Woodchip path maintenance.

[Gorkys]

I installed a wood chips path in my garden last April. Anyways I made sure to install it correctly. I cleared the vegetation, and rocks, then tilled the soil and leveled it by eye. Then watered the ground for a few days until the soil started to compact itself. And finished up with a 3-4 inch layer of wood chips.

Here's to my question.. Was wondering if you guys remove all the old wood chips in your path and refresh with new ones? Or do you just top off the old chips with new wood chips? Topping off once or twice a season sounds a lot easier than removing all the old ones. But I'm worried about raising the ground to much over time. Also how often should I be topping off/removing?

[rainbowgardener]

Yes just keep adding wood chips. You won't raise the level, because the bottom ones will get pushed down into the soil and will rot away. But you need to keep on top of adding them fairly frequently. If the layer gets thin, you will start to get a lot of weeds.