Is There Anything We Can Grow On Our Contaminated Land?

[GuyDow]

About 18 months ago we had an additional metre of landfill laid to the rear of our house. This was because the area flooded the previous rainy season. Prior to this area being filled, it was fertile.

Nothing grows on the newly landfilled area; no grass, no weeds, nothing. At first whenever it rained a white crystalline deposit would leach out to the surface. We scraped this up and moved it elsewhere. Now this doesn't happen to anything like the same extent.

We were hoping that the area would clean itself up but this doesn't seem to be happening.

Has anyone got any suggestions of anything we could plant here? Either to clean the land or just to cover the bare earth which is getting eroded by the rain.

My wife says there are grasses that would serve the purpose but she doesn't know anything else about the subject. Like for example, what grasses and where would we obtain them. We live in Nakorn Pathom province quite close to the Tai Chin river.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

[Maizefarmer]

Oh dear ............ any ideas where your top soil came from (not contaiminated soil someone else was trying to get rid of from from factory land??) ?

White leaching could suggest a whole bunch of things - one is top soil from an aluminium foundary! - and nothing will grow on that).

Suggestions: take a sample and get it tested.

[phaethon]

Without knowing what the contamination is, it's difficult to identify a remedy. Soil can be cleansed by using targeted micro-organisms, but you have to know what you are dealing with. White crystals rings a bell about lead, but that's just a guess.

There is a mobile soil testing service for Thai farmers ( http://www.agnet.org/library/eb/533/ ) but this is probably geared towards fertiliser issues and may not be able to identify industrial contamination.

The supplier of the soil may be in trouble for supplying polluted material, I suggest you(r wife) contact the Pollution Control Department - http://www.pcd.go.th/indexEng.cfm - they may also be able to supply details of local testing laboratories where you can send samples of that white deposit.

Finally, depending on how much land you are talking about, it may be easier to just get the dodgy stuff stripped off and replaced from a more reliable source.

Edited November 16, 2008 by phaethon

[GuyDow]

Don't really know where the landfill came from and not really in a position to find out.

The main man who organised the landfill had already done a lot of similar work for us and had been entirely satisfactory. This time the problem was not immediately apparent and, when it became clear that something was wrong, he blamed the driver who picked up the landfill. Of course, the driver is no longer around. The main man hasn't been that responsive to solving the problem and, frankly, I am not going to push him too hard for reasons that would be familiar to anyone who has lived here for more than 5 minutes.

[Lickey]

Im not sure why you or your Mrs thinks some kind of grass will grow if weeds dont?weeds are the biggest problem for many farmers/gardeners in thai because of there abbility to grow quick with no help, Have you seen any ants or other insects on this ground?

Do you let your kids or pets play on the ground?

And as for this statement, Quote I am not going to push him too hard for reasons that would be familiar to anyone who has lived here for more than 5 minutes.

By all means let them walk all over you and stitch you up, if that makes you content, Why dosent your Mrs talk with the supplier? My mrs had a "word" with the farm labour who nicked some fertiliser for his cassava, in the end, he was down on his knees crying, i had to tell her to stop!

Get the soil removed, there is something very wrong with it, it could be detrimental to your famlies health.

Rgds, Lickey.

[GuyDow]

Im not sure why you or your Mrs thinks some kind of grass will grow if weeds dont?

She read somewhere about a King's Project planting grass (sativer grass?) on polluted land to clean it up.

[pete_r]

Im not sure why you or your Mrs thinks some kind of grass will grow if weeds dont?

She read somewhere about a King's Project planting grass (sativer grass?) on polluted land to clean it up.

That would be vetiver grass.

http://www.chaipat.or.th/intranet/article/.../vetiver_e.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vetiver_grass

[Artisi]

If weeds won't grow you have big problems - take the advise regarding soil testing for the sake of your families health.

[IsaanAussie]

About 18 months ago we had an additional metre of landfill laid to the rear of our house. This was because the area flooded the previous rainy season. Prior to this area being filled, it was fertile.

Nothing grows on the newly landfilled area; no grass, no weeds, nothing. At first whenever it rained a white crystalline deposit would leach out to the surface. We scraped this up and moved it elsewhere. Now this doesn't happen to anything like the same extent.

We were hoping that the area would clean itself up but this doesn't seem to be happening.

