• Has anyone just put landscape material down under gravel and found that to be just fine around raised beds? If so, what type of gravel(how big)?

I have something similar - I put down heavy landscape fabric and pea gravel. It’s easy to walk on and looks neat (tidy) (ignore the fabric in the beds - we have gale force winds here and they’re there to protect the baby plants in the spring, once we shore them up)

Candace - Love the pea gravel look. Does the landscaping fabric keep the weeds out?

How well this is going to work is ENTIRELY location dependent.

As is about 99.9% of gardening/landscaping.

Kendra’s - yes, so far so good - this will be summer #3!

So i can do pea gravel if only landscape material underneath with no base gravel and sand? Doesn't need to be a bigger gravel? Ive read that since pea gravel is round it moves more than a bigger flatter gravel with more weight. Also, Ive read that a smaller gravel can get stuck in the bottom of shoes.

The problem with any of this is weeds. How big a problem that is depends on where you are.

Where are you?

We had a couple walkways we put in around our flowerbeds, and had put limestone down and pea gravel on top. It's horrible as the limestone has made its way to the top and I just do not like the look of the blend going on. Will be redoing and using just pea gravel and stepping stones. I find pulling weeds therapeutic, lol.

I have heard that pea gravel is hard to walk on, can shoot out onto the grass and sinks when you walk on it, yet so many paople have it. I am looking to put it with stepping stones(pavers) around raised beds which have metal fence around them with a gate. Should i use pea gravel or something larger? Looking for easiest to walk on that won't sink when walked on or shoot out onto grass. Will just have landscape material underneath. Also, i would like to be able to push a wheelbarrow on it fairly easily.

Maybe look into crushed gravel if available in your area.

You haven’t identified your climate and surrounding properties. It would be a nightmare where I am due to accumulation of weeds spread by seeds, leaves & debris blowing in. As opposed to those lovely pics of pottage beds surrounded by gravel in arid climes with no trees nearby. But, you might have the right environment it.

I live in wisconsin. Winters can be very cold with a lot of snow. Summers can be into the 90s and humid, but usually upper 70s and 80s. I have one apple tree behind the fence of the garden and about 4 ft of rasberries inside the fence right by the tree. No other trees right by the garden. The rest of the garden is 26 ft by 13 ft all fenced in with metal fencing that has holes in it that is not quite 4 1/2 ft high.

Last year before putting in the raised beds( two tall 4 x 8 and two lower 3 x 4 beds), I put down landscape material and didnt do anything else. The landscape material is fine around the beds where there are smaller walkways, but it pretty much shredded everywhere else, which I am replacing. It looked pretty bad last year with the dirt that got onto the landscape material from the beds and the weeds that grew through the landscape material that ripped. Plus grass and weeds get through the fence when from cutting the grass and weeding right by the fence.

Now I am not sure what to do. I dont want wood chips that will decay and turn to mush during winter and always have to be replaced, but am afraid gravel would get dirt in it and weeds would grow and if qny dirt, grass or weeds got onto gravel it would be hard if not impossible to get rid of. Suggestions?

What about decomposed granite?

I have pea gravel on top of landscape fabric that was quite thick I did no sand just the gravel about 3-4" thick it has been in place for 4 years the very odd weed pops up not a big deal. The stepping stones are a great idea for walking beween beds I just have the stepping stones around my raised beds . The gravel is what I used for a large area of grass that really was awful and did nort do well with too many large trees . We also used that grvel for our driveway since I really dislike asphalt or concrete both of which keep water fome my trees . We add gravel to the drive way about every 5 yrs.

Patricia Colwel Consulting, doesn't the pea gravel sink when you walk on it? Crushed granite would be expensive and probably not comfortable to walk on. Also, that still doesn't solve the problem of dirt, grass and weeds getting all over the gravel and being impossible to get rid of.

Doesn't anyone have something around beds that is easy maintenance, doesnt get full of dirt and weeds and is easy to walk on(other than grass or concrete)?

Anyone really happy with what you hve around your beds, other than grass?

So, nobody has anything around raised beds that you like?