Suitable material for paths

hathor

Hi everyone
I am planning a new garden for a house we are buying that will be all raised (no-bending raised, not the just-above-soil-level raised) beds, mainly for the production of fruit & veg. There will be a few flowering plants for a bit of colour, pest deterrence and pollinator attracting, but it will be mainly edibles that we'll be growing. (There will be a patio area for sitting out if we ever see another summer.)
I have copied a space-efficient layout design I found online, which has made the ratio about 60% bed to 40% path. That still leaves a lot of path to construct, though. Mainly it's 2ft wide "walking" access, with some 3ft wide wheelbarrow access as well.
My question concerns what to build the paths with. It has to be economical as funds are tight, but ideally it wants to be clean ( ie not muddy during or following wet weather) and easy to maintain.
I have seen bark suggested, but I imagine that treads about when it's wet, and I don't want it trailing into the kitchen when I've been out for veg/herbs for lunch.
Straw would be messy and would have to be replaced each season. (Also, I'm thinking of a wormery rather than compost heap as there's to be no lawn and there's not a lot of spare space. Nowhere to put the used straw, therefore.)
What about old bricks? They could be swept in dry weather, but weeds coming up in the gaps might be a problem, and they could be slippery when wet. Are paving slabs any better?
Timber could rot, etc etc
As you can see, I'm rather confused.
What I'm aiming for is efficient food production (a la Square Foot-type model) in a no-digging, no weeding, no mud Townie-type clean garden, so not exactly your conventional plot!
Please can all you experienced gardeners and veg growers help me out with your wise suggestions?

annie123

Cardboard is cheap and can go in the recycling bin when it's tatty, or do paving slaps.
Might need a scrub at the start of the season to get rid of algae on the shady bits, or a jet wash, but that's it.
Decking boards are usually treated and reasonably priced. http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/fencing-paving-decking/decking/decking-boards-joists-beams/deck_boards?fh_sort_by=_price_rrp_min&fh_sort_order=1

Ash_McCloud

Woodchip is much cheaper than bark. If you contact a local tree surgeon they'll give you a price to deliver it by the van load. It does compress down to an extent after it's been well walked on so you shouldn't tread much of it into the house at all.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd be interested if you could give us a link please to that space-efficient layout design you found:), as I'm in the process of working out what sounds like very much the same sort of garden.

madjackslam

My suggestion would be .... grass.

You're mainly worried about it getting muddy in wet weather, but that's usually during the winter months when you won't be on the plot much anyway. Ensure that the gaps between the raised beds are wide enough for a mower (or actually the width of your mower), and have a decent strimmer that can do the edges. I've had six raised beds at the (damp) bottom of our garden for a few years now, and keep thinking about putting in a harder surface, but so far the grass has coped, and it's never turned to mud. Why not try it for a year and see what happens?

dreaming

The trouble with woodchip/bark is that cats often use it as a litter tray!


I have used bricks in the past but put down plastic (opened out compost bags) to help prevent weeds. Then I would just zap it every couple of months with path weedkiller. I have grass at the moment but have managed to recycle some slabs from another area of the garden so am aiming to get rid of grass as it is such a pain mowing little strips.

phoebe1989seb

We laid approximately 25m of 0.75m wide brick paths on our terrace between raised veggie beds last year. These are mortared in - or at least are currently partially done as I need to get them finished as soon as we get an extended dry spell - so no issues with weeds coming through and are not slippery when wet at all. They were reclaimed from other areas of our property and are nicely aged. We have gravel too, but I'm beginning to regret that as our eight month old Spanish Water Dog thinks the stones are snacks Personally, having had areas of bark chippings in previous gardens I wouldn't want that again......

annie123

madjackslam wrote: »

My suggestion would be .... grass.

You're mainly worried about it getting muddy in wet weather, but that's usually during the winter months when you won't be on the plot much anyway. Ensure that the gaps between the raised beds are wide enough for a mower (or actually the width of your mower), and have a decent strimmer that can do the edges. I've had six raised beds at the (damp) bottom of our garden for a few years now, and keep thinking about putting in a harder surface, but so far the grass has coped, and it's never turned to mud. Why not try it for a year and see what happens?

Grass isn't a good choice for tall raised beds because the beds will cast deep shade over some areas, and others will be in full sun. At best it requires a mixture of grass types and mowing, at worst with constant walking along the same area it will result in mud paths with grass edging.

Astro turf is a possibility but can't stand the stuff myself.