After participating in a workshop put on by the extension office and THE Ohio State University last night, I want to bring you a re-cap of what I learned. The topic was “Dealing With Damaged Suburban Soils“, this is the entire handout that I received by Joe Boggs.
1. Many times when a suburban neighborhood is being developed, the top soil is harvested and sold, leaving only the subsoil. Removing this precious natural resource, that takes many, many generations to be re-created (longer than most of us will live!), is a disgrace. I didn’t know this, but it didn’t surprise me either. That explains a lot, doesn’t it?
Those of you with really crappy suburban soil can bet that this probably happened in your neighborhood.
What to do?
In these cases, top soil must be re-introduced, no other way around it.
2. Knowing the history of your land can help diagnose what is wrong – Joe talked about subdivisions that were built on top of what used to be a stone quarry. Can you imagine trying to grow something there?? Geez.
Asking around of the older folks in the area can reveal the former use of your land.
3. If your land was previously farm land, that doesn’t mean that it’s as healthy or fertile as it could be – Compaction can be a serious problem for soil, whether caused by heavy farm equipment over the years or especially trucks and heavy machines/cranes used to build.
4. Aggregation is instrumental in repairing and restoring poor soil (see above illustration). Putting back composted matter, good bacteria and insects will improve poor top soil.
5. Soil testing- The best way to know for sure the make-up of your soil is to have a soil test done, especially if you’ve tried to improve your soil without much success. Call your local extension office for details.
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When we put our raised garden bed in along the side of the house, Jon went to his grandpa’s and filled in the dirt from a compost pile Grandpa had going for years and years. That raised bed yields great. We couldn’t keep up with the tomatoes and the onions grew until December. Sounds like your class is interesting!
Sara,
Wow, that’s awesome! Go you! Loving the class.
When my neighbors built their house, they had fill soil placed on their lawn to add soil. To this day, the grass looks terrible compared to ours. There’s very little in the soil to nourish the grass.
In our yard, I hauled in pickup truck loads of leaf mulch, free from the county’s transfer station. I used the leaf mulch to build our vegetable garden and build up the flower beds. Everything grows well in our yard. I’ll never regret those hundreds of trucks loads.
Barb,
Good for you! You obviously knew exactly what to do!
Our soil is thick clay. When I read about the top soil being scrapped off I thought “That is our yard!”
I have been wondering something but this doesn’t really touch on it and I have found limited info online. We get tons of junk mail; credit card offers, etc that needs to be shredded. Can this be used in the garden? I hear lots about newspaper but not regular printed paper. This seems like a two-birds-with-one-stone solution to me. The only thing I found about it says to add paper to composts but not too much or it will unbalance the mix.
My thought is to cover the garden area with shredded paper then till it in before we plant. I have also been saving newspapers to use for weed control. Our yard also gets really wet when it rains and stays that way for several days. Which might be a better solution, irrigating for drainage or adding sand or something else to the soil so the water won’t sit on top? Everytting we plant in taht part of the garden drowns!
Amy,
I can’t speak to the junk mail, but I do know that newspapers are printed with soy-based inks and should be safe for your garden. HOWEVER, the newspaper adds carbon to your garden which could affect your pH and may not be your best bet for what you’re trying to accomplish.
Further, I would compost my newspaper and then add it to the garden. Adding good compost along with vermiculture (worms) should help your heavy clay soil. We have heavy clay where I live and adding aged manure mixed with wood shavings, compost and worms have made a world of difference.
The best thing to do with the junk mail is to try to get off their lists so you don’t get it in the first place. All junk mail can be recycled so just add the shreds into your regular recycling pickup. There is some kind of website to use to get rid of junk mail…maybe someone else knows it.
We use shredded newspaper in the compost bin on the counter. I tear about 2 pages into strips and put in bottom of bowl. Every time I add scraps I add another layer of paper. Added benefit is it keeps the scraps “fresher” and no smell ’til I get someone to carry them out.
Another way to use newspaper is when grilling. We have a “chimney” that one fills with paper, then put charcoal on top, light at bottom. After a certain amount of time they are ready (my husband is the griller so not clear on the finer details.) Then you pour the ready coals into grill. We have never used lighter fluid.
The problem with composting junk mail is not the paper. The paper will decompose just like any other “brown” addition to your compost pile because it is mostly wood fiber. The potential problem is what might be in the ink or toner from the printing. The formula varies with the manufacturer, but they all contain chemicals that you probably don’t want in your garden and potentially in your food.
Most newspapers have changed to soy based inks which should not be a problem for the garden. I personally have some concerns about the colored inks, so I only use the black and white pages at the moment. If you have questions about the inks and colorants your newspaper uses, just email them. They will tell you what is in them.
The best solution for standing water or soggy soil is drainage tile. Some people have coped with this problem by building a raised bed on the site.
Good information. If you and your reads haven’t had the chance to watch this video, “Back to Eden”, it is very helpful with this same subject. I highly recommend watching it. It is about 1 hour and 45 mins. long but it is well worth your time. Here is a link to watch it. http://theredeemedgardener.blogspot.com/2012/02/back-to-eden-gardening-gods-way.html
Clint, I’ll find time to watch that. I’ve read the book but not seen the vid. Thanks for recommending it!
Wow, I learned something new today, because I had no idea about the top soil thing!! Wow!!! Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather
Thanks for commenting, Heather!
I’m a beginner at this.
Our soil is mostly dusty and hard. We have a lot of rock and very little good soil. I am interested in composting to start creating good soil for our yard. You mentioned using worms. I’m guessing earth worms? Would I add them into my composter? I plan to purchase a composting drum. We live in the hill country of Texas and if I have an open area composting space we will attract too many critters.
Also, should I till the existing soil before laying down the new soil?
Monica,
I wouldn’t worry about worms right away, but I do think you should consider composting asap. If you combine your compost pile correctly, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with critters. Of course, they show up once in a while no matter what you do, but I always cover kitchen scraps with a few scoops of soil, keeps the smell (and attraction to critters) away.
Tilling sounds like a good idea, then mix your compost (and aged manure, if you can get some) into the soil. This is a good thing to do right before your coldest season and let it sit for a few months before planting again.
Good luck!
The worst thing about urban soil is the lead content from so any years of having it added to gas and paint etc. unfortunately the plants absorb it when growing.
So even if you have topsoil you may want to grow in deep raised beds anyway.