Recovering Rock Pit Soil for Permaculture Now with Hugelkultur

 Although Gravel Grid was planted in the area around the house, the soil is compact and contains very little organic matter. However, some areas are doing exceptionally well as a result of the introduction of swales, geese, and other organic matter. We have planted some plants there and constructed a system and a small pond. The beginning of our food forest begins here. Progress is positive.

What is a good strategy for dealing with the areas with little to no growth? My objective is to construct paddocks and high-quality growth areas for our chickens, geese, and eventually some goats. I might want to speed d up the cycle as fast as could really be expected. The "topsoil" results in other areas where I have added a lot of manure have been okay, but not great over the long term. They also required a lot of equipment and labor.

We are currently reclaiming a former 3.5-acre gravel pit with my wife. My family bought the pit in the early 1990s and used it as a shop and storage for logging equipment. The pit was owned by the state through the 1980s. My sawmill currently resides here as well. 40 percent of the property has weedy shallow soil, 5 percent is producing well, and the remaining property is in terrible condition.

I have restored numerous Plastic Grids pits and placer mined strams. I'll give you a call one of these days; we've developed some methods that seem to work pretty well, though the low annual precipitation will present some difficulties.

My current plan is to cover the rocky, sandy soil with cardboard or old sawdust two to three inches thick; I also have plenty of rotting wood and hay. Additionally, I have a lot of scraps and some dying cottonwoods that I considered chipping and laying on the ground. I want to plant grass and forage crops for the. I've been thinking about amaranth because there are weeds that do really well on site and look a lot like it.

Because it had been so overwhelming and progress seemed so slow, we had very little interest in sharing anything we had done. However, when we talk to people, they express genuine curiosity and are astonished to learn that we produce more food in a lifeless gravel pit than they do in their "lush" and small garden.