[vegypete]

hi ya i am thinkining about the paths that iwill need on my new plot,the main weeds are nettels and couch grass, if i let them grow natuerly then strim or mow them would that suffice as i am not in to bits of wood and pegs every were?............pete

[compostqueen]

I've got grass paths but they are a lot of work to keep mowed and in good order so am thinking of covering them with heavy duty sheet mulch.  The couch in the paths tends to migrate into the beds, which is a pain in the neck

They do look good once mowed though but I can't be doing with edging them darned things, so I don't bother 

[cooperman]

grass paths do need maintenance but a nicely mown strip looks nice! I have a mixture of both grass and covered membrane. The grass paths are the long straight ones and the fiddly ones are covered & edged.

As long as you have a deep gully between grass path and growing area the couch grass  does not migrate as it only runs about 4/5" below the surface, so if you have a 12" gully then it cant get across this....

[mumofstig]

the grass may not cross but you can twist your ankle in a gully  :blink:

[sunshineband]

Grass paths look fabulous when they are well maintained ... but

1. Grass needs mowing and I don't have time
2. Weeds grow in grass and if you don't mow you get their seeds where you don;t want them
3. The bit you walk on the most goes bare and gets muddy and slippy in the winter

so I have paths that are lined withe weed suppressant membrane and then covered in chipped bark.

They look neat and tidy and are safe to walk on. Get the occasional weed seed attempt to grow but easy to hoike out 

[aelf]

I have grass paths and find the clippings very useful as a mulch in between my potatoes (not everyone agrees this is a good idea, but it works for me). I also like the slightly uneven look of it - not too clinical or ordered, after all, it's my favorite place to be, as well as my veg plot

[Nikkithefoot]

I don't have any paths or beds as such on my plot. Personally I think they are a waste of good growing space. The only paths are those between plots.

[Growster...]

I have grass paths and find the clippings very useful as a mulch in between my potatoes (not everyone agrees this is a good idea, but it works for me). I also like the slightly uneven look of it - not too clinical or ordered, after all, it's my favorite place to be, as well as my veg plot

Like your idea Aelf.

The Patch has paths, as opposed to the Plot, which doesn't...

And the Patch's paths - and beds - are slightly irregular too, as there's enough straight linery around without precision growing as well ;0)

[Yorkie]

I had couch grass on my paths.  I tried strimming it regularly but as the season went on, the grass stems got thicker and more painful if I stood on them.

In the end I resorted to heavy duty weed membrane, which has killed off most of it over a couple of years and isn't muddy when I walk on it.

[Goosegirl]

grass paths do need maintenance but a nicely mown strip looks nice! I have a mixture of both grass and covered membrane. The grass paths are the long straight ones and the fiddly ones are covered & edged.

As long as you have a deep gully between grass path and growing area the couch grass  does not migrate as it only runs about 4/5" below the surface, so if you have a 12" gully then it cant get across this....

I have found that couch grass will go deeper than 5" so, nice as grass paths are, they need constant maintenance and I am going to membrane mine this winter because I need to cut down on un-essential work. Having four very active cats now, I plan to quickly spray the weeds off and cover immediately with barrier membrane. My OH will have to keep the cats indoors until it is covered; though my neighbour finds that cats don't like the smell of weedkiller and keep off the area - but I am not risking it!

[DigIt]

I started with a grass path but it became a chore keeping it cut and also tended to harbour slugs. So it was removed and I got some broken flagsstones going free.

[Yorkie]

I have found that couch grass will go deeper than 5" so, nice as grass paths are, they need constant maintenance and I am going to membrane mine this winter because I need to cut down on un-essential work. Having four very active cats now, I plan to quickly spray the weeds off and cover immediately with barrier membrane. My OH will have to keep the cats indoors until it is covered; though my neighbour finds that cats don't like the smell of weedkiller and keep off the area - but I am not risking it!

There is no point in doing this because a) the plant won't be actively growing enough at this time of year to take the chemical down to the roots, and b) even if the plant was growing actively enough, by covering it up you will stop it growing and therefore the chemical would not reach the roots anyway.

Best to just cover it up now.  If you wish to use weedkiller, leave it until the spring, remove the cover, spray, and allow to work for a few weeks before covering up again.

[bazh]

I think grass paths look really good if properly looked after and having a bit of a gully is a good idea to stop the grass encrouching on to the bed, but unless your retired and get to spend all day on your plot I'm guessing your time could be put to better use than looking after them.

[Allotment Jon]

I know this is cheating a bit but I have looked at Astro Turf type cut offs on sites like ebay. With a bit of weed free membrane under it it may work  and I could win best kept plot of the year involving very little maintainance.

[sunshineband]

I know this is cheating a bit but I have looked at Astro Turf type cut offs on sites like ebay. With a bit of weed free membrane under it it may work  and I could win best kept plot of the year involving very little maintainance.

It is not cheating it is a great idea, especially if you pin it down firmly so it doesn't slip