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Molehill soil

peteSpeteS Posts: 966
in Plants
There are numerous very large mounds of molehill soil visible in my local park, just begging to be collected. All finely sieved, as they do. But I've always wondered on the merits of such soil, and the pros and cons of going through the effort of collecting it. Would this be classed as topsoil, as I imagine it's been tunnelled up not that far from the surface. Cheers.

Posts

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I used to collect molehill soil from my parents' garden to mix with multipurpose compost. They have really nice soil and like you say it's just really nicely tilled topsoil basically. Your local park might have been treated with weedkiller or things like that though so I'd be wary about collecting any that I wasn't sure was chemical free.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Molehill soil is an ideal addition to your compost mix. 
    I used it on a regular basis in a previous garden.
    As @wild edges says tho, if you are thinking of collecting from a public area, I'd advise against just in case it is contaminated.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    We push ours back down into the hole, you can easily twist an ankle as the ground gives way if you remove the soil. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    And and legally, I don't imagine you can take dirt from a local park.  
    Utah, USA.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I wouldn’t think so either. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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