What do you use to fill a hole in the pasture if you don't have a pile of dirt?

[King_s_Ransom]

The fence guy told me he would take his dozer out and be sure all of the old fence pole holes were filled. I think he got 95% of them. But today, while mowing, I found two quite large ones, big enough to break a leg if a horse stepped in it while goofing around.

Now, he’s gone and everything looks “finished” and I don’t have a pile of dirt, or screenings, or anything that I can think of to fill these two holes.

What do you guys do? DH thinks we go buy two bags of soil at the garden center, but I am thinking those will just compact into almost nothing. Thoughts?

Thanks!

[saje]

Manure? And in the interim mark them with big sticks.

[Chall]

I have some “pits” in a rather wet lawn area, near where the septic was.

think I will use 3/4 stone and then the finer ground stone that you lay patio stone in (it’s like sand, but made of stone).
Dirt in that area of my lawn will just get wet and dip down.

But I’m open to more information too.

[clanter]

get sacks of concrete mix… just dump them in

[LauraKY]

[QUOTE=clanter;8253689]
get sacks of concrete mix… just dump them in[/QUOTE]

Yup. Dry concrete mix. Don’t fill the hole completely full and top off with dirt.

[khall]

I had to bury a horse in my pasture and it settled over time, we would just roll wheelbarrows out every so often and level the depression in. Of course this was in sandy soil, not clay that will hold water.

[hosspuller]

Bagged soil is lots of organics. That will decompose and sink. As manure will. Sand will flow and fill the hole nicely. But, from the description, it’ll take a few bags of sand per hole. I wouldn’t use bagged concrete. Expensive compared to plain sand and will set into a mass that will be hard to move later.

Dirt is cheap and fills well. See if any of your horse friends have a spot to dig out.

[SLW]

[QUOTE=clanter;8253689]
get sacks of concrete mix… just dump them in[/QUOTE]

Ditto this.

[Foxtrot_s]

^^^ as long as you or whoever buys your place, are not planning to plough, ever. Sand would be my preference…plus, maybe, a top of manure.

[baytraks]

Seems you have a place to dump the kitty litter boxes

[King_s_Ransom]

I have some bagged concrete mix leftover from the fencing project. I think sand would be my preference, but since I have these on-hand I think I will use them.

Right now, I have those big orange cones sitting on top of each hole. There are three altogether.

thanks for the ideas!

[Draftygirl]

[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;8253820]
I have some bagged concrete mix leftover from the fencing project. I think sand would be my preference, but since I have these on-hand I think I will use them.

Right now, I have those big orange cones sitting on top of each hole. There are three altogether.

thanks for the ideas![/QUOTE]

I fill holes in the pasture with manure but these sound like deep ones. For those I’d still use manure but leave the cones on and keep filling with more manure as it settles until it seems safe to remove the cones. I don’t really care for the idea of a cement plug in an otherwise natural area.

[Draftygirl]

[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;8253820]
I have some bagged concrete mix leftover from the fencing project. I think sand would be my preference, but since I have these on-hand I think I will use them.

Right now, I have those big orange cones sitting on top of each hole. There are three altogether.

thanks for the ideas![/QUOTE]

I fill holes in the pasture with manure but these sound like deep ones. For those I’d still use manure but leave the cones on and keep filling with more manure as it settles until it seems safe to remove the cones. I don’t really care for the idea of a concrete plug in an otherwise natural area.

[JanM]

You can get 50 lb. bags of sand at the big box stores. That would be my choice, and wouldn’t turn into a big, solid chunk in the pasture. Just make sure you overfill to compensate for compaction.

[jawa]

I vote for sand too.

[mht]

What about putting an old wooden fencepost back in…but about a foot shorter than the hole, and then filling with the concrete, or sand.

[Calvincrowe]

I’m cheap, and also hate “rocks” in my fields, and can’t imagine creating them! Rocks/stones will continuously appear in the pasture due to soil heave (freeze/thaw–ask anyone from the NE!) and are a pain to mow. So, my solution is always well composted manure. Fill hole, water if possible, monitor, and repeat as necessary. Yes, it will sink over time, but again…I’m cheap.

[King_s_Ransom]

To clarify, these holes are from huge RR ties that a previous owner had used as fence posts, so they are really big. And deep. I’m disappointed that my fence guy missed them as he went out there with the dozer to specifically fill them in. I guess he just forgot about these three. I have mowed everywhere now and I am 99% sure these are the only ones.

Thanks for all of the ideas. I do think we are going to use the concrete mix, top with manure, and then monitor.

Otherwise, I have to say I actually enjoyed mowing today, everything looks so pretty!

[DHCarrotfeeder]

gravel

Also remember that post holes are on even intervals. Make darn sure that each one has been filled either by you or the contractor. If you think one should be there and isn’t, get out your tape measure and shovel and dig there until you find it. Because it will collapse one day.

[Lord_Helpus]

Can you get your contractor to come back, since he was the one that missed filling them in?

Manure will decompose and pack down to about 1/4th its original size, so it would take you a while to fill holes with it.

I like the idea of (even if you have to buy) a fence post, to put it in the hole cut so it stops about 6" from the top, and then finish filling the holes with sand or dirt.

Do you have a pick up? Quarries will sell you one dump load full of dirt or stones… That is what I have done from time to time.