Edging

[paco1942]

Before laying the track I dug a ditch about 6" wide & 3" deep & I used lawn edging on the sides before filling the ditch with fine Blue Stone chips.

Over the winter I noticed that the edging, I guess because of the ground freezing, lifted about 3/4" - 1" from the original placing.

Besides taking the edging out, is there anything that I can do to prevent this from happening???

thanks, frank

[Anonymous]

I have the same problem and I have yet to find a solution myself other than stuffing the edging back in. Every year my wife tells me to pull it out. After the railway bed is established not having the edging shouldn't be a problem- At least according to my wife.

[bman36]

Hey Guys,
Anything that sits above the frost line will move. If you want the edging to stay put it will mean driving stakes into the ground and nailing the edging to the stakes. With our Canadian climate that means stakes at least 4' long. Depending on where you live will determine how long your stakes will need to be. Other than that I would say pull it out. Hope this helps you out. Later eh...Brian.

[d4fal]

Winter frost will continue to upheave your garden, including not only your edging but also any rocks located in the soil within the frot line of your area. If you are in a northern climate, that could be quite deep. The edging would be the least of your problem if you were say in an area where the frost line goes over 8 feet into the ground. If that were the case, remove the edging or replace it ever spring. A deeper gravel base or some sort of drainage system may be required to get the water out of the equation, but if you have a clay type soil, water will pool in the gravel. There really is no solution that would be worth while doing if this is the case, as the required ground work is definitely beyond most of our abilities or time.

Either redo the edging in the spring when you regrade your right of way or remove the edging (which was there to prevent the gravel from getting silted as the water moves through the soils to the path of least resistance which turns out to be your trench filled with gravel) to save the hastle of replacing it to where you want it. This regrading gives you the opportunity to change your track in the spring anyway.

Good luck, and hope you don't have to do too much. If you are asking at this time of year, that suggests that you are south enough that deep frosts is not your issue.