Does anyone have any ideas on how to solve drainage problems on paths? I just backhoed 2 terraces on my hill and installed 2 long raised beds (48'x4'). Drainage in the beds appears to be okay in most places. Drainage on the paths beside the beds is another matter entirely. The mud is so deep that my shoes get sucked off! Apparently, water is percolating naturally from the hill (there might even be a small spring). Anyone have an idea on how to solve the mud problem? Thanks in advance for your ideas!

Are your paths grass, rock or dirt? If it's just dirt, then the water has no where else to go. I would go for grass paths, or even rock for drainage. My garden is done in strips 50ft. X 5ft. with 3ft. strips of grass in between. This way I never have to walk in mud to get to everything. It all all be reached from one side or the other. Nice to go out after a rain and not get knee deep in mud. It's a pain in the arse to keep the edges from growing in, but it's worth it. Looks so nice too. Funny, the "oma" (German for grandma) who lived here did the same thing and I didn't know it at the time I did mine. De'javu or what? Strange things happen!

My garden has a natural under ground springs running through it.. When I had problems with muddy paths I had to wait for them dry up ,late summer and than my husband dug down and placed crush/run and plastic drain pipe down so the water would run away from the garden, he than put down more stone on top of the paths and that worked it's way down into the dirt, last year he put down 3 inches of wood chips and it has been dry,,,Now as soon as I lay out a new row for my boxes we put in drain pipe in the path...

I want to say this was the second garden I put in. The first we could not get to dry up so I moved the garden to what I thought was going to be a drier spot...

Paths were dirt with hydroseed. After all this rain in the Northeast, the hydroseed washed away and now I'm left with just mud. I think the landscaper put some loam down on the paths. I'm thinking that the loam didn't belong there and that the paths should have been tamped down to compact the dirt. But if the dirt is compacted... will anything grow? Grass? Clover? vetch? Maybe I should just truck in some mulch?

Are you saying that the rocks don't work b/c they get sucked down into the mud? Also, I've never heard of crush-run. What is it? Do you think a thick layer of mulch might solve the problem without all the other work?

Crush and Run is a stone and stone dust mix.My husband says just ask for RC-6 or a stone about 1-2 " in size.. the RC-6 is a recycled concert that meets EPA standards.. You need to put the stone down to help firm up the ground and make better drainage...I could not get my paths to dry up without all the work... If we had a fairly wet spring or even some big rains in the summer it all just turned to mud...I don't think just putting down the wood chips alone would help because it is not improving the drainage problem... you have to get the water to move...