Beginner Gardening: Clearing a path, 0 by drivenbonkers

drivenbonkers wrote:
I've got 33 raised 'square foot' beds in my greenhouse area veggie/flower garden, and the weeding of pathways would normally be a never ending chore. So, over the past couple years, I've been putting down either landscape fabric or sheets of newspaper under a layer of wood shavings as the garden has grown. (I've added a row of blocks each year)

There's a planing mill a short distance from my home that gives away shavings (you load, you haul). Before I found the mill and the free supply, I had purchased a few bags of shavings normally used for bedding for horses. A couple half-ton truck loads of shavings goes a long way.

The shavings will breakdown over the years, but it really cuts down on the weeding of the pathways. Besides, the wood shaving paths are really 'bare foot' friendly, and keep mud to a minimum. My dogs and cats really enjoy laying on the pathways...

This pic shows new shavings added to part of the 'original' square foot area pathways last fall. I had used scrounged sawdust over landscape fabric in this area three years ago, and it had decomposed enough to need replacement.

The thick layer of shavings (4-5") keeps the earth underneath the pathways reasonable loose/moist, so any weeds that do grow don't put up much of a struggle when pulled.

I'll need another half-ton truck load of shavings this spring, there's another part of the patio/path that needs mulching.