I’m making a small dry lot and removing the topsoil. The dry lot is in the corner of a bigger pasture. I could just dump the topsoil in our woods, but was thinking to just drag it around the bigger pasture. Are there any cons to doing this? The dry lot is only about 50x50 and the pasture is about 3 acres so not much dirt to drag around.
You could save the dirt into a pile, use later to fill pasture holes that seem to happen with horses. Our horses like standing on dirt piles if it gets muddy. Is also a raised area for winter feeding hay on, not as muddy as flat ground. A pile of dirt is always handy to have when you need some.
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Goodhors has a good idea!
Yes, you could just spread it. But this might depend on where you are. If you are in a rainy area one or two events will take care of it. If you are in an arid area it may be there for a while. So be careful on this one.
You can also sell it. Good topsoil has reasonable value in most places.
Good luck in your choice.
G.
Whenever I’ve made sacrifice paddocks (lots of them) I’ve never removed the topsoil. I left it in place, put geotech fabric down right over the grass and covered with thick layer of stonedust. Never had a problem.
I’ve only removed topsoil when putting in a gravel farm road or driveway. Grass and roots (if left in place) will rot, and road will eventually sink a bit – need to get down to hard dirt for a new road surface to be stable.
But I’ve never had sinkage or other problems when skipping topsoil removal for my sacrifice paddocks. Stonedust stays in place, my tractor drives all over them without issue – and when I need new material for maintenance, dump trucks have no problem either.
But maybe you’re not using fabric/stonedust, and thus need to remove topsoil to accommodate some other type of footing.
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Top soil = pure gold !
[B]Save it in an easily accessible pile to be used for filling areas as needed .
You’re lucky to have it -
- adding you may not need it for a year or longer but you will be SO HAPPY
you have it immediately when you need it ! Promise ! [/B]
I’ve had contractors create berms for me with removed soil.
My soil is largely clay, so not Primo topsoil worth saving.
One visually blocks my pastures from the road & is planted with perennials.
Some day I mean to sink a concrete plaque with my farm name into that one.
The other blocks a view of the nearest neighbor to the North & I planted with 3 Sisters (corn,beans & squash) one year, but now has gone to weeds.
Definitely hold on to it. I’d rake and plant with something that’s attractive because it will get full of weeds and be unsightly. You can cover with a layer of rock to hold the soil in place against wind / rain.
I do like the berm idea too, though make sure you think through drainage / groundwater consequences.
Top soil is a valuable resource!!! Please do not spread it just to make it go away.
If you have no current need, just pile it somewhere out of the way. Weeds will grow quickly, so cover with tarps and weight them with cement blocks, old tires or whatever you have. I promise you will find yourself visiting this pile frequently. We are always fixing something on the lawn, building a new flowerbed, or burying something the dogs brought home.
In a few years, if you have not made use of the soil, you can always sell it. Check with local township, as in some areas (mine) it is illegal to sell the soil without a permit.
It is gold – I saved all the top soil from driveways I put in and have already used it up. Takes a while for the grass & roots to die but worth the wait.
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Thanks for the replies. One of the areas in the other dry lot has low spots so I’m using it for that and also to fill in some low spots in another pasture. What ever is left will be stored, but I think we will use it all.
With such a small area why do anything at all or better yet , just use the lawnmower? The horse will eat any existing greenery pretty quickly and the ground will remain firmer when it rains. If you scrape everything off I think mud city and slick as heck??
^^ because I am putting in a dry lot. Just got 40 tons of stone dust to spread there.
DO take all the topsoil off before the layers of stone dust go on. Topsoil takes centuries to make - preserve it: spread it on existing pasture or pile it up if you are planning any raised beds, etc.
You will find the finished dry lot a lot more stable and long lasting, like for ever if it is done properly.
Where we are it is illegal to take topsoil off your property without permit.
We’ve been “storing” our topsoil pile for nine years now. It’s driving me crazy. Nobody wants to buy any of it because we live semi remotely, and there just isn’t any interest. We’ve used some of it, five loads came up to make the base for my veggie garden. It’s a huge pile that is left over, and compacted now so that we can’t really even dig into it with our tractors. So I swear I am getting it spread THIS year, and making hay field and pasture out of what was once willow swamp. Old dry beaver channels from 100 years ago snake through it. I have cleared out the willows for the most part. I am now working on clearing out the alders, and cutting them up for firewood. I have a large burn pile already, and growing. I am looking forward to the day the bulldozer arrives and spreads this huge pile, making something I can use rather than an eyesore and wasted land.
NancyM, ours is not huge but I don’t want an eyesore either to look at. We were discussing what to do with it the other day. For those that have spread it on pasture, does the existing grass come through nicely or does it usually just promote weeds?
it’s the same soil that is in your pasture, depending what was planted there where you scraped it off, that’s what you will get.
You can layer it with manure, and improve it.
Grass will eventually grow through it or on top of it. That’s what grass does on soil.
If you are dead set against saving it for later, spreading it would be fine. Like when you spread manure, a thin layer, not globs and heaps, and it should be barely visible.
But generally, a mount of something adds visual interest to property.
This picture reminds me of the therapeutic riding center I volunteered at-- they used the soil taken from a new arena to make a series of moguls-- 3 or 4 nicely rounded, evenly spaced ridges with long slopes. i.e. Gentle enough to easily mow, but noticeable enough to make for good topline conditioning and improve rider balance.
Interesting idea.
Use it now, or get rid of it. By next year the weeds/grass will have grown in it, and make it far more difficult to move.
I agree that removing top soil is useful for making a sacrifice paddock, so this was a worthwhile effort. But, as someone that has 5’ weeds growing out of a pile of “extra footing” that I thought I might need…just get rid of it. Spread it, or put it in your gardens, or build a berm. NOW. Do not wait. 
I have never removed soil for a paddock and wondered why it would be done. Google searched it and couldn’t find anything. So google searched stone dust for paddock and saw lots of info that didn’t look appealing. http://www.horseadvice.com/horse/messages/3/213019.html
