5 Acres of Wet Peat 2 Feet Deep

1219 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by edjewcollins, Sep 8, 2004

landrand

Discussion Starter · Aug 30, 2004

I have 25 acres in Northern Michigan with about 5 acres of lowland next to a river. This lowland area contains about two feet of pure peat (1 foot of muck and 1 foot of pure peat). Below the peat is beach sand. I would like to make this 5 acres into a small farm.

At the moment, the lowland area is quite wet. Several underground springs drain into the lowland area. I plan to dig several drainage trenches and try to dry the 5 acres out and make it into a small farm.

Does anyone know if I'd be able to drive a farm tractor on dry peat that is 2' deep? When this soil is wet, it's pretty soft. Just walking on this wet peat I'll sink in an inch or so.

I believe that if I'm able to dry this area out, I'll have very good soil for growing. If this peat can support heavy equipment, I'm going to try to mix the soil with sand.

Any ideas or suggestions. I know very little about farming and soils but am looking forward to learning.

Save

1 - 1 of 8 Posts

bare

· #3 · Aug 30, 2004

Might want to check with the authorities too before you undertake any draining. Sounds like riparian area and may come under various jurisdictional regulations.

In my area, I've never seen anyone farming bogs, but they often do dig them up to sell the peat or utilize it elsewhere, and in so doing create a small lake. Don't know how the sand below yours would affect it though.

Save

1 - 1 of 8 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month