[Community_garden] path construction

[Mike McGrath]

1) My first thought is that you should never have paid anything for 
woodchips. They cost a fortune to landfill and people are often paid to take 
them--not the other way around.

2) My inbox is filled with horror stories about landscaping fabric--weeds 
growing through it and then it being impossible to remove. hope you fare 
better.

3) I love the wood idea! Philadelphia used to have several streets made of 
wood.

                                            ----Mike McG
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Vinnie Bevivino" <bevivino at umd.edu>
To: <community_garden at list.communitygarden.org>
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 12:31 PM
Subject: [Community_garden] path construction


> We're redoing our paths at the Master Peace Community Garden, and I
> wanted to ask what people have had success with.
>
> Last year, our first year, we made woodchip paths, both wide "main"
> paths for wheelbarrows, and woodchip "secondary" paths to divide the
> plots.  We had a hard time fighting bermuda grass, and the problem is
> that it just grows through the woodchips and when you weed them half
> of the woodchips ends up underground.  We wasted a lot of expensive
> woodchips this way last year.  We have rebuilt out "main" paths using
> landscaping fabric with woodchips on them, and then lined with brick.
> But we're scratching our heads about the "secondary" paths that serve
> as borders between the paths.
>
> Our best idea is to use 10x2 lumber, laid right on the ground.  We
> have a local store that sells reclaimed wood from deconstructed
> buildings, and its great hard wood, not treated.  It would presumably
> last for a long time (5 years?).  It gives us the weed protection, and
> the semi-permanence (we can move it around if we want, but it isn't
> going anywhere).  Its also fairly cheap.
>
> Does anyone else have any better ideas?  Has anything worked, or not
> worked, in hotter areas that have horrible weed problems?
>
> Thanks a lot,
>
> Vinnie Bevivino
> Community Garden Educator
> The Engaged University
> Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program
> University of Maryland
>
> The Center for Educational Partnership
> 6200 Sheridan Street
> Riverdale, MD 20737
> 301-405-0656
> engagedu.umd.edu
>
>
>
>
>
>
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