Silt ??

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by andrew curr, Mar 23, 2014.

  1. andrew curr

    andrew curr Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2010
    Messages:
    1,194
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Cleaning out dams at the moment
    when the silt is dry it is light and fluffy
    How do i use it best!??
    Compost?
    spread on fields?
    Other ideas??
     
  2. rmcpb

    rmcpb Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2014
    Messages:
    31
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    6
    When we clean out a dam we cart it back up the hill and scatter it over the ground it came from. Hopefully now with our emphasis on permanent groundcover we will have less silt to contend with but its hard to keep a full groundcover on the cropping paddocks.
     
  3. Terra

    Terra Moderator

    Joined:
    May 16, 2007
    Messages:
    757
    Likes Received:
    23
    Trophy Points:
    18
    All my raised beds (Cut off tank rings) are about half filled with dam silt , topped up each planting with product from my big worm bins . Holds moisture really well my "soil" around the house is shallow then about 500 to 700mm gravelly rock so the silt beds are a big help through our dry season . Usually have two rings full of strawberrys , so I would save some in a pile you will use it , it will have a lot of broken down organic matter in it (algae , animal manure , ect) , excellent resource .
     
  4. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2013
    Messages:
    1,791
    Likes Received:
    148
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Occupation:
    gardening, reading, etc
    Location:
    near St. Charles, MI, USoA
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    we're short on good topsoil here, so i would use it to build that (add some clay, sand and organic materials). then use it to fill in a low spot, top it with coarser materials to keep it from getting moved around too easily, put some seeds of cover crops in, mulch it lightly, keep it moist until things sprout, fill in any bare spots with other plants.
     
  5. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2009
    Messages:
    2,457
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Occupation:
    Farm manager/ educator
    Location:
    Hunter Valley New South Wales
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    warm temperate - some frost - changing every year
    When we had the dams cleaned at Purple Pear Farm we deposited the silt at the top of the slope in a endeavour to have the nutrient slowly make its way back down via the pasture grasses. It has worked well and the berm we created persists to this day as an observation deck for sky watching.
     
  6. andrew curr

    andrew curr Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2010
    Messages:
    1,194
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    38
    18 mm rain last nite so wont be cleaning dams for a bit!
    Made a silt silt trap yesterday morning!
     
  7. andrew curr

    andrew curr Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2010
    Messages:
    1,194
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    38
    GR8 to see ya back PP!

    8)
     
  8. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2009
    Messages:
    5,925
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I second that!
     

Share This Page

-->