Does anyone use old carpet for garden walkways?

[Buttercup Chillin]

I doubt if old old cedar shingles were treated, they were used because they were cedar, a natural bug repulser. Except for being painted that is. Wish I could use cedar chips in the garden walkways but not with letting the chickens in there.

I like the White Clover and might just plant it this fall in the walkways. My walkways are pretty narrow. Used to have a lawn mover that fit but the one we have now is to wide. So now my walkways are weeds, mostly chickweeds and blackberry vines, looks a lot like your walkways Beekissed but its not clover, just weeds. The vines I have to dig out cause they grow wild here everywhere, there is no getting rid of them.

So, do you think White clover could smother out Blackberry Vines?

I have one more small closet yet to take out and redo. I'm tagging it for in front of the quail cages. I like Kim_NC's idea of putting gravel over the carpet for esthetics and to keep the grass out of the area for easy access. No grass, no scared quail come cutting time. One of these days that whole area will get cemented or I'll make paving stones, or could just gravel the whole thing. But hubby wants cement.

 

[Farmfresh]

I like the White Clover and might just plant it this fall in the walkways. My walkways are pretty narrow. Used to have a lawn mover that fit but the one we have now is to wide. So now my walkways are weeds, mostly chickweeds and blackberry vines, looks a lot like your walkways Beekissed but its not clover, just weeds. The vines I have to dig out cause they grow wild here everywhere, there is no getting rid of them.

So, do you think White clover could smother out Blackberry Vines?

Definitely NOT. I use white clover as a cover crop under and around my blackberry vines. The two work great together, but clover will not choke out anything. It will fill up space and provide cover so that other plants have no place to grow, but it is NOT fiercely competitive.

I use cedar mulch in my chicken pen OUTSIDE and have no problems with it. I realize that cedar inside can be a problem with the fumes and small animals, so I use only pine inside the coop.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Didn't know I could use cedar outside, just didn't think about it.

Ya, I can't find anything to get rid of Blackberry vines. Even if I did, they'd be right back the next year elsewhere, where ever birds drop them. We really aren't country but, empty lots and down by the creek is full of canes. Caney Creek is not that far from us and that's how it got its name.

It's like living in the middle of a briar patch. That's why I asked about the old carpet. I have used old house board siding and that keeps the vines under control for the most part for a few years. But I need to add another layer of something and the old siding is used up. The carpet is gone now. I don't want to gravel the walkways, cause of it getting tons of dirt mixed in when the chickens do their thing. I have to let them do their thing from time to time, I just have to, they have so much fun in there.

Right now, the war is being waged between my Hubby and one Buttercup hen that insists that it is her garden and she can go in any time she wants. She does, no matter what he does to keep her out. To bad, I can't get them to eat the blackberry vines.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I use old carpet for a lot of paths around my place and so far haven't had an issue with it, I scrape back the surface and lay the carpet face down then cover with gravel or bark and so far it's been mostly maintance free for years, esp where I've made paths in to and through the more wooded areas of my place, I have placed it in eroding areas and planted vinca that covers it well and stops the soil from washing as much, This year I used some old carpet over the tin roof of my chicken coop and it has helped a great deal keeping the coop from getting quite so hot and I can spray a bit of water over it and it keeps the roof cool for the rest of the day so I'm an advocate for it's use and keeping it out of landfills as much as we can, EL

 

[Farmfresh]

 

[Kassaundra]

I tried it for an easy cheap "mulch"......... wouldn't recommend that, the ground under it stayed DRYER the the surrounding soil, and the weight from the wet carpet compacted the soil horribly. It did however work as an effective weed barrier.

 

[Niele da Kine]

Centipedes. Really big fat centipedes which like to sting live under carpet put in the garden. Ick! Perhaps your centipedes aren't as big and nasty?

 

[Farmfresh]

I have only seen one centipede ever! I guess all of this snow is worth something!