Gardening for Keeps
(Page 3 of 4)
October/November 2008
By Barbara Pleasant
For the first year or two, you can let pathways go green and mow them, but as compaction increases over time, very few plants are likely to grow in heavily used pathways. Just like trampled footpaths in the park, repeated footfalls eventually make garden pathways unsuitable for plants. This is good! It means less mowing or hoeing, and you should be able to keep pathways clear with a durable mulch, such as wood chips, which are often free from tree-trimming crews. You can place sections of wet newspaper or cardboard under wood chips or any other mulch to enhance weed deterrence, but stay away from non-biodegradable weed barriers. After organic matter accumulates on top of fabrics or plastics, weeds start pushing their roots through the stuff, and in my experience you end up with a mess of weeds and shredded plastic or geotextile fibers.
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Factor in appearance as you choose pathway mulches. If your vegetable garden is your favorite destination in your yard, let it look the part. There is nothing wrong with going for the well-groomed look of shredded hardwood mulch (undyed, of course). Sawdust mulch keeps its neat, good looks all summer, or you can use hay, straw or pine needles. Experiment with various pathway treatments using locally available materials until you find a plan that pleases your eyes, your feet and your garden.
What Goes Where
If you divide your garden into zones based on how much and how often each area is used, you will probably find that culinary herb beds, composting spots and the clutter-prone area near the water faucet receive the heaviest traffic. Bringing these elements together into a garden control center can streamline maintenance in a hard-working food garden.
We know better, but few of us put away all of our tools and toys at the end of a gardening session. At my house, digging forks and hand trowels became much easier to find after I marked the handles with red plastic tape or paint, and I seldom lose brightly colored gardening gloves, buckets or trugs.
You will never again drag a hose over a newly planted seedling if your beds are protected by hose guides, which can be purely practical (pieces of 1-inch pipe placed over rebar stakes) or as whimsical as you dare (old golf clubs or croquet mallets stuck into the ground). The best hose guards rotate when a hose rubs against them, so any weatherproof cylinder that can be popped over a sturdy stake will do. To blend function with beauty, cut pipe into 12- to 16-inch pieces, paint the pieces with metallic copper paint, and then use silicone caulk to mount large marbles (such as what you’d find at toy stores) in one end of each piece. Slip over rebar stakes that protrude about 10 inches from the ground, and you have faux copper hose guides with glass finials.
