mud dumped in garden beds

  We needed mitigation from flooding issues, which have been happening for two years now (lived on property for 12 years). The flooding on my property was caused by neighbor above me cutting down every inch of vegetation on his property to plant grass, and then when he started to flood in his basement, he piped all his floodwater onto my property.  Repeat x 5:  more homeowners defoliated their properties: one home across the street can now float a kayak in his back yard when it rains heavily.  We could go through legal channels, but it would take years, flooding all the while.  We're all sucking it up and taking care of our own properties now, paying for it ourselves.

Meanwhile, I have been learning about soil on permies, taking the Garden Master Course by Helen Atthowe etc.  I have been working with nature, no till, live mulch, polyculture etc. for my soil (some raised beds).  

While cleaning up after the flood mitigation, the well-meaning hired crew thought I could use more "soil".  They dumped mud into my beds. Thick, gloppy mud.   They were bewildered when the tears started running down my face as they proudly showed me.

They scraped some out as best they could, but the soil is now compacted and covered with a sand-based mud paste.

Where do I go from here? Is any hope for growing this season?




 

That is terrible.
It's so painful to see what you nurtured to be abused.

I would plant.
Even if it's just a bag of beans, I would plant my beds.
Then, I would  tend to the beds as best as you can.
Removing the offending material  en mass might feel daunting.
Incremental  removal during the course of tending you garden could feel easy by comparison.

Best of luck to you, mat you find peace in your garden.

Hi Susan,
That is terrible to hear. I think I would be tempted to mix it in with the soil already there... or maybe just put a layer of mulch on top. Along with planting something that William suggested.

I merged your stuff with the following thread. I hope that is okay by you.

  We needed mitigation from flooding issues, which have been happening for two years now (lived on property for 12 years). The flooding on my property was caused by neighbor above me cutting down every inch of vegetation on his property to plant grass, and then when he started to flood in his basement, he piped all his floodwater onto my property.  Repeat x 5:  more homeowners defoliated their properties: one home across the street can now float a kayak in his back yard when it rains heavily.  We could go through legal channels, but it would take years, flooding all the while.  We're all sucking it up and taking care of our own properties now, paying for it ourselves.

Meanwhile, I have been learning about soil on permies, taking the Garden Master Course by Helen Atthowe etc.  I have been working with nature, no till, live mulch, polyculture etc. for my soil (some raised beds).  

While cleaning up after the flood mitigation, the well-meaning hired crew thought I could use more "soil".  They dumped mud into my beds. Thick, gloppy mud.   They were bewildered when the tears started running down my face as they proudly showed me.

They scraped some out as best they could, but the soil is now compacted and covered with a sand-based mud paste.

Where do I go from here? Is any hope for growing this season?




 

If I were in that situation, I would have a load of wood chips brought in to cover the affected area.

I would also start adding as much organic matieal as I could come up with such as leaves and coffee grounds.

I would also add mushrooms to that mix.

also it sounds like some earthworks in the form of ditches, etc above the area as a preventive measure.

Susan Mené wrote:     They dumped mud into my beds. Thick, gloppy mud...  They scraped some out as best they could, but the soil is now compacted and covered with a sand-based mud paste.
Where do I go from here? Is any hope for growing this season?  

First, what is the native "dirt" in the soil that made up the bed pre-glopped?  Was it clay rich, sand rich, silt rich or unknown because you had such great organic matter in it?

What's the weather doing? Will the glob dry out for you, or will it be too wet, or can you tent a trial bed to keep the rain out so it drys? If you can get the glob to dry, I'm thinking that you might be able to break it up with a fork into chunks and then finer with your hands, until you can incorporate it in the good soil, add some extra compost and then be able to plant something. I'd aim to plant "tough" rather than delicate plants this year - what does well in your ecosystem. The plants will attract microbes and worms which I think will go a long way to fixing the problem. I'd also try a polyculture of plants including some beans, so that if some seeds/plants aren't happy, others will fill in for them.

If you're going to have to disturb your soil to fix this mess anyway, now might be a good time to consider adding somethings like biochar to help hold moisture and microbes. Biochar seems to get good reviews in both sandy soil and clay soil.

Anne Miller wrote:Susan Mené,
I have merged your topic into this topic. I hope that helps.

Is there supposed to ne a lin to the merge point??

Jay Angler wrote:

Susan Mené wrote:     They dumped mud into my beds. Thick, gloppy mud...  They scraped some out as best they could, but the soil is now compacted and covered with a sand-based mud paste.
Where do I go from here? Is any hope for growing this season?  

First, what is the native "dirt" in the soil that made up the bed pre-glopped?  Was it clay rich, sand rich, silt rich or unknown because you had such great organic matter in it?

What's the weather doing? Will the glob dry out for you, or will it be too wet, or can you tent a trial bed to keep the rain out so it drys? If you can get the glob to dry, I'm thinking that you might be able to break it up with a fork into chunks and then finer with your hands, until you can incorporate it in the good soil, add some extra compost and then be able to plant something. I'd aim to plant "tough" rather than delicate plants this year - what does well in your ecosystem. The plants will attract microbes and worms which I think will go a long way to fixing the problem. I'd also try a polyculture of plants including some beans, so that if some seeds/plants aren't happy, others will fill in for them.

If you're going to have to disturb your soil to fix this mess anyway, now might be a good time to consider adding somethings like biochar to help hold moisture and microbes. Biochar seems to get good reviews in both sandy soil and clay soil.

Thanks Jay!  You layed out a great "map" for working with this situation. Lots of good advice there.  I'm hoping my perma-cauliflower germinates, anyway.  

I've been waiting for the "what kind of soil" question, because I realized I hadn't included it.  Loam and sandy. I live in a  former "inlobate glacial moraine" area, which is where two ice sheets made edge to edge contact.  Hilly terrain, lots of rocks.  

After the first moment of dismay, I'm viewing it as a learning opportunity.  There's no other practical thing to do.  Nature, permaculture, life:  spin gold out of straw and if the milk spills, call over the dog or cat and give them a treat.

When I saw the title I originally thought, Here is someone else to extol the virtues of slough muck as a soil amendment! But no… that is a disappointing situation.

Jay’s suggestion seems quite good. Another thought is to hoe in trenches, fill with fresh hay or other green leafy material, and cover it back up. I did this last year because of the abundance of weeds/hay in my area, and everything seemed to grow very well. I made a small bed on top of pure gravel by laying down weeds and food scraps, then covering with some mediocre sandy/loam subsoil, and it ended up making a decent harvest of delicata squash and kale.

If it’s a perennial bed… I really hope they weren’t crushed!

Susan Mené wrote:After the first moment of dismay, I'm viewing it as a learning opportunity.  There's no other practical thing to do.  Nature, permaculture, life:  spin gold out of straw and if the milk spills, call over the dog or cat and give them a treat.

Dismay and crying is allowed! But yes, now WE learn from it, as I'm hoping you'll take before, during and after pictures and post them here so we can all learn what you tried and how it all worked out.

I have some raised beds with punky wood at the bottom, and I've actually found that I need to add "dirt" because plants aren't actually that happy in pure compost (with the possible exception of pumpkins). My dirt in that area is either dumped subsoil compressed by the former owner, or glacier left-overs (I hear you about the rocks!) But with biochar, compost and punky wood, that dirt is gradually turning into soil.

I have confidence that you can fix this, and lot's of permies will be rooting for you, so please don't be afraid to come and ask for support if at times you feel overwhelmed and discouraged.

The worst bed didn't sprout a single seed, but sorrel is coming up fine on its own.  I just keep throwing
organic matter and compost and leaves in