Alien Soil

[Ben Hur]

I just bought a house that’s about 100 feet off the street and woods separating house from rd. Is my front yard. The ground is dry and fluffy like walking on a dry sponge. I thought it was years of leaves piled up but I thought leaves decompose into the soil.

I blew all the leaves out and was left with this weird surface that’s not really dirt and not really leaves and is spongy when you walk on it!
Someone told me moles but I’m not sure I just want to know what’s going on. The trees are starting to die also.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[northmanlogging]

I just bought a house that’s about 100 feet off the street and woods separating house from rd. Is my front yard. The ground is dry and fluffy like walking on a dry sponge. I thought it was years of leaves piled up but I thought leaves decompose into the soil.

I blew all the leaves out and was left with this weird surface that’s not really dirt and not really leaves and is spongy when you walk on it!
Someone told me moles but I’m not sure I just want to know what’s going on. The trees are starting to die also.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Meth?
or some other toxic spill of some sort?

soil even when severely compacted will loosen up on the surface overtime, just from the action of frost alone, more so if there are plants of any type around.

As for the trees dying, could be anything, from disease, insects, drought, or just plane old age

 

[cookies]

bet its all worm castings

 

[catbuster]

Peat?

 

[Westboastfaller]

Muskeg..If you are in the north and the larch like to grow there. They can look like dead or dying fir this time of year if you are new to that 'country'

 

[Brufab]

Humus on top of a loam base type of soil.