Edging Beds

Edging Beds

I avoided putting wood planks around each bed. While it looks neater, the wood provides a cool, damp shelter for slugs and snails. I certainly didn’t want that. So, I just dug each bed and left the grassy, weed-infested pathways between them.

This year, I noticed that plants closest to the pathways were not doing so well. As many of the weeds spread underground, I concluded that they were encroaching into the dug beds because there was no boundary to stop them. Also, the pathways were drawing water from the soil around my plants.

I considered using raised beds, but that would require a lot more compost and topsoil. Instead, I decided to create a boundary using air. It’s cheap. By simply marking the edge of each bed by pushing my spade into the soil, I created a void that weed roots couldn’t cross, and prevented the pathways from leeching the water and nutrients away from my plants. Each bed will require me to remake that void every few days, especially after rain has washed the soil into the gap.

Even without having straight lines and perfect corners, the beds look neater. It remains to be seen if it works out as planned.