Mud!

[KrisD]

I live in the Pacific Northwest and it rains constantly all winter. As a result I have deep mud in some areas that is driving me crazy. I am looking for something natural to layer on top of the mud so when the goats go walking in it it will get mixed in and help lighten and eventually dry out the soil. I tried mulch and after 3 truck loads and 30 days time you can't tell I did anything. Our soil is pretty compacted most of the year (once the mud dries) so something that would keep it loose and light so I can put in some grass or pasture mix come spring and have it all hold together.

The soil is very fertile so I don't want to screw that up.

[Rita]

I don't know what type mulch you have used, but the larger-type wood mulch from tree trimming companies lasts longer. Not sure what it would do to the soil fertility.

[shdybrady]

I dont know if you have the room but planting a tree to absorb the moisture would be much more effective

[Oswego]

Maybe drain the areas to remove extra water?

[Bearfootfarm]

If you want it to drain and stay dry,you can't add organic materials that hold water

Sand is what would work best

[mothernature]

I'll send you some of our EXTREMELY dry, drought stricken Texas dirt!!

[am1too]

Originally Posted by mothernature

I'll send you some of our EXTREMELY dry, drought stricken Texas dirt!!

Now that will soak up water. When mine gets the dry it usuall sheds water. The best thing I've done is put in small ditches. Even if the water stands it will collect in the low spots such as a ditch. Then one can work on the grading to get the water to move. Doesn't have to be much. I think sewer pipe have an inch to the foot drop. Unless it is commercial it should be a realitvely small area.

[ntjpm]

Hello from a fellow PNW mud dweller I am going to second the wood chips. When we put in a paintball course down by our creek we had a ton of mud to deal with and since we had cut down a bunch of trees, we rented a chipper and chipped up all the branches. These did an awesome job of keeping the ground from being squishy and the best part is that they just decompose back into the soil.

It is hard I guess to imagine how much water we get over here and the fact that we get it ALL THE TIME so the ground really never dries out until July. It is wet and squishy even in area's with good drainage, add someone or something walking over it all the time and you will have mud no matter how many drains or ditches you put in.

And I promise if I could send all of you in Texas even a little bit of our rain I would do it in a heartbeat. Good luck to you, and I am joining you in dreaming of July when we finally get some relief for 2 months. LOL

Tracy in WA

[cjean]

We are also in WA state. We have a bandsaw mill, and the fine sawdust makes a great soil amendment. We've given away tons of the stuff to local people, trying to control their mud issues. We use it in all of our barn yards.

[meanwhile]

Wood chips. Lots of wood chips. Try to get them for Free from a Tree Service that needs to dump them some place.

You might find sawdust at a mill but usually you have to haul that yourself. Good luck.

Side Note: once we had a really messy area that kept eating up the wood chips no matter what. I took an old blanket and just spread it over the muddy mess and then we dumped wood chips and straw on top of it. For some reason, that worked. I know it sounds awful to trash an old blanket but this one had been used by the dogs and was beyond washing. The mud ate up the blanket and we never saw it again and the wood chips stayed and sometimes it is damp there but not the deep mud like it was before.

[Helena]

or...put your old manure/hay out there. It will last a little while but will make a path for them to walk around. Yes..even here in Pa with our warm winter and the mud season yet to come is an awful mess. Good Luck..

[Goat Servant]

We have this problem too. A path with cement blocks helps. If you see someone using tree service & a wood chipper they can bring it to your property & dump it.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by Rita

I don't know what type mulch you have used, but the larger-type wood mulch from tree trimming companies lasts longer. Not sure what it would do to the soil fertility.

Sometimes one has to work with what they have, and not try to change it too much. If you have a muddy season, you just need to work around the mud, you won't eliminate it.

Wood chips can help. Basically you are getting gravel in an organic form, the bigger chips will support more weight than the clay particles you have, so it will sure help. Of course, as the chips decompose, they raise the organic matter, which makes the muddy spots even muddier, so you'll always always have to add more chips through the years.... It will be a never ending cycle.

As for fertility, as they try to decompose they will try to use up all the nitrogen they can find, so they will stunt the heck out of any grasses in the area. Eventually - could be decades - as the decomposing comes full circle, they will return that nutrition to the soil so in the long run the oganic matter & nutrients will be good, but in the short run, you could really mess up your soil with a lot of wood chips. As well some wood types tend to lower the ph of soil, if your soil is already a bit on the acidic side you might need more lime than normal.

--->Paul

[uncle Will in In.]

Have crushed stone or gravel spread on a small area for them to exercise and put a panel fence around it. Better than letting them run around in mud with manure in it. You would still have pasture in the rest of it when it gets dried out. The pasture will be better if you can keep them off when it's wet.

[oregon woodsmok]

Find whoever near you sells volcanic ash. Locally it's called fly ash, but it's not the same stuff that the rest of the country calls fly ash. It's straight out of the volcano and not processed in any way.

It looks like sand, packs down hard, but water runs through it like a sieve.

You still must have some place for the water to go. That means some sort of drainage system to carry the excess water off. If it is a low spot where water collects, you won't find anything to put on top of the soil that will keep the area dry. Except maybe a floating dock, and goats would probably use a floating dock. They climb on everything.

[airotciv]

Well, I'm from Oregon and I wish I had solution for this. I have been dealing with mud most of my life. Our property doesn't have deep mud, but we call a few places (goat gate and the duck area) the slippery slope. I broke my ankle at the duck barn in 2003 and then in 2010 my wrist at the goat gate. We have tried most everything and nothing has worked for very long. Now, as for Crushed Stone, Volcanic ash or Sand, you will only end up with dry pan soil which makes a cement like soil, Not good for drainage.

[Carol K]

If you want to do it right, remove all the top soil and muck, lay down some drain tile and even some of that road cloth and then gravel the area.
That's my plan this summer for my barn entrance area.

Carol K