Clean dirt question

[Momof4]

I was just curious about what kind of dirt to buy to add to my pens?
I was going to buy in bulk like 10yards from a local rock co.
Any ideas? I have heard of clean dirt , but don't know what it is and if it's safe?

 

[jaizei]

Clean just means it shouldn't have rocks or other debris in it. I would just check the soil before buying. Make sure it has good composition/texture, etc.

 

[ascott]

I was just curious about what kind of dirt to buy to add to my pens?
I was going to buy in bulk like 10yards from a local rock co.
Any ideas? I have heard of clean dirt , but don't know what it is and if it's safe?

If you are dealing with outdoor pens then why are you wanting to add dirt to dirt? Dirt is a wonderful thing all unto itself....now, if you have sand as your ground covering then there may be a problem housing a tortoise on it...

 

[ascott]

I was just curious about what kind of dirt to buy to add to my pens?
I was going to buy in bulk like 10yards from a local rock co.
Any ideas? I have heard of clean dirt , but don't know what it is and if it's safe?

Also keep in mind that it is hard to know where the dirt at the rock yard has come from...what type of weed seed and other invasive noxious seeds may be in the mix, if from the same geographical area as you then great but if not...that is a huge headache...

 

[Tom]

Also keep in mind that it is hard to know where the dirt at the rock yard has come from...what type of weed seed and other invasive noxious seeds may be in the mix, if from the same geographical area as you then great but if not...that is a huge headache...

I agree with jaizei's definition of what is meant by "clean dirt", and I agree with Ascott's points too.

There is no way to know what is in that dirt, and I can guarantee that the people selling it or giving it away don't intend for it to go into animal enclosures. There is a good chance that the dirt you get will be fine, but there is also a chance that some dude changed his car oil, or dumped his anti-freeze into that dirt before it was scooped up and put in that pile.

I don't have a good solution for where you can find suitable dirt in your area, but just wanted to caution you to be careful about it.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

I'll start with Blah blah blah....

"Dirt" is like the word "weed", something not wanted where it is. If we feed them to our tortoises weeds are not weeds but food plants in our yards. Dirt is what you clean away from something where you don't want it.

SOIL is what is the topic. Soil is a mix of organic and inorganic components that covers the earth's surface.

When you buy soil it is often manufactured, not harvested. That is someone in some landscape materials yard had some of this, some of that, some more of another thing, and when mixed it fulfills a definition of top soil, dirt or fill. Typically it is not well regulated despite labels and stickers on the outside of the bags. There is indeed harvested top soil, but that is very expensive, and also tends to mean you will get a soil microbe mix that won't be suitable for you outdoor pens.

There are a few exceptions for bags of stuff we can but that are what they say, and have been tested. Most are not.

If you want to freshen outdoor pens or add depth I'd suggest buy peat in 3 cubic foot bails and turning it into the soil you already have in your pens.

Here's why: Soil is a complex of living, dead, and inorganic things. It you put new soil on top of old soil you are essentially trying to bury soil with soil, similar to applying a second layer of frosting to a cake when the old layer dried out. It looks good but does not really improve the cake. If you were going to take the time and calories to remove some old soil and add new, then making the old soil new is even easier and will work better in that the old soil already has a reasonable good balance of site specific microbes that are what makes soil a living thing. By adding peat, or decomposed leaves, or other rich clean organic matter (not manure) you will make the soil healthier without changing the native flora and fauna of it.

A dump load of soil wheel-barrow-ed into pens is harder than turning the soil, added a few inches of fluffed peat or leaf mold (decomposed leaves), and turning again. Not to mention making the soil a easier to dig experience for the chelonians, more insect treat rich, and better for whatever plants you provide.

Some ugly info on purchased soil. My own first hand experience is that you can find soda pull tabs in bagged soil, syringes, rocks (like ground up from asphalt), seas shells, various hardware (nuts bolts etc.) and just plain trash, pits of paper, candy wrappers etc. If not digging around for eggs I would have never found most of these things in bagged "top soil".

Blah blah blah.

 

[Tom]

Some ugly info on purchased soil. My own first hand experience is that you can find soda pull tabs in bagged soil, syringes, rocks (like ground up from asphalt), seas shells, various hardware (nuts bolts etc.) and just plain trash, pits of paper, candy wrappers etc. If not digging around for eggs I would have never found most of these things in bagged "top soil".

I frequently find bits of plastic, aluminum soda can tabs, bottle caps (One Corona and one Budweiser), broken glass, chunks of painted wood, and assorted other tidbits, in the bagged "soil" that I buy to amend my native soil in my planters. I find these items after I've turned the soil and mixed it all in and then hand smooth it out before seed scattering in the planter. Then I sprinkle another quarter to half inch of the stuff over my new seeds by hand. Using these methods, I see all sorts of little tid bits in the bagged soil.