Pedigree Query

Just rented this place during the summer when there wasn't much rain. We've been getting a lot of rain lately. We have a few spots that are chronically muddy in front of the barn. I've been thinking of adding old hay and straw to stabalize the ground (so we can walk on it instead of sinking) and then tamp it before it freezes. Does anyone have any suggestions? How have you dealt with mud?

We use gravel. Hay/straw will rot and turn to brown mush and make it worse.

we use gravel at our barn, also I've seen sand.
You might also want to dig up a trench and put in a drainage pipe.

Thanks, I just needed a temporary fix so I didn't sink past my ankles and loose a boot. In Spring we'll try to fix it. The ground will freeze soon.

We've had success with dumping dirty sawdust from stalls in the muddy areas, too.

Any way to fix the water problem? Diverting a gutter or something?

Dig a French drain (well it is what Kentuckians around me call a French drain).

First you have to determine the most significant source point for the water (ie the bottom of a hill) and you dig a 2 ft deep trench across that source. Line the trench with gravel, and lay perforated sewer pipe, holes UP, along the trench with the ends of the pipe pointing downhill to where you want the water diverted. Cover the whole thing with gravel. Move the leftover dirt to somewhere else where you want that, like stall floors. Problem solved.

It's a one day job if you have the materials and a ditch witch, which can be rented.

It's supposed to be snowing and freezing by now, instead it's been raining for 2 days. Climate Change anyone? Last year we bought a new snow blower and used it maybe 4 times. Great ideas. We will probably do the French drain in the Spring. Now it's mud soup. I've already lost one boot to the mud. LOL.

We had a snow blade for the tractor... used it twice in four years. Sold that. We just use the front end loader if we need to move snow, which we really never get.. the problem with most boots made for mud is that they are pull-ons - which pull OFF in the mud

just`flip a board over it

My muddy areas I scrape with the bucket of the skid loader, and then put down the tree chips that Asplundh will deliver for free. After they get soaked and muddy you might need to put more down after scraping them again. But, if you scrape well and tamp down what you drop for tree chips then it does hold awhile. Much nicer.