RECLAIMING MY TOPSOIL

in #homesteading5 years ago

Quick! Before it washes away down to the creek!


Since our pastures are at an angle, topsoil runoff can be a problem. Recently, a good amount got stuck by one of our entrance gates, so I shoveled up all I could.

At one of our gates, the topsoil began to get detained as the rains tried to wash it away. along with the topsoil was things like sheep manure, Austrian Winter Peas, and Winter Rye seeds. My oldest boy "Monster Truck" and I noticed this and quickly got to work.

I removed the gate and we got started with a few shovels. I had a big flat one, so I could slide along under the topsoil buildup rather easily, and soon we were filling bucket after bucket. This stuff is a precious commodity, so there is no way that I wanted to let it go to waste.

The first time, we actually ran out of empty buckets! We filled fifteen five gallon buckets before running out, so we had a huge load to add to our raised beds! Although we are planning on building up the pasture and preventing further topsoil loss, right now the garden is our primary focus, so we are using this topsoil to build up our raised beds. It's rich and amazing soil, so I'm glad that it didn't wash all the way down to the lake.

In the garden I had a few open beds that I had just added some free "compost" to, which was basically some really old wood mulch. I wanted to add something more to it before I covered it for the winter to help enrich it, but I am currently out of rabbit manure and homemade compost. The topsoil was perfect to mix with it!

As you can see from this photo, and from the end of the video, we ran out of available straw before we got everything covered, but we like to get done what we can. For the time being, we just do what we can and then move on to the next project. It keeps us busy and saves on extra trips to town.

We will have to see if the Winter Rye and Austrian Winter Peas that had been sprouting in the topsoil will still take root or not. Some plants will simply die after being uprooted, but many are more resilient. Even if they do die, it'll just add more organic material to the soil, which is still a bonus. For the rest, you'll have to check out the video. Enjoy!

"RECLAIMING MY TOPSOIL" VIDEO

As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:


proof-of-catches-the-topsoil-before-it-got-away

Until next time…

GIF provided by @anzirpasai


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Fifteen buckets of soil!!!

Sounds like it's about time for some swales :D

Wish I was close by. Digging is fun, and digging swales is double fun.

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I think his land is fairly rocky....so digging mini swales may not be fun...
But they are the same solution I was thinking of.

Maybe mini gabion swales made from the surplus rocks.

For anyone that doesnt know...

Swales are ditches on contour(level...not following the slope down)

The water fills up a swale, deposits any soil load and then seeps into the ground. Or, if they fill up, slowly and evenly pours over the sill or the level top.

Only drawback is they can make cutting hay, or brush hogging, more difficult.

Another use for swales is planting trees in the burm(the down hill side). That makes the swale a very stable, long term, errosion prevention feature.

Ooh, the rock swales are a really great idea. Perhaps more of a fishscale swale system.

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Surely you have chickens out here, yes? If so, you definitely want to be composting the floor of their coop as well. I have had insane results growing in the site of a chicken coop I moved one spring and later gardened there. I mean like holy crap I cant believe this results. Then I was given a micro farming book as a gift, and it was basically a huge premise in the book, put up chicken runs over your raised beds in winter, plant in spring. Works a charm.

I mix in their manure in the compost, and we are cranking out a lot!

Roger that. Eggshells too, but I suspect you knew that.

Oh?

I'd never thought to move the run and plant there... We're already composting in our chicken runs, but that would be an awesome thing to try I think...

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There is something to do every day...:)...

That's neat you put big sticks over the hay.;

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It keeps it in place. Thanks @baah!

With all of your "free" stones, can you slowly build terraces

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like Rome, it won't happen overnight. but it may be an idea.

Man! I like the way you think!

Great gardening guys!! Wow! Lots of work. But so worthwhile. It will be neat to see what happens with the pea & rye seedlings that got transferred. In terms of, how much will regrow. Awesome homesteading! Love stopping by your blog ❤🙏🎶

Yeah, I'll keep an eye on them, since I'm very interested too!

Dry stone walling is a fabulous and beautiful way to level your growing areas on slanting land. Or an even cheaper method would be to make walls like you did yesterday in cages to stop the ground slipping away from you - less man hours in the long term than moving earth but I can see you needed some top soil else where for now anyway so all good work - and I see monster truck is monster big help these days too🤗 ️🌈🍀🌴🦋

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