scummy woods..

wasn't sure where to put this thread.

This morning the guy digging out the pond larger next door, needed a place to dump the seaweed, scum and slurry from the bottom of the pond, he is dredging the sides where it was shallow to make it deeper and remove the scummy layer..well Ron gave him permission to dump it into a clearing in our woods..the woods is dying there as they are adult aspen trees at their peak and dying off..so he started piling the scummy slurry..like grey pudding...into our woods this morning..and it kinda has a tendency to seek it's own level somewhat and then piles deeper..

this area was black dirt, but full of wild raspberries and actually you couldn't get into it very good to use it or to clean it up..well now when i just checked it was about 2 ' deep of pond scum and soil..

there is an area about 30 x 45 that he will be filling with this stuff..right next to an area where Joel had just piled a huge pile of soil from the digging of the pond to make it larger..

it will be intersting to see what becomes of this new venture..I'm sure that it is chock full of nutrients and bacteria..so it is kinda like a giant compost heap..

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so here is a start..they are still moveing stuff into this woods..and have been all day since these photos were taken.
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we probably already have 6 or 8 truckoads of dirt that has been moved to our property..piled here and there..some of it is the SCUM and some is just blackish dirt..not dark black..but not sand..good dirt with some clay mixed in..some topsoil too..probably about 3 loads of topsoil.

hey I'll take it..it is free and we live with a very high water table and very low swampy wet areas..so we can always use fill..good fill is a real blessing..and the scum..well gotta be good nutrients in that !!

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I took this photo this morning, this is another place where they have been piling the dirt..this is a combination of clay, regular soil and topsoil..first Joel spread about a foot of it over the area and then started just piling it up..

there is probably 2 more days of dirt to be brought in..and that was this morning, they have been bringing in dirt all day..also they moved a maple tree from beside the pond to Joel's..

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unfortunately the guy operating the backhoe split the bark in a couple spots and gouged it up some..we duct taped it to try to heal the wounds..and can hope that it makes it..Joel worked it into the soil pretty well after the backhoe guy left..and it looks pretty good now..

that scum will probably turn into some great soil! I bet that maple will be fine too. I moved several smallish ones...barely got any root and they all took off like wildfire.

since those pictures were taken the woods has about 3 x as much stuff piled in it and the little ash grove pile is 2 x as much now as there was in the picture.

sure getting a lot of good dirt.

there is also fill dirt that is coming over here now..we do have some places where we can use that as well..in building the additions they need to be built up about 2' under them..so that will help there..

but the topsoil and the pond scum were the real treats..we got ALL the topsoil from one area of the dig..they dug off the topsoil of an area about 100' long and 50' wide and gave it all to us..sod, etc..it is piled in the woods...too

there are about 8 piles about the size of that last one pictured..still waiting to be moved..and the digging hasn't stopped  yet.

a huge part of our property is low and damp..and Joel's too..plus there are some gravelly areas that we can put the top soil over and have nice soil there.

some of the mucky stuff will likely get put on the vegetable garden areas this fall after it breaks down some (don't even know if it has to break down being already well drowned)

really not quite sure HOW to go about using the bottom scrapings from the pond..i know they are nutritious..and know they  will do well in the woods..but thinking that i might be able to use some elsewhere ..it is heavy stuff right now..but hopign as it dries it lightens out.

well Joel has already filled in a low spot of our property where we walk out of our furnace shed..there was a 2' drop off..and that is now right up to the door with a gentle slope away..so he filled an area about 50 x 50..and i seeded that to grass yesterday to stabilize it..before winter..this is where we bring in our firewood..for the year.

he also started filling in a 2' deep area that has to bring the level up..for an addition on the north side of the wood boiler building..got that partly done..so one of the big FILL piles is about 1/2 used up already..