Hi, I am planting a herb garden around my chicken coop, and was wondering if it was possible to reuse this soil to plant with. It’s very grassy and has some rocks in it. Does anyone have any tips on the best way to break it up or what I should add to it.
by Independent_Mix8497
12 Comments
I would try to remove as much of the grass and stones as possible. Mix with some finished compost and then plant away!
If I don’t have somewhere to replant sod, I do one of two things: either flip it over and use it at the bottom of something I’m planting in a relatively deep hole, or flip it over and pile it up. As long as it’s buried deep enough, the grass mostly seems to die, and it becomes useful soil in a year or so. I’m sure you could also cover it with a tarp for a while for the same effect.
I would throw it in the chicken area with food scraps with it for the chicken to break down for you! They will enjoy the grass and every day throw some fed on it until it’s all broken down then after a few weeks of chicken pooping on it throw in mound I would use it right away with anything that fruits on the steam nothing that’s lays on the ground like watermelon or winter squash! Or let it break down the chicken poop for a bit
I don’t have any chicken s but I’m gonna say I would chop it up with the shovel and run it through my sifter and sort it out but I’m gonna think about those chickens a bit
Do you need it now? If you can wait a month, cover it in black plastic/tarp and let the grass die. Then pitchfork it apart and it will be perfectly usable.
I throw that into the chicken run. At the fall i throw in leaves. In the spring / summer the year after all the soil is mixed up with compost and can be used again wherever i need it.
If you build a frame and spread hardware cloth(tight square steel mesh) over the frame, then place over wheelbarrow etc, then may be able to separate the soil from root and organic material. This is how we reclaim our stuff. But that looks clayish. May be tougher.
I hope the dog got out
Depends on what kind of grass but I usually just flip sod and leave it upside down a couple weeks til the roots dry out a little, then chop it up with a hoe.
May not suit your needs but when I have a lot of soil with excess roots, unwanted seeds or sod I make a large pile of 3’ x 3’ minimum, fertilize the absolute crap out of it with nitrogen and let it sit covered with a tarp for a few months to a year. If you have some leaves or wood chips to mix in you’ll get even better soil from it.
When I say fertilize the crap out of it I’m talking 2-3 times the max rate you’d apply for the heaviest feeding plants you could grow. Nothing too crazy but enough to basically give the bacteria the food they need to convert the organic matter to humics.
Came here to post this because I had a similar pile of sod!! Thanks for asking!
You can use it as a brown for your compost pile. Adds good soil bacteria to your compost, probably a few worms too.
I would just put it next to my pile for when I need it. Turns out the years of 10-10-10 fertilizer application caused some high nutrients in my soil test so it’s worth it for me to just cycle it back in. Clay, rocks and all. I pull out big rocks if I see them.