking of putting 6 raised beds on the plot all 5 x 7. My question is what to do about paths. I have NO money. so the wood is being salvaged, but the paths I dunno? I read somewhere about putting newspaper down before weed membrane? then i was going to cover with bark? Also, when i do the raised beds i was wondering do i layer the bed? i.e newspaper, cows manure bags from B&Q, and compost ? I am completely new, i grew potatoes last year and got a lot of odd shaped tatties so any advice appreciated.
Kelly
I am in same boat. NO CASH. At the moment I am constantly cutting the grass in my paths. I do intend to use old carpet. Have some coming. it was pointed out however not to get the stuff with the foam backing. Weedmat etc with bark would be good, especially if you get it for nowt.
I'm going to go for weedstop membrane (left over from building a deck last year) with bark on top (delivered to our site by a tree surgeon every few months).
One piece of advice I would give (I'm a newbie too, but have just set up the beds in my allotment) is that anything deeper than 4 foot would be difficult for me to tend the middle of the bed from the paths without standing on the bed. Of course - you might have longer arms and legs than me!
Good luck and have fun!
;D
We had to remove all the carpet from our allotments as when the Council rotavated it broke their machine. It had been down a long time on the untended sites and they couldn't see it under all the weeds and it got caught up in the mechanism of their expensive tractor like thing (whatever it is called). We now get free wood chip delivered and use that for the paths.
Hate carpet! My first plot i had, had loads of rotted carpet on it and it weighed a ton, so rolled it to the side. That plot was horrendous and i only got some potatoes in at the last minute. So I switched over to this site. The bloke who had it before me only gave it up in March so Its not too bad, i'm just taking the top off at the moment with a spade.
In which case you need the matting and bark as per your first post.
Firstly, I think youre correct in not liking carpet - it can contain all manner of nasty chemicals and as it rots it can leave behind a horrible tangled mess.
Secondly you dont NEED bark chips, nor timber etc. You might like them but at this stage why not just concentrate on really clearing some beds and add the fripperies later. I would actually clear a series of beds 4 feet wide and 20 feet long and just angle them slightly so higher in the middle. Then as and when timber/ground cover etc becomes available/affordable then add them in.
I can almost hear my dad talking as I write this and he's a miserable old git but it does make sense :D
rbt
we used thick cardboard, compost bags, cut to lay flat, black side up, with woodchip on, when we got our first plot, now we use weed control and woodchip, I used to slip on the plastic (use a stick), now I don't ;D
Quote from: manicscousers on August 11, 2008, 16:43:15
we used thick cardboard,
I used to use this for covering my beds as a weed surpressant before laying paths. It lasts months.
I made some of my paths from old bricks that I found lying around. Two one way, two the other so it holds together. I did some with some old broken flags, like crazy paving. I just laid them all so I can lift them if I get weeds coming through. I have some narrow strips of carpet (without foam back and not nylon). they are easy to pick up and chuck as they are so narrow. I cut some strips of shed roofing type stuff and used those too. I find that bark or chippings stick to my muddy boots. I just use things that I aquire for free. I made the mistake of making my beds too deep, by about a foot. I think I may rearrange them to 4 ft wide. Big job but I am sure it will be worth it in the end.
What i did is work out how far across i could reach, and it was about 2.5ft. So 5ft by 7ft beds seemed ok. I've heard a lot about 4ft by 6ft beds being most popular size. I dunno. I think i've now decided to leave the paths as grass verges for now. As my beds will be raised and have wood around them i can just mow and strim the paths. When i get a bit of money i can put down the weed control stuff or paving.
Grass verges are great, better if you have a partner with a petrol motor mower who will mow them for you once every two weeks in summer. Otherwise very hard work with shears.
The allotment site i'm on loans their tools out for a fee so we can borrow a rotavator for 50p, or the petrol strimmer for 50p and they also have petrol mowers and old fashioned push along mowers! where i was before didnt have anything like that. my husband has helped me draw out a plan. this time i am determined to do it right!!