Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire reviving dead dirt

I have a section of my front yard, right next to the house, where nothing will grow. I have mixed in potting soil, manure, top soil and used fertilizers to try and make this patch of dirt viable. Withing a couple of weeks, the dirt reverts to its old color and anything I have planted dies.

What would you do to bring this area back? It is about 30' long and 7' wide.

Did you piss off a neighbor?

Contaminated I’m guessing.
Did you grow there in the past?

Have the soil sampled and analyzed.

This but do it yourself. Log onto the CSU website and navigate to their soils lab for instructions on how to sample, prices, and where to send the samples it's about $30/sample IIRC so take samples from a few different locations.

My problem was high pH, even after a few years of adding peat and potting soil. Easy enough to fix once you know what the problem is

Sounds like a dead carcass is there buried.

If you can’t figure out how to grow grass you’re dumber than dirt… 🤷‍♂️

Neighbor is pissing in your yard.

My guess is a alien spaceship might have landed there, contaminated the soil, could have even been hundreds of years ago.

I've got a similar spot, a circle about 15' diameter.

I had an uncle that farmed for a living and was good at it. Anyway, about 30 years ago, he had a tank that leaked some kind of herbicide on the edge of the yard. For years and years, nothing would grow on that 15' diameter spot, but over time, the bare spot became smaller and smaller. About 4 or 5 years ago the spot was about 5' across and still no grass, so a cousin took his backhoe and dug it out. Hauled in dirt and finally got rid of that bare spot.

Dig up 1/3 of the plot (10X7) to a depth of about a foot. Over the next year dump everything organic into it you can-- grass, leaves, kitchen waste, etc. Next spring, dig up another 1/3 and put it on top of the pile. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. By the time you get back to the first 1/3 the year of compost will be compressed down to about 1 inch, and will till back into the next year's. Eventually, you'll have loam, and stuff will grow. In the meantime, you've got a good place for garden waste.

Have soil test done, about $30

I agree with the guys saying test the soil.

Something probably spilled there, could be fuel, could be herbicide, could be some construction related chemical, like muriatic acid. A soil test might pick it up through pH, but won’t pick up herbicide or fuel contamination.

Testing is pretty much limited to finding specific things you are looking for, unless you spend more money than for a soil test.

I had one spot at a house that wouldn’t grow well. Finally got frustrated and started digging. The construction crew had left a sheet of plywood and covered it with a foot of dirt when they leveled the yard. A-holes, the lot of them.

Not sure about your state,

Each county in MS has an extension service / agent.

Take them a soil sample. $6 ( or was ). They send it to MS State soil lab. Send you a report.

I've seen 4 ton of chicken schiett to the acre turn some pretty sorry ground around in a hurry. The difference between 1 or 2 tons vs 4 per acre is mind boggling.

In addition to the soil testing, you may a have a compaction issue. I have a couple areas that need attention. I read a book on soils this year. I had no idea how much was going on, beneath our feet.

Every gardening book tells you to add lime. That has a high pH. If you add lime to alkaline soil, you're multiplying any problems you already had. I agree on the soil test. You won't find out the real problem without one.

Pour gravel on it and call it a driveway. Grass will grow in that when it won't grow anywhere else.

LOL, we have a winner!! The post about the buried sheet of plywood reminded me That I had a couple of square feet in the front next to the concrete sidewalk that wouldn't grow grass, finally dug it up to replace the soil and there was a bunch of broken up concrete rubble. That stuff is no bueno. Have you tried potholing in the are to see if there's buried rubble under there?