Poor soil quality, too much organic top soil

13 years ago

Good afternoon,

I just purchased my first home and have begun the grand undertaking of landscaping the back yard.

My problem is this: the previous owners had loads of organic mushroom compost soil dumped, going from 3" to approximately 8" deep in most areas. If I dig down far enough, I can find the good soil, but I'm dealing with ALOT of this loose and dusty "potting soil". Let me add, there is no grass and the yard has gone moths without water.

I worry that once we start to get rain, the soil will settle unevenly therefore making a lawn look horrible. What can I do to create more stability? It was suggested to me to bring in loads of fill dirt and sand. Is this what it will take?

I have started a yard from scratch in the past, planting grass successfully and have done very well with gardening of all types.. so I'm ready and willing to get underway, I'm just looking for some advice from someone who may have been in my situation before as I've never dealt with this type of soil.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

thanks!

Wendy in Ventura, Ca.

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Comments (6)

gtippitt
13 years ago
While most questions have been asked and answered many times before, I don't think anyone has ever had a problem with their soil having too much organic matter. If you scatter some seeds, lay some sod, or plant some plugs, then water it well, you should have a great lawn in very little time. With that much great topsoil, you could save a pile in the corner of the yard to use to fill in any spots that settle down unevenly.

"Don't throw me in that briar patch"

Greg
plaidbird
13 years ago
Look at this as a wonderful opportunity. Less organic material for you to find and labor to add for your plants.

If I wanted a lawn with the plantings I know how I would go about it. Three to eight inches isn't very much, so it could be all done by hand ... if we're not talking about a ginormous amount of space.

First I would get out as many garden hoses as I have and use them to sketch out the wanted lawn area. Doing it this way gives you a good idea of how it will look in real life, as opposed to a pretty drawing on paper. You can leave them there and reconsider after you've lived with the plan a few days. Move as needed.

Once your ready to begin, gather up the mulch that's in the future lawn area and use it to create berms in the flower bed areas, keeping in mind these will decrease in height quite a bit over the next year. But with luck you will still have enough added height to add drama to the floral scene. IF the flowers are to be viewed from both sides , the height needs to be in the center of the beds, with tallest plants in the middle.

I did this a couple times with a picket fence at the front of the house and the extra height of those taller plants on the small berm not only helped give more privacy to the front yard and front windows, but the street view was much more eye catching. Everything just looked so much bigger than expected. I'm not talking about a high berm, just enough. ;) Vary the heights of the raised areas too or the whole thing gets too predictable.

If by chance you find old dead, thatch where a lawn used to be, and it doesn't seem suitable to be planting on top of , this too can be used for added flower bed height. Just clear a space, throw all that thatch can be used, then cover with more of the compost material. Regular shrubs and perennials can work their way through that sort of thing just fine over the next year or so it takes to break down.

I have routinely planted directly in mushroom compost that comes from big trucks ( the bagged is finer) and never had any problems. But that doesn't mean yours isn't slightly different, plus your different climate. What about watering an area and then checking later to see how well it holds moisture ? Heck, throw a test plant in there while your at it and see what happens to it.

Hopefully you will not need to spend $$ on more soil to maintain a moisture level. Better to spend on plants and cool hardscaping! Oh, and the perfect birdbath.:)

Now get out your collection of garden books and magazines and have fun looking at all the beautiful designs you admired in the past. You have a wonderful, fertile blank slate to work with. How exciting.
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Kimmsr
13 years ago
Any soil with too much organic matter can be a problem too since soils with too much organic matter frequently are refered to as swamps or bogs. If your mushroom compost has been there for some years the chance of it settling unevenly probably is pretty slim, although you may well need to watch how much water it does get.
lcpw_gw
13 years ago
Wendy-
If you're worried about water/rain making it settle unevenly, could you water it some and see how that goes?

If you feel strongly that you want mineral soil mixed in with the mushroom compost, what about tilling through the mushroom compost to mix in the mineral soil that's beneath it? I realize there are lots of reasons not to till on a regular basis, but doing it once to fix a problem situation seems like it could be an acceptable compromise. I definitely wouldn't bring in fill dirt - I've heard so many people on this board regret that afterward, receiving something quite different from what they'd hoped. Seems like mixing together what you already have (the compost and the soil beneath) would be better. I know in wetter climates, one can rely on the worms to do that mixing, but I don't know enough about California soils to know if that would work for you.
terran
13 years ago
Hi Windy,

I have the same issue in an area where I used camel, cow, and horse manure as fill and then topped it with mushroom compost. The original depths ranged from two to five feet and settled/reduced in an even manner without lumps and bumps as it was graded. The deepest area settled twenty inches.

The first year the area grew prize winning pumpkins, but, now, the material is as you describe your situation - powder dry.

I would guess that since the om you have is at the 'loose and dusty "potting soil"' stage that it isn't going to settle at an extreme rate any longer, but from my experience, I would suggest that it be incorporated with soil or removed and re-sourced as suggested.

I'm in the process of reworking the area mentioned. In a 200 square foot section, the organic matter layer was removed and "weeds"* and other om layered in with the material that was removed, a bit of what is now subsoil shoveled onto the top of that, and watered so the 'new' om can compost in place.

I did that 200 square foot area by hand the other afternoon and then decided to do the remainder with the tractor. Since it is on a hillside, I'll use the backhoe, but if it were on a more level area and the om only eight inches deep, I'd put on the rippers to get into the "subsoil", rototill, and then grade as desired.

I once did a residential landscape job where the lot was in a flood plane. It hadn't been graded to let runoff exit the property. We put berms in to redirect water from the higher, neighboring properties and graded a shallow swale around the house to let runoff exit into the street. Forty yards of manure was added as a requirement of the municipality and the berms, swale, and all roto-tilled before sod was put down. The berms, of course, settled more than the swale, but all kept the general shape and grade as intended.

* Weeds: Guardians of the Soil by Joseph A Cocannouer

Terran
terran
13 years ago
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/weeds/WeedsToC.html

Just for fun I did a search for Weeds: Guardians of the Soil by Joseph A. Cocannouer and found that I have some pricey books. There was also an online edition.

Terran

Here is a link that might be useful: Weeds: Guardians of the Soil

Poor soil quality, too much organic top soil

Comments (6)

gtippitt

plaidbird

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