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+--- Thread: Free Dirt? (/showthread.php?tid=18333)
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Free Dirt? - Lodestone - 04-30-2017
Am cultivating our newly acquired jungle lot next door, and many spots are nearly bare rock; nary enough to transplant a seedling.
Happened to notice that along the mauka side of Hwy 11 near the zoo, is a large bluff of bare dirt. I often see one or more people shoveling it into the back of their trucks. Does anybody know if this soil free and conveniently located, or kapu to me and you?
RE: Free Dirt? - EightFingers - 04-30-2017
I think that's the leftovers from leveling that area along the road, so I'd say it belongs to the county.
Seems like it'd be lot easier just ordering a dump truck load of topsoil.
RE: Free Dirt? - randomq - 04-30-2017
How much is 15 tons of topsoil? I get 15 tons of gravel for ~ $400.
RE: Free Dirt? - Lodestone - 05-01-2017
I suppose so... but wasn't thinking of getting tons of dirt, just a couple hundred pounds. Am not flattening the jungle, just thinning it out and planting fruit trees (papaya, banana, avocado, longan, lychee, rambutan, etc), here and there... or is that a bad plan altogether? What soil there is appears to be very fertile as the banana trees that are already there (my predecessor appears to have been a tad adventurous regarding property lines and absentee owners) are huge.
RE: Free Dirt? - terracore - 05-01-2017
A full-sized pickup load of free county mulch is about 2,000 pounds. It's not exactly soil but it's better than rock. The new "enhanced mulch" doesn't stink like the old stuff. Plant where there's cracks so that the trees have a place to root. Fertilize after every 10 inches of rain.
RE: Free Dirt? - Lodestone - 05-01-2017
Thanks all. I'll probably go fetch some county mulch.
RE: Free Dirt? - Rob Tucker - 05-01-2017
Lodestone,
To a large degree dirt does not function here as well as it does in the mainland. This climate is so wet that dirt tends to hold water too well and roots can rot and you find yourself walking in mud. Not true for all things but black cinder is the local preferred medium for planting for a reason.
If you really have faith in dirt you could consider a cinder/soil mix.
RE: Free Dirt? - kalakoa - 05-01-2017
Black cinder topped with mulch. As the mulch melts down, it fills the little gaps in the cinder, creating a kind of "local dirt" that works quite well.
RE: Free Dirt? - Lodestone - 05-01-2017
Good to know, thanks. I had presumed that cinder was used for landscaping because it was abundant and cheap; had not considered the root rot issue. County mulch (and maybe wood chips to improve the footing on paths?) are in my future.
RE: Free Dirt? - terracore - 05-02-2017
If you use the county mulch, and have success or failures with it, please post them here. I am new to using the mulch myself and the less wheels reinvented, the better.