This time last year we decided to convert a garden bed attached to our outside deck to a gravel pit. Our now 4 year old was obsessed with all things related to construction so we thought it would be a great way for him to play with his construction vehicles, get his sensory play and finally get some of the mess out of our house and into the yard.
To build our gravel pit, we did the following easy steps:
- Kill the growth in the area we intended to use.
- We did this by using a hoe to break up the weeds and roots in the area. I have also heard of people laying plastic or cardboard down for a week to kill the growth.
- Laying down a weed barrier
- Honestly, we just used the cheapest weed barrier we could find. Since we planned on filling the area with gravel, we didn't need anything fancy. Gravel is too cumbersome for most plants to growth through anyway.
- Framing the gravel pit with treated wood
- Filling the gravel pit
Easy peasy!
As I mentioned before ours has lasted a year and it has been great! The kids are still interested in it. It just takes a new toy to make it fresh. Speaking of fresh. The trees around it blow leaves into the gravel pit. And occasionally curious rolly pollys wander it. Its not a big deal. We just sweep the debris off of it every few months and add a fresh bag of gravel. It's been pretty easy to maintain!
