Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[picklestheduck]

March is the month when all the snow melts and shows all the 'sins' in the yards.

My yard is already a swamp right now....when it fully thaws I'm not sure what imma do. Horses and flock will be in knee deep mud.

 

[troyer]

My yard is already a swamp right now....when it fully thaws I'm not sure what imma do. Horses and flock will be in knee deep mud.

Is the topsoil knee deep? If so, provided that the rest of the dirt underneath the topsoil isn't clay you could remove the topsoil, put it in a garden spot and provide a gravelly/non-topsoil area for the animals to be. I don't know if that is doable for you but it has worked for me in the past. I know that this might not be doable for some because of the lack of equipment or finances.

 

[Sally PB]

March is the month when all the snow melts and shows all the 'sins' in the yards.

I was noticing all the mess along the curbs in town from the snowplows.

 

[RaZ]

I was noticing all the mess along the curbs in town from the snowplows.

Those snow piles are always ugly as sin this time of year. Here on the dirt road, the piles are melting and revealing many beer cans and red solo cups.

This time of year I can usually put down my pallet sidewalk. Still too much ice to do that yet. Maybe I can start staging the pallets if I can safely get to them with the tractor. Every area of my property is a mess. Worst it has been since I moved here. AND we are supposed to get snow tonight.

 

[RaZ]

Yes, it is supposed to rain and maybe a light snow on Sunday. I am thinking of leaving Sunday evenning. Just have to work hard this weekend. I am hoping to clean the coop out of the deep litter stuff and get the sand back in but not too sure if it still going to get cold at nights. What should I do?

I would leave the deep litter for at least another month. Just fluff it up for now.

 

[picklestheduck]

Is the topsoil knee deep? If so, provided that the rest of the dirt underneath the topsoil isn't clay you could remove the topsoil, put it in a garden spot and provide a gravelly/non-topsoil area for the animals to be. I don't know if that is doable for you but it has worked for me in the past. I know that this might not be doable for some because of the lack of equipment or finances.

Its clay underneath. Yeah we have tried. We are sitting in a low water table so nothing we do helps much. We even hauled in truckloads and truckloads of crushed concrete, and its still holding somewhat, but a lot sank out of sight. We have crushed concrete pads that the horses prefer to stand on. Of course they are covered in hay, poop, and tons of mud now but its still higher ground.

In this picture the ground was still pretty frozen, but for example, my entire yard is just muddy like this and sinky. And yes its worse from snow melting, but last year...the backyard was just a mud pit for the most part.

 

[RaZ]

Looks a lot like my yard, @picklestheduck.
In addition to the sticky yellow clay, the ground is littered with rocks of all sizes from baseballs to bowling balls, to 1/2 tonne and larger. South of the garage is sugar sand that runs under the power lines. To the east I have limestone sink holes. This land is a geological wonder. I have to remind myself of that every time I get stuck in the mud.

 

[1muttsfan]

To prevent sinking of top materials, you can buy a special kind of heavy duty landscaping cloth that seals off the lower wet gelatinous layers from a top dressing of gravel. It's not cheap, but it results in a top layer that drains well and doesn't allow sinkage. Not something that you would do for a whole pasture, but for wet lanes or maybe a smaller paddock to use during wet season.

https://www.amazon.com/ArmorLay-Commercial-Grade-Driveway-Fabric/dp/B074MDB596

 

[1muttsfan]

Dreamz, you might want to hold off on putting the sand down until after you get back from your trip, it would be a lot more labor-intensive for somebody to try to keep that clean while you were gone, and a big mess if it wasn't kept clean.

 

[troyer]

Its clay underneath. Yeah we have tried. We are sitting in a low water table so nothing we do helps much. We even hauled in truckloads and truckloads of crushed concrete, and its still holding somewhat, but a lot sank out of sight. We have crushed concrete pads that the horses prefer to stand on. Of course they are covered in hay, poop, and tons of mud now but its still higher ground.

In this picture the ground was still pretty frozen, but for example, my entire yard is just muddy like this and sinky. And yes its worse from snow melting, but last year...the backyard was just a mud pit for the most part.
View attachment 3011098

Wow that would really be a struggle! I live in a sandy part of the state and it drains really well here.