Got a tiny little spot I’m wanting to try to plant this year. About a decade ago we used as a dirt pit, we would go there and scoop the dirt out and use to fill in holes that washed out on other parts of the property. It’s almost bare red clay with very minimal plant growth except for pines. My question is since we removed the top soil some time ago is there any chance of growing anything this year? Hauling top soil back over there isn’t an option (and is ironic). I figured if I could even get anything to grow, it might eventually build the soil back up with organic matter. Or is it a wasteland at this point?

I’d add some Marshall Ryegrass to whatever fall mix you use. Just kill it before it goes to seed next spring. Follow up next spring with buckwheat and sorghum. Rinse/repeat until you start to see organic matter increase. You could try some Daikon Raddish as well this fall.

Add sunhemp in that spring summer mix next year

Good to hear it’s fixable. I planned on disking and trying a simple WMS no till to see what would grow. Figured if I can’t get a stand out of that mix then I was probably not gonna have a chance with much else.

I'd plant millet in the summer......I'd keep overseeding and adding nitrogen in attempt to establish a carpet of grass to repair the soil surface to begin with

Definitely plant sunn hemp in the spring. You will not believe the amount of biomass it will make when you cut it, and it adds a lot of nitrogen.

fall, cereal rye (not rye grass) diakon (sodbuster) radish, clover and pour the fertilizer to it. In spring. Sunn hemp, Milo grain sorghum. That combination has really helped us build up our soil.

You may want to bring in a few dozen bales of hay to help things get going.........I think you could probably spread them pretty easy by just busting them out of the strings and then easing a bushhog down over it

257, remember the big dirt pit on Jakes land that Tike hauled from? We tried growing wheat in that thing for years, sometimes planted it five times a year but it would never grow, guess it was due to poor grave/clay and having several hundred dove in it every day.

Oh yea. That place was a true sand pit. But badass to shoot doves over.

Im in the same boat, I've been hauling in dump trailer loads of horse manure. Definitely had a good stand of crabgrass this year on it!

That'll work right there........