Does anyone use old carpet for garden walkways?

[blueskylen]

we had a bunch of 18" carpet squares that we cut holes in and put around some small trees that we planted several years ago. the trees are getting too big for the holes that we cut , but the carpet easily tears in half and can be removed now. it has worked great for us.

 

[keljonma]

We have put carpet down on top of the garden in autumn after the last harvest. Let it sit there all winter long. In spring, it is easier to till (after removing the carpet).

We have the bee hive stand on carpeting and have carpeting behind the hive, so I can work behind the hive and have no worries about having to try to mow the grass back there.

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

The jute as it breaks down can be dangerous. As others said, it gets long and stringy. This can tangle and catch dogs, cats, chickens, children, etc, not just hoes. Poses quite a few potential health risks besides just the mold, even if it is 100% natural fibers.

 

[k0xxx]

Years back, we used a couple of layers of cardboard, and then covered it with straw. Eventually the cardboard and straw started to compost, when any weeds would show up, we'd just cover them with more cardboard.

We are adding raised beds again this year, and plan on doing the cardboard thing again.

 

[Farmfresh]

I often do the cardboard thing or thick layers of newsprint topped with leaves, straw or other mulch material. My favorite way around the bedding plants and tomatoes.

 

[Kim_NC]

We use pieces of carpet or old rugs at doorways to our outbuildings, then cover them with gravel or other small stone. It keeps the entrances clear of weeds, looks decent and eliminates having to weed eat in those areas.

In the garden we use newspaper, cardboard and spent hay from the chicken coops or barns. Those items biodegrade more easily for the soil - and don't have as many potential residues as synthetic carpet & carpet backings. Plus....shabby carpet is kinda hard on the rototiller.

 

[sparks]

I have had friends do this for years. They have a great garden. Where they grow their plants they have heavy duty black plastic. Every year they rotate the plastic to the next bed. It has been very successful. Sounds like a lot of exrta work to me though. But I envy their lovely gardens.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm with Farmfresh and use the WD clover. Makes for soft ground cover when you are down on your knees attending to plants, no mud on your shoes....a little damp when you go out when the dew is on, though.

Here is a pic of my pathways this year from overseeding the garden with clover last year:

In a couple of years, one could reverse their garden and plow up the clover paths and reseed their old beds with clover...just to get some fresh and nutrient soil for crop rotations.

 

[Icu4dzs]

Old carpet appears to have a multitude of issues, not the least of which seems to be the decomposition of the jute backing leaving a lot of synthetic materials in your garden soil.

I like the idea of the clover walkways. Natural, no poisons or synthetics and easy.

I have recently re-roofed one of the buildings on my farm (there are 10 of them) and after getting through all the old asphalt shingles, I found two layers of cedar shakes which were really old and deteriorated. After getting all of them off the one section of the roof (10 x 64) of which there are 4 sections, I decided it would be a shame to just burn all that cedar. It is dry and very thin. So, I have begun to re-cycle it in several ways; of which the first is using it for mulch around the edges of the garden and for paths in the garden. It is biodegradable and natural.

While I do wonder if there are any "treatments" in cedar shakes, the effect has been remarkable. Running all those old shakes through the mulcher takes some time, but the rich, thick mulch appears to be just wonderful.

Anyone have any concerns about recycled cedar shakes, now would be a good time to tell me as I just put it down a little while ago.

I'm using a good bit of it as kindling for my wood burning stoves, too!
Best
Trim

 

[hwillm1977]

We took the cedar shake siding off most of our house last year... we just used it as fire starter/kindling all winter. I never thought of garden mulch, but that sounds like a good idea. I know mine were treated/stained with something at some point, the shingles on the north side of the house were red, the south side had faded to grey in the sun... so I have no idea what was on the shingles.