fruit trees and rock hard soil

[bookwormom]

I am on my third hole and worn out. the place below the goat shed has soil as hard as a rock. compacted by trucks driving over all the time. the previous owner had a bulldozer and it seems everything needed bulldozing as there is hardly any topsoil. I am wondering what i can do to loosen the soil around the tree holes. what do you guys think of using an auger to drill around the area? Of course I am going to mulch and all the good stuff later, but it looks worse than I expected. I have trees that need to be planted and I sure feel sorry for the poor things. I would have liked to give them a better home. Any advice you have will be welcome. thanks

[Smoky]

When you say auger, do you mean a post-hole-digger-type auger? That would be good if you drill a hole and then drill right next to it till you have an area 3-4 ft wide dug up. Otherwise pick and shovel.
Any fruit tree needs to be able to spread it's roots, so when you backfill the hole, add some amendments to loosen it up a little. No fresh manure, but old is ok or topsoil from another area.

[kawalekm]

Hi Bookwormom
Is your soil hard when wet or dry? Here in California soils become "cemented" during the dry season because the dissolved minerals in the ground water bind the particles together. If hard when dry it is probubly "cementation" and is corrected by flooding the hole with water. It sounds though that your hardness is related to vehicle compaction and only a pick and shovel will solve that problem.

I worry though what will be happening to your trees in 2-3 years. The roots will grow well through the loosened hole soil, but will become stunted once they hit the undisturbed compacted soil. One way to counter this is to plant in bigger holes that are square or rectangular instead of round. As the tree grows, the roots spread out radially from the trunk. If planted in the center of a round hole, just about all the roots hit hard, compacted soil about the same time. Once confronted by hard soil the roots either just stop growing, or get diverted into growing in a circle. Trees with this problem display "transplant shock" a year or two after planting. In a square hole the tree's roots have a year or more before all the roots hit the compact wall and the tree has time to adapt. The sharp right angles of the hole also help divert the roots downward, instead of sideways.

Did that old dozer have a ripping blade? That may be the only way to break up the compacted soil in a way thats best for growing trees. Otherwise, a good pick is your best bet. I'd dig the holes larger than it seems the tree needs, then mix in some organic matter like cow manure (acid soil) or peat moss (alkaline soil) to keep it uncompacted.
Michael

[bee_pipes]

We have the same problem here - everywhere. Our soil is called "chert" - a rocky/gravelly composition. In some spots the topsoil is so sparse that the weeds grow thin - looking almost like bald patches. We planted fig, cherry, and blueberry by hand - I can commiserate with the difficulty in digging holes. Even fine, rock hard soil would be easier - the shovel blade hits rock within a quarter inch of the last bite. The best money I've spent on digging equipment is a pry-bar. The bar is 4-5 feet long, weighs a ton, and is excellent for breaking up the soil in a hole. I think I paid about $20 for it, new. I have made a number of post holes with this devil and, while tiring, it speeds up the process.

When we put in post holes earlier, for shed and fence, we used a friend's tractor with a post hole digger. That mechravance dug more holes in an hour than we could have done in a month. I have not tried the hand-held augers yet, though am lusting after one. For the garden, we did have some luck with a roto-tiller. With repeated passes and shoveling, we were able to dig pretty deep beds. For regular gardening, we use old cardboard covered in fallen leaves and any other organic matter we can get our hands on. The cardboard breaks down in the rain and adds a layer to the barren topsoil. After a few seasons of this you wind up with a deep bed that makes a dandy home for earthworms, cheaper and better than store-bought wood mulch.

You would do well with a mechanical post-hole digger for the trees proper, and repeated passes with a roto-tiller might get you a bed 2 foot deep. Eventually the tree roots will be strong enough to break up the soil, but any advantage you can give them while they are young will avoid the transplant shock mentioned by kawalekm.

How is the water and drainage in the location you have selected? I'm thinking I need to move my fruit trees from the place I have planted them. There is a patch further removed from the house that had green grass all winter, and looks like a better spot. As we don't have the tractor anymore, I'm thinking roto-tiller and prybar for bed and deep holes to seat the trees.

Best of luck to you!

Regards,
Pat

[bookwormom]

thanks guys. I have planted trees before, but not under such sorry circumstances. it rained all night and the holes I dug already are filled to the brim. I think a big part of the problem is compaction by vehicles on soil very susceptible to compaction. I have never used an auger in my life, that is why I asked you guys. there is a place where I could rent one, but I want to know what I am doing before I drive up there and shell out the money . I thought of drilling with it around the holes so the soil would be loosened somewhat. I have no idea what else to do, use a stick of dynamite maybe.
I envy the pioneers who came here and found fertile soil, and, like Wendell Berry put it, fell in like a pig in a corn crib, wasting and destroying the soil. there is a less than an inch of topsoil where I want to plant the trees. the location though should be right. southern exposure, gentle slope, the barn to the north and woods to the west, open to the South and East.
best to you all, too.

[shadowwalker]

If it is clay and gets rock hard when dry. I got a little trick. I seen on tv. Take a rake and scratch the heck out of the sides of the hole. This lets the roots have a better chance to extend out as they grow. With the ground not bieng compacted like a wall. Easier for them.
I can tell the difference three years later on the trees I did this to and the ones I already had planted in the same areas.

[Smoky]

I guess I didn't say so, but I was talking about an auger that mounts on your tractor. Sorry if I confused.