[sweet nasturtium]

We're talking about 140ft!!! so no fancy schmanzy garden centre kits please.  My neighbour pours a line of chemicals down the edges of hers.  Good idea?  I have roots spreading across really deep underneath the soil and then coming back up again.
Ta.

[WG.]

I use wood - in my case 8 inch sections of oak staves cut from whisky barrels.  Simply knocked into the soil to just over half their depth.

[gobs]

It can be a bit of a hassle most people use barriers of some sort, like WG, or a lot of them dig a trench between path and garden.  I've got a good old furrow hoe to use for that.

[sweet nasturtium]

A good idea to maybe dig a trench for now and put a barrier in as I acquire materials (no whisky barrels down here in sassanach lands wg).  I'm taking that a furrow how means a draw hoe with a pointy blade instead of a flat blade?

[muntjac]

no a furrow means a half trench ...straight sides down from the grass side .then when the grass grows out from this .,,,, nuke it :twisted:

[Trillium]

I have paths going every direction and if I dug the V shaped furrows around all the edges, all the resident clumsys would have sprained ankles, so I solved my problem by using black plastic barrier edging made for this purpose. It's all recycled plastic, the strips are 20 ft long, and you can get them 3.5" to 5" tall (depending how deep your wallet is).  The top edge is rolled to help keep dirt, etc, from creeping over. For years I've used the 4" tall ones and find they're adequate. Can't use the pesticides here as we've got too many pets and ground feeding birds running about.
The previous owner here used 3.5" tall strips of metal about 18" long (possibly roof edging) but all the couch roots pushed around the overlaps so it was of no use.

[sweet nasturtium]

I found some corrugated plastic edging which might do it, it would still cost me around £40 to do just the length of the path though...  and you may know how frugal I am. :?

[jack russell]

go to your nearest pvc supplier as in cladding etc.  scour through the skip each week depending of course on how often its emptied shouldn't take to long to get enough

cheers


jr

[shaun]

get some paving slabs and pave over the grass

[sweet nasturtium]

Shaun so you think it's a good idea not to have any grass paths at all on the plot?  Some people have beautiful bowling green paths on our site, others have bits of carpet etc.  One gent told me the other day to get a good strimmer and strim everything except for the beds I want to keep, then put edging round the beds.  Hmmm.

[gobs]

Well, I' m not Shaun,but it can be a good idea. and as you see, there are always pros and cons. No weeds creeping in against very tidy paving, that the ants just love.  

[sweet nasturtium]

So which is worse - grass or ants?

[muntjac]

ants .mow the paths n poison the edges     " werks for me "

[sweet nasturtium]

Yes, the strim hard method seems right to me.  At least that way you get some grass cuttings out of it.  But I'll need to get a proper strimmer.  I've also realised my mistake this year - letting the grass get to seed and then strimming it.  Jeez.   :oops:

[wellingtons]

... the straight edge and then a furrow technique, but I've now found a supply of old pallets.  So I'm breaking em up and edging the path as and when I can.  It's free and not too labour intensive either as the path is already edged.