Earthworms would need some air and not total saturation. So, maybe your planting spots aren’t as bad as you’re describing (earlier).
Most of us have had soils all winter that are almost saturated…but once grass and trees begin to grow, you may find out it’s not so wet anymore?
The thought to wait a year to learn about your location…good advice.
I plant in pots and grow for a spell if I have nursery stock and am not ready to plant it right away. Usually that means grow until fall in a pot…but could mean a few years.
Here ,in my red clay, say if i dig a hole during a wet rainy period, the surface water will fill the hole swell up the clay ,and stay full of water for maybe a month .
But say after a week of dry weather you could dig a hole right next to the one that is full of water, and it will not have water in it until a rain.
Another option is to use wood chips, although adding them a year ago would have been better. Anyway, going forward, wood chips absorb moisture and hold it (think orchids) then release it back. As they break down they provide haven for earthworms avoiding flooding conditions by coming to the surface w/o being picked off by birds. And, they add volume/height to the surface and with time, resulting in a well drained area.
i have heavy clay soil, full of rocks that drains very slow… its a lot of work to dig a big enough hole here to plant a tree or bush , so 2 years ago i started planting everything in mounds. i put down cardboard to smother the grass then a little soil then the tree roots and cover that with about 12in of soil. tamp that down well and cover the soil with 3in. of wood chip mulch. i also stake the tree well so the roots have time to grow thru the cardboard and anchor in the soil. done 15 bushes and trees like this and they have grown 2xs faster than the ones i planted in holes in the ground. the only thing is you will have to get soil to plant in but for me its been worth the investment.
Yes, a mound or a raised bed works well in those situations. Don’t forget that you can add gravel to wet clay to improve texture. Mycorrhizal fungi, if allowed or encouraged, can improve structure. Wood chips on surface is a great idea.
John S
PDX OR
I planted the first 6 trees this evening… 3 persimmon, 1 quince, and 2 asian pear. It took a lot longer than previous times in well drained, dry ground. The soil is a silt loam so not terribly difficult to work with and I don’t think I need to try and change the texture… just wet at the moment. I’ll for sure be adding wood chips later.
I do have another couple of questions. The three persimmons were bare root and I wasn’t too worried about packing the wet soil around their roots. But the other three were potted and had lots of thin, fibrous roots. How do you fill around the roots for plants like these? Is it best to wash the potting media off before planting? When I dug the hole the soil came out in big chunks. I attempted to break it up as much as possible but this wasn’t very effective… mainly just came apart in globs… isn’t that the technical term?
I did have the thought of pre digging the holes to let the fill soil dry out on top of the ground. Is this a good idea? Luckily most of the stuff I’m planting will be bare root without the delicate, fibrous roots like I had on the potted plants.
How hard should I be packing the soil in around the roots? Is it better to try and eliminate air pockets now or will the rain and water take care of that more effectively?
Air pockets around a potted tree’s rootball….not really a big deal so far as survival is concerned. Wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
But, around bare root trees. adding even more water and/or some sand and making a real cement-like slurry would be how to remove air pockets…if you think it is needed in your situation. Thin runny mud will remove air pockets…although it might in some cases create undesired side effects. (Like most medicines have side effects.)
I’d use a partial bag of soil like Vigoro potting soil right around any roots that may have air holes rather than squishing your wet dirt hard. Then I’d expect the rain to blend it some.
Try to plop small shovels of your dirt instead of squishing, in case it has too much clay that doesn’t act right when wet.
[quote=“Bede, post:29,
(“How hard should I be packing the soil in around the roots?”)
Here I pack the soil firmly with my feet , very well.
I don’t want the tree to wobble in the wind.
I want it " firmly planted.”
Also air pockets today , maybe water pockets tomorrow ,
I have had newly planted trees drowned In clay holes that fill with water. I try to get the air out. I jump around it a time or two.
“Potting soil”? I’d use straight sand before I’d put peat and vermiculite in a tree planting hole.
Real dirt, like sold by Meijers, or my local Lumber King, would be ok.
Ok. I was just talking about the plug… the only reason I’m growing certain species such as pawpaw in pots is so I can put the majority of the plug into the ground and not have to disturb the root system too much. When I was taught to plant potted stock I was told to either score the circling outer roots or pull them apart a bit but not to remove the entirety of the media from the plug. But I’d read that some people do wash the media from the plug and was just wondering if one of these practices might be preferred in a heavier textured soil. Probably over thinking this as usual.
Oh, I can’t find real dirt here anymore. But peat and vermiculite play very nicely with clay, and that brand is pH balanced to about 7 on its own. It contains a lot of slightly composted wood like most bagged ‘soils’ nowadays. But it works nicely for in-ground roots when transplanting.
Our clay needs help around the feeder roots until plants get bigger with stronger roots is why I add anything to the hole.
I only wash off the media if it’s totally dormant and root bound. I do fluff out the roots a bit always, and if circling, carefully pull them down and out.
I had a potted ‘Ichi Ki Kei Jiro’ persimmon yesterday that was in a 14" treepot. It had sent its taproot all the way to the bottom, did a 180, and then went all the way to the top. I think it had been in there for three years.
Update for today regarding the soggy soil. I was able to find a seep this evening on the hill. It’s at the top of one of the large wet spots on the hill. I started digging into the mud and at around 18" down I found what seems like the source of the water. I’m not sure if I could go deeper or back further but I guess it doesn’t really matter. There’s a constant stream of water coming out of the ground at this point… haven’t measured it yet but it looks to be less than 1 gpm… definitely enough to saturate a large area. I’m very glad to have found this and luckily it’s directly uphill from the pond. I plan on hand digging a small pond right below the seep and then trenching the overflow into the pond.
Remember that if you have clay soil and you put sand into it, you often get cement. That is how natural builders make benches and walls for houses. I would much rather put gravel into heavy clay. Then you can add wood chips or compost, even mulch on top and let it seep in. The worms will come up at night and grab it and bring it down when it has rotted sufficiently.
John S
PDX OR
