[rowe1311]

My present veg beds are made up of four slightly raised beds with paths that have a black plastic membrane with bark chippings on top.  The chippings are a good few years old now so not acting as a very good weed suppressant.  I have had to start weeding the paths as much as the beds. 

I was thinking that I would remove the black plastic and sow a green manure crop on it instead.  That way the green manure would suppress the weeds, I would harvest the green manure and use it as a mulch or compost it. 

The only problem with this is the paths have a lot of foot traffic and I am not sure if they would withstand this.  My initial thought would be hungarian grazing rye as it is thick and grows quickly but not sure how tough it is. 

Has anyone else tried a green manure in their paths and if so which ones would you recommend?

Angela
 

[Kirpi]

I thought about doing this with white clover, but thought better of it as slugs love this stuff and the paths would become easy ways for more slugs to hide and travel between beds.

I decided I preferred the bare compacted soil between beds making it easier for birds, frogs and hedgehogs to pick slugs off as they come out from the cover of my veggies!

[shokkyy]

How about creeping thyme or chamomile? That would smell gorgeous every time you walked on it.

[Kirpi]

sounds great, but wouldn't make very good green manure

[mumofstig]

the trouble with the idea is that you want plenty of leaves to grow for composting, but they are the kind of plants that won't like being trodden on 

[Salmo]

  

Has anyone else tried a green manure in their paths and if so which ones would you recommend?  

I use grass and mow it. The cuttings either go on to the compost heap or are used as mulch. Grass paths that are seeded or turfed are better behaved than those which are just left to form from whatever weeds grow, which is usually couch.

[kitch]

Cant beat carpet you have to wipe your feet when you come in my allotment and not a weed in site

[Yorkie]

Cant beat carpet you have to wipe your feet when you come in my allotment and not a weed in site

True but a) it's banned on many sites; b) it probably contains lots of toxins which are leaching into your soil; c) it can disintegrate; d) persistent weeds can grow through it.

Banned for good reason in my view 

[sunshineband]

I just top up the woodchip from time to time - werks fer me, no trouble 

[Kirpi]

The trouble with green manure paths is they dont stay pure. It's not long before the dandelions move in, then you have the clocks to contend with and more weeding than you can manage.

I tried this on one path and decided against it.

Bare earth and woodchippings mean slugs and snails have to risk travelling across no-mans-land to get from one bed to the next and this is where they can fall foul of natural predators. Also, no weeds encroaching on your veggie beds.

[rowe1311]

thank you for all your advice.  i guess i won't be going for green manures and should just look for a good source of bark chippings. 

We once hired a shredder from hss but it was so useless that it took hours to chop up bits of privet.  Does anyone know of any hire companies that hire out decent shredders, because that might be the cheapest option for us. 

   

[gowing238]

A mate of mine is a tree surgeon.He produces hug e amount of bark waste and to him it is an expensive to dispose of by product. He regualarly drops off a ton of the stuff around once a fortnight when his trailer is full to our local allotment. (for free of course!!)) Have a look in your local paper for these services and im sure youll find a happy free supply!

[sunshineband]

Our council supply it when they have had tree work done