Many of you have asked about why this vegetable garden has grass paths, and whether it creates issues such as slug problems. I decided to create a video to explain in more detail about why this garden has grass paths, the benefits and drawbacks of them as well as the only alternative I would personally consider to a grass path for a vegetable garden.
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I end up with grass paths because I’m cheap, but they can be beautiful also. I made the new ones big enough to use a lawn mower that collects the trimmings. That gives me additional mulch. I would like a gravel or brick path, but I’m morally opposed to landscape fabric, so grass it is.
I am trying to avoid grass the wood chip is my choice by a country mile.
5:49 I found the trick to catch and remove slugs very helpful! No poison. very little work. Effective.
I don’t use grass because we don’t get enough rain and need to irrigate and pay high water bills! I admit it looks nice and is soft on feet and knees.
I prefer the grass path it sure looks much neater and not hard to maintain ..
Knees and aesthetics. Two great reasons for grass paths. When the pandemic is over I’m moving to an arid inland area of Southern California. I’ll try grass paths the first summer and see if they survive. I love the slug and snail solution. Much better than pesticides, not as gross as plates of beer, and less hassle than getting a duck.
Love watching you enjoy your garden. Big flat stones for my paths but I need to hang on to every bit of moisture I can. Thanks again:)
I have grass path with my raise beds. They work well.
Although I prefer grass, I am getting yellow slabs put down between my 3 raised beds as, after getting top soil I got chickweed, having got rid of it I got more top soil elsewhere and then got scutch grass and, although it has been removed, it was sliced off, not dug out, so there are still roots and the ground is stony because I had a concrete building removed and the gravel around it was supposed to be raked off before the top soil went on – I later found out that the gravel was still there.
Removing the chickweed left me with a bit of a shoulder blade muscle issue. I am unable to use a strimmer, my lawnmower is good (though a little heavy) and I think it would be hard to go in-between and around the beds and I'd still need to do the edges.
On the plus side! The rest of the garden now has a small fruit bed, a herb bed and grass on half of it. The remainder (that also had scutch grass) has a small apple tree, a cherry tree and a simple water feature. I am planning a wild flower explosion with some shrubs and scented plants, but I am eyeing it up as somewhere to plant potatoes as well.
I hope no one minds me wittering on; in these unusual days, I find the opportunity to 'talk'/write my thoughts invaluable.
Oh, battle of the sexes! Every man that has been in my garden has said that I ought to have kept the huge concrete building as a turf shed or workshop and every woman has said 'thank goodness you got rid of that'.
After 3 years I’ve had to give up on my beautiful green grass paths. The grass here sends roots under the soil into my beds and they were becoming a solid mat of grass. Even my one tall bed (24inches) was being invaded by grass. You must have better behaved grass in Wales 😉
The paths in my 'inherited' walled garden are covered with shingle, with membrane underneath. It was probably laid around 10 years ago and does need attention. It is in keeping with the rest of the garden, so would probably keep the same, although wood chips would be a possible alternative. Looking forward to starting your course – hope all going well!
I like the idea of grass paths but one thing you didn't touch on is if your plot has a particularly nasty weed issue, marestail in my case, then grass paths won't work. I can't use slabs either as I need to continually dig the roots out to keep it in check.
Aesthetics. Ver ver important.
Anyone had the thought about white clovers? It is a nitrifying plant but I am afraid it would become too strong and weedy?
Excellent, thank you. It was a question I was going to ask.
im seeing if i can mulch out grass at the moment with leaf litter (chop n drop) but if it doesnt work ill just strim, compost doesnt make a good mulch, woodchips may not even, but layers of leaves should act like a weed mat (in my brain), the only reson i compost is because i need a pile to bury all the kitchen waste in otherwise ill atract too much wild life and they will destroy my garden
What a beautiful garden…
Dandelions are full of vitamins , they are not a weed. I make dandelion ice tea , dandelion honey , dandelion vinegar. A very healthy plant.
I like both, I had wood chip paths with fabric underneath at my allotment and it made it much easier to kneel on and maintain. Weeds will grow in it but they were very easy to take out and much easier than having to strim all the time. Great info and advice as always. Take care.
Ha, suitable footwear! I usually wear slippers, and then barefoot after I water my feet, but most of my garden is paved, so I can.
I think your grass paths are beautiful and a great source of compost/mulch material. I have woodchips and no sides on my beds so I just rake the mulch over my beds as needed and re-dress the paths in the fall. Love woodchips in the orchard, veg, and flower beds as I am in a very dry area.
Very timely. We are making our first garden this year and I'm trying to come up with a solution for permanentely muddy grass paths. I'm thinking crunched pine cones. Maybe it would deter cats as well. I didn't really want to waddle in mud but I didn't think about the safety hazard! Thanks!
Also, I have one question, your raised beds seem on a slope. How big of a slope is too big? I'm wondering if I could just let mine be or if I should level it.
I'm thinking that wire worm infestations might occur more frequently with grassy areas close to the beds.
Hello from Alberta, Canada. I was wondering what is the best type of grass for garden areas because we killed our grass by walking on it, taking wheel barrels through it etc.