Dirt mining in the woods

[bill177]

Last week I had a talk with the extention office master gardner about bringing out dirt from the woods for my garden. She thought it would be a great idea, but way too much work for a 40x60 garden.

Today I started doing just that - using my new tractor with an FEL and tiller. That dirt looks like it would grow plants from an empty seed package!

The woods has not been bothered in about 30 or 40 years. Good stuff there.

When I get finished with all the work, I'll get a new ph test to see if I have to add some lime over the winter. The ag office said it could go either way.

While I am mining dirt from the woods, I am also making a road or two in the woods. These will be great for getting me to the debris pile for tree trimmings etc.

 

[Pooh_Bear]

I was going over to my neighbors cow field where he had a hay ring last winter.
He moved the hay ring this summer. I was going over there and scooping up
the dirt/cow poop/hay and bringing it over here to my yard.
Have to let it set for a year before using it. Plan on adding it to the garden next spring.
Neighbor said I could have all I wanted and he was glad to get rid of it.
Said if I had a trailer he would even load it for me. One scoop at a time is slow.
My dirt scoop holds about a wheel barrow full, and five trips is a about a mile.
So you can imagine how long it takes me with just my dirt scoop.
Should be great for the garden tho.

Pooh Bear

 

[roxynoodle]

Year old manure and rotton straw are great mulch/fertilizer. I will load anyone who wants to take it as I have way more than I can use sometimes. When the farm fields are empty I spread it out there but sometimes I have to go a long time keeping it. Last year, for example, I had soybeans planted in April and I thought great come October when the farmer harvested. Almost immediately he planted wheat and so I was stuck til July of this year. Had quite a bit of manure by then! A friend wanted it but she also wanted me to put it in my rather new truck and bring it to her and I said nope! She should have asked before I sold my old one. So for anyone who brings their own truck or trailer, I will load you, but don't expect me to put it in my truck. For many years I had an older farmer who would come every spring and take the whole pile. Didn't have my tractor then to load it and apparently he didn't have a loader either; old guy shoveled it all in his pickup bed by hand. Took days for him to get it all but he did it. One spring he didn't come and I haven't seen him since and I can only guess he died. Makes me sad, he sure wasn't afraid of hard work all his life.

 

[Volfandt]

Sounds good.
I had the best garden crop I ever had a few yrs ago when I worked the dirt/muck into the garden that I had gotten from digging my pond out!

I dug it out again last fall and will work it in come this fall early winter.

Volfandt