Run off soil, is it any good if it's collected and used ?

what if there is available run off soil , would it help to collect and use it on top of my soil ? what if it lacks
organic matter ?


the magic about river flood  soil in the past ,  was about the clay that the river brought with ? or it was about the humus it carried ? or both ?

Absolutely. That's what Geoff Lawton seems to have been doing when using gabions in Jordan. Slowed water dropped a lot of clay, a little sand, a little organic matter and some other stuff, and over time that built up to a soil bank.

I don't know of any studies that specifically look at the composition of 'dropped' soils like this, I would hazard a guess that their makeup would vary widely. If you are only gathering a little, it shouldn't hurt to  throw it in the mix. If you're harvesting a lot (like enough to be its own field), probably have it tested just like any other soils to check for possible contaminants and what if anything needs amended.

I've thought about this a lot myself- here in Texas repeated vast floods have picked and tossed around whole feet of soil in some places in just the last few years.

Poor farming practices from 1800-1954 resulted in a lot of eroded top soil on my farm, and where it was deposited it is by far the most productive farm land I have. I have too much to move back into place, but it is very fertile and mine at least, is actually nearing the excessive side of organic matter according to my soil tests.

Mostafa Ismail wrote:what if there is available run off soil , would it help to collect and use it on top of my soil ? what if it lacks
organic matter ?


the magic about river flood  soil in the past ,  was about the clay that the river brought with ? or it was about the humus it carried ? or both ?

The Nile River Floods have created all the fertility in the area for eons. The silt (a mix of clay, sand and humus along with everything else that can wash down a river system) is what the ancient Egyptians counted on for crop production.
I would certainly make use of that awesome resource on my own soil, it will help with water  retention, organic matter retention and thus the soil biota will increase.

Redhawk