Bermuda grass will find the edges, find light and start to grow in the wood chips and into your gardens. All is not lost.
You will have to diligently watch the edges and remove the grass white root and all to get it under control, Every piece of root will sprout new growth. It is really not as hard as it seems, it just require persistence. I have had good luck using cardboard covered with chips. (its free) you can get big heavy sheets like what is used to package bicycles and refrigerators. The cardboard prevents light from reaching the grass and hence it dies of starvation. You sill have to watch the edges and if the grass comes back in a couple of years, repeat the process. I agree with Mike you should not have to pay for chips, unless you are really into designer chips, ie controlled sizes and specific species. Ray Schutte "The truth of the matter is that the flower has cleverly manipulated the bee into hauling its pollen from blossom to blossom." The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike McGrath Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 9:38 AM To: Vinnie Bevivino; [email protected] Subject: Re: [Community_garden] path construction 1) My first thought is that you should never have paid anything for woodchips. They cost a fortune to landfill and people are often paid to take them--not the other way around. 2) My inbox is filled with horror stories about landscaping fabric--weeds growing through it and then it being impossible to remove. hope you fare better. 3) I love the wood idea! Philadelphia used to have several streets made of wood. ----Mike McG ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vinnie Bevivino" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 12:31 PM Subject: [Community_garden] path construction > We're redoing our paths at the Master Peace Community Garden, and I > wanted to ask what people have had success with. > > Last year, our first year, we made woodchip paths, both wide "main" > paths for wheelbarrows, and woodchip "secondary" paths to divide the > plots. We had a hard time fighting bermuda grass, and the problem is > that it just grows through the woodchips and when you weed them half > of the woodchips ends up underground. We wasted a lot of expensive > woodchips this way last year. We have rebuilt out "main" paths using > landscaping fabric with woodchips on them, and then lined with brick. > But we're scratching our heads about the "secondary" paths that serve > as borders between the paths. > > Our best idea is to use 10x2 lumber, laid right on the ground. We > have a local store that sells reclaimed wood from deconstructed > buildings, and its great hard wood, not treated. It would presumably > last for a long time (5 years?). It gives us the weed protection, and > the semi-permanence (we can move it around if we want, but it isn't > going anywhere). Its also fairly cheap. > > Does anyone else have any better ideas? Has anything worked, or not > worked, in hotter areas that have horrible weed problems? > > Thanks a lot, > > Vinnie Bevivino > Community Garden Educator > The Engaged University > Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program > University of Maryland > > The Center for Educational Partnership > 6200 Sheridan Street > Riverdale, MD 20737 > 301-405-0656 > engagedu.umd.edu > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of > ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and > to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org > > To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.commu nitygarden.org > > _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.commu nitygarden.org _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
