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#1
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wood chips between raised beds?
Hi all,
We live in NW Oregon and have a 90' x 30' garden plot that we set up last spring. It's split into several long raised beds with ~1.5' paths in between. No boards or anything, just long mounds of soil with paths in between. The weeds are a real problem this spring. We tried planting a cover crop (clover) last fall but it didn't grow that well. We now have a heavy covering of weeds in both the beds and the paths. I'd like to create weed free paths for this season (we'll weed and till the beds when the weather dries up a bit, but I don't want to till the paths), and also develop a plan for keeping the weeds from coming back in full force next spring. My plan for the beds is to use a heavy covering of leaves over all of them next fall, which will keep the weeds down and will give us something to till into the soil next spring. For the paths, I'm currently thinking of weeding, covering with weed barrier cloth, and then covering with a couple inches of wood chips. I think this idea is pretty good, but I am concerned about: 1) tilling right next to the weed barrier cloth, 2) the mess it might make as soil from the beds gets mixed with the chips, and 3) what a pain it will be to clean up the chips if we decide to reconfigure the garden. So, after this long-winded explanantion...can anyone give advice about using wood chips this way? Thanks, Dylan |
#2
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wood chips between raised beds?
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#3
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wood chips between raised beds?
In article , Dylan Keon
wrote: Hi all, We live in NW Oregon and have a 90' x 30' garden plot that we set up last spring. It's split into several long raised beds with ~1.5' paths in between. No boards or anything, just long mounds of soil with paths in between. The weeds are a real problem this spring. We tried planting a cover crop (clover) last fall but it didn't grow that well. We now have a heavy covering of weeds in both the beds and the paths. I'd like to create weed free paths for this season (we'll weed and till the beds when the weather dries up a bit, but I don't want to till the paths), and also develop a plan for keeping the weeds from coming back in full force next spring. My plan for the beds is to use a heavy covering of leaves over all of them next fall, which will keep the weeds down and will give us something to till into the soil next spring. For the paths, I'm currently thinking of weeding, covering with weed barrier cloth, and then covering with a couple inches of wood chips. I think this idea is pretty good, but I am concerned about: 1) tilling right next to the weed barrier cloth, 2) the mess it might make as soil from the beds gets mixed with the chips, and 3) what a pain it will be to clean up the chips if we decide to reconfigure the garden. So, after this long-winded explanantion...can anyone give advice about using wood chips this way? Thanks, Dylan Skip the barrier cloth, that stuff will at some point sooner or later just turn out to be in the way. If the between-paths are hemmed in by the raised beds, you should be able to load on the woodshavings four or six inches. This'll last for years & years (without nitrogen to assist break down, a thick path of woodshavings is very long-lasting yet softly woodland-like to walk on, never apt to get weedy because it's not soil, & never muddy). And if the arrangement does ever need to be changed, the shavings need only be mixed into soil to then become compost. MAYBE every five years it'd be necessary to redo the woodshavings paths since worms will be working on it from the bottom, but probably only need periodic scrape off the surface which gets soil spillage mixed in it over time, use the scrapings for compost, & refresh the top of the pathways -- or just restore the surface after it compacts down over time. This type of path is used in one our local swamp parks, & appears to be low-maintenance, long-lasting, & weed-free even with dense wildwoods seeding left & right. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
#4
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wood chips between raised beds?
Dylan Keon wrote:
Hi all, We live in NW Oregon and have a 90' x 30' garden plot that we set up last spring. It's split into several long raised beds with ~1.5' paths in between. No boards or anything, just long mounds of soil with paths in between. Why not just plant lawn grass, with a stepping stone path? Mow every couple of weeks to keep it looking neat, 30 second job for each row. You'd of course probably have to move the beds, unless you can find an 18" deck mower. |
#6
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wood chips between raised beds?
I'd skip the barrier cloth. Any weed that starts up in the chips will
get its roots entangled in the cloth and be a royal pain to get out. Newspaper is a much better idea, and is what we do between our raised beds. Regards, Dianna _______________________________________________ To reply, please remove "fluff" from my address. |
#7
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wood chips between raised beds?
I compost in the pathways and cover the compost with chips. The
following spring I till the paths and sift the finished compost onto the beds. Then I add more chips and things to compost. |
#8
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wood chips between raised beds?
Dylan Keon wrote in message ...
pretty good, but I am concerned about: 1) tilling right next to the weed barrier cloth, 2) the mess it might make as soil from the beds gets mixed with the chips, and 3) what a pain it will be to clean up the chips if we decide to reconfigure the garden. So, after this long-winded explanantion...can anyone give advice about using wood chips this way? Thanks, Dylan Here is my opinion. Woodchips with plastic under is OK, but as they degrade they will host weeds. I hoe the paths a few times a year. If you are looking for a solution that will give you no problems, think hard about a final configuration, edge the beds with something that goes underground (say, cinder blocks), line the paths with plastic, and cover with gravel. |
#9
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wood chips between raised beds?
The message
from Dylan Keon contains these words: For the paths, I'm currently thinking of weeding, covering with weed barrier cloth, and then covering with a couple inches of wood chips. You won't need the barrier cloth under the paths; you might want to lay flattened card packing boxes under the chips, which will smother all the weeds to death before they disintegrate into the soil. Years ago we had a large amount of woodchips to disperse, so I laid them 4 " deep between our raised vegetable beds as a temporary path.(I didn't need the card underlay as it was clean weedfree soil). Six years later the "temporary" paths were still good; a very few weeds were starting to appear but could easily be tweaked out by hand. Even in a very wet climate the paths stay clean and pleasant to walk on. Janet. |
#10
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wood chips between raised beds?
Dylan Keon wrote:
So, after this long-winded explanantion...can anyone give advice about using wood chips this way? Hey, thanks to all of you for offering some great ideas. Instead of replying to each person I thought I'd just post at the same level. I think I'll give the newspapers and several inches of wood chips (or bark shavings) a try. I like the idea of composting some of the top layer each season. Thanks again, Dylan |
#11
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wood chips between raised beds?
1. tilling brings weed seeds up to the top where they germinate and go to town.
tilling chops up worms. unless your soil is really rock hard clay, dont till. raise the beds with wood or block and put in compost or good dirt and go from there. OR, dig a hole, amend and plant. better for food plants is a bag of sheep manure, cut drainage holes in the bottom, and X or two on top and stick the plant in. use drip irrigation. 2. if you must remove weeds, cut them down to ground with a hoe and do it before they go to seed. dont pull them as that brings weed seeds up to the top. the rotting roots will provide food for worms and other good critters in the soil. 3. use newspapers to smother weeds. cheap, biodegradable and IT WORKS. put marsh! hay over the newspapers. Start by getting the hay in fall to use as winter cover over tender plants. in spring it goes down over the walks. in fall it is breaking down and goes into the beds as mulch and is left there under plastic to rot down into organic amendments. Soon you will be able to push your hand down into the soil in the raised beds. Ingrid Dylan Keon wrote: My plan for the beds is to use a heavy covering of leaves over all of them next fall, which will keep the weeds down and will give us something to till into the soil next spring. For the paths, I'm currently thinking of weeding, covering with weed barrier cloth, and then covering with a couple inches of wood chips. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List http://puregold.aquaria.net/ www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make. |
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