Has anyone got any suggestions of anything we could plant here? Either to clean the land or just to cover the bare earth which is getting eroded by the rain.

My wife says there are grasses that would serve the purpose but she doesn't know anything else about the subject. Like for example, what grasses and where would we obtain them. We live in Nakorn Pathom province quite close to the Tai Chin river.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Dowguy,

I assume you want to have some grass or flower beds in the area. Stick a surface coating over the lot and plant some grass on it. You can buy grass sods cheaply on the roadside, just bung a rot thai trailer or two or cow stable manure down first usually at about 200baht from the village each load or more regularly from a pig farm or cattle feed lot. If the pollution/leaching/salt is too bad the grass will burn off this dry season. Give it a shot.... better than looking at a clay pan

Isaanaussie

Edited November 17, 2008 by IsaanAussie

[mrissara]

In general, land filler buy soil from "soil pit", which is not a fertile top soil. Such a 20 m dept pit only provides mixture of clay, sand, loam etc. with no organic material. The soil pH could be way off to very acidic or very alkaline.

You may either treat the soil or just let it stand there for another 3 years until the soil get conditioned.

If you need only a portion of planting area, I do agree with the above suggestion. You may get some top soil or compost and plant things on that layer and let the lower soil adjusts itself.

If you need a large planting plot, you may need the soil treated. And, first step, get its pH measured.

[Nottelmann]

Hi GuyDow,

My guess would be that the fill is contaminated with sea salt. Take a random, composite sample and have a lab analyze it for toxins and a full nutrient profile.

If that is the case, I suggest you leach it out. Rainfall will do this over time but running a sprinkler on it will do it quicker. It may be that it will be tough to grow a variety of crops on it for several years. If the land is flat, leaching may be tough because of the cap on the original soil surface. If you can rip it with a long shank on a high HP tractor, this would be a good idea prior to leaching.

However, if you want to make commercial use of the land soon, look to salt tolerant crops. The first high value, cash crop that comes to mind would be asparagus. This is a perennial and you would be married to it for several years.

I would suggest that if asparagus is your crop that you still do your best to leach the salt out of the soil before planting.

I would expect fill to be devoid of many nutrients so a good broad spectrum fertilizer would be needed. Asparagus is a heavy nitrogen feeder.

Asparagus should be started by seed first and then transplanted.

Good luck.

Bob Nottelmann

[GuyDow]

My guess would be that the fill is contaminated with sea salt.

If I had to take a guess I also would go with sea salt. The leached crystals are white and taste salty (yes, I know this is not conclusive). The first time it rained heavily after the land was filled the run-off killed all the fish in the pond, except the catfish. This only happened the first time. Also the quantity of crystalline material leached out is declining over time. This is suggestive of something highly soluble, like sea salt.

Thanks for the suggestions on asparagus, however it's just a garden not farmland. If we could get anything green to grow on there, that would be sufficient.

Also, thanks to everyone else for their suggestions and comments. It has given me some avenues to pursue and I'll see where that takes us.

[akaika]

In the slight chance there is a dangerous toxic substance present, lab testing before taste testing would be good. Vetiver grass is available from local government agricultural offices at a very low cost but it may not be the grass you want. It is not a grass for a yard. It works great around a fish pond to control erosion.

When you choose the manure, remember that all the seed from grazing cows will grow in your new yard...don't use composted weeds or you will have the same problem.

It is possible to turn completely useless growing dirt into good soil in 5 years with a lot of work. Need to adjust clay and sand, add fertilizer and compost.

I would also suggest bananas. You can spot prepare the soil for these.

good luck...

[t.s]

Don't really know where the landfill came from and not really in a position to find out.

The main man who organised the landfill had already done a lot of similar work for us and had been entirely satisfactory. This time the problem was not immediately apparent and, when it became clear that something was wrong, he blamed the driver who picked up the landfill. Of course, the driver is no longer around. The main man hasn't been that responsive to solving the problem and, frankly, I am not going to push him too hard for reasons that would be familiar to anyone who has lived here for more than 5 minutes.

yep, you are afraid of him.

[GuyDow]

yep, you are afraid of him.

Sorry,your point is what?

If this is all you have to contribute, may I suggest you direct your attentions elsewhere?