Paths and mulches

I usually use pea straw as a mulch in the veggie garden. It breaks down, adding nitrogen to the soil and when the veggies are finished it can be dug in adding vital organic matter to the bed for the next crop.

As you know I have a huge pile of chipped mulch from the road workers. I have decided to use some of this for the more permanent pathways in the veggie garden. I was going to plant a berry patch on the inside of this fence but decided to give the apple trees on the outside a bit more room and have made a narrowish path on the inside.

One problem with the chipped mulch is that it actually takes nitrogen from the soil as it breaks down. So I spread a generous layer of pelleted chicken manure and some blood and bone under the newspaper before laying the mulch. I am hoping this will leach down to the soil, feed the apples and counteract the effect of the mulch.

For other paths in the vegetable garden I will use stepping stones, and planks of wood that I can move around depending on the crop and my need to access it. This will allow a certain flexibility with the size of plantings too.

Pea straw is cheaper when you buy it by the bale from a garden supply place or a feed store rather than in those plastic bags at garden shops and nurseries.