Spring is in the air and I’m excited about planting for this year, so I’ve been out in the sunshine doing some chores.
Cleaning out the chicken shed led to an experiment with the garden paths.
This is what the paths look like after being scraped free of weeds. I don’t like it, it sets hard like concrete (and thus doesn’t act like a sponge to capture rainwater), it doesn’t really stop the weeds (couch grass especially), it’s bare and barren and it looks horrible.
I decided to experiment with mulching the paths with a think layer the muckings-out from the chicken shed. Right now I really like it – it should protect the soil underneath and help it to become a lot more sponge-like plus give some nutritious run-off into the beds either side of the path. Or maybe it will turn into a horrible smelly sludge, grow loads of weeds, and be another place for the dog to lie in and get even stinkier …
I’ve also got a path newly mulched with cardboard (thanks Emma!)
Not sure what else to try. Quite fancy the idea of experimenting with used coffee grounds (saw that in a video the other day) but I don’t think we produce anywhere near enough to do even one small path. Might still give it a go though.
What I have used for garden paths here is first a layer of cloth to keep the weeds down (or two or three layers…), then a layer of cardboard and then woodchips. The woodchips are rough on bare feet, but look beautiful and within a year or two compost into wonderful soil. Also, fungi love woodchips, so we got a lot of mycorrhizae growing in the woodchips and then wandering into the garden beds and helping the plants connect.
Have fun experimenting and see what works for you!
Hi Luise, that sounds great! I do use cardboard and it works really well, I just can’t get enough of it – hence experimenting with other types of mulch. I do like to walk around the garden in bare feet though