Planting on a Hillside in Heavy Clay Soils

i don’t even dig a hole in the native dirt. i put down cardboard to smother the grass, put in my raised bed, which is about 20in. high. place the root ball on the cardboard and fill in. the last 3in. gets some woodchips then water well. if its a largish tree i pound in a stake through the cardboard 1st. then plant the tree next to it and tie off for support. all the trees I’ve planted like this are all growing well. I’ve tested a few of the 3 yr old ones and yes they have rooted well into the native soil. i think this way the extra water just drains off on the native soil instead of sitting in a bowl in the clay rotting the roots. the mulch helps to just retain enough moisture. mounds work well too but you’re always having to rake the mulch back onto the mound. when given poor growing conditions you do what you have to to adapt your planting strategies. was either do it this way or give up growing trees on my property.

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I’m not sure I could dig that deep without something to hold the sides of the hole up. I have the opposite problem of sandy loam. I am impressed with your dedication either way.

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I mix in very old manure (turned into soil) with the native dirt to try and avoid the bowl affect (water trapped in a pit). According to Dave Wilson Nursery even in naturally wet areas in your yard you can still raise fruit trees in raised containers. I am in the same situation as you Moose - either I grow in raised containers with amended soil or I loose 75% of my yard to growing fruit trees.

Curious your containers are 20 inches high (mine are usually 10 to 12 inches high) - what are the dimensions of your containers? It is bad enough filling a 4 ft x 4 ft x 1 Ft container manually - add another 8 inches and that turns into a real back breaker.

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i make my own soil and haul it in a wheel barrow. its not that bad. some aren’t that high. for bigger trees i use 20in. smaller bushes / trees sometimes 10- 12in. is enough. most of mine are 4’x 4’ for some smaller bushes its 3’ x 3’.

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With all due respect @Barkslip.
I have sympathy for your " clay " problem .
Here , I have the thickest red clay , I believe is possible .!
At ~ 1000+ ft. Elevation it has been a while since it saw any silt. /glaciers / etc.
It’s like peanut butter when wet.
In a drought , I can put a 3ft. Stick in the cracks.
Some wet years, it is anaerobic … ( wet peanut butter)
In a drought , you can pour 10 + gal. In the same place and it disappears.
My strategy for planting trees is ;
Only use the native clay to back fill.
Tamp ( jump on ) clay during back filling, to compact it back to native conditions.
Try to achieve a small mound of clay,around root ball ,to keep surface water from getting into planting hole.
Try to make a swale , close, up hill a foot or so, to catch water.in native soil.
Amend only top 1-2 inches with organics.
Some years ( the wet ones) many drowned.
I ( ironically ) prefer a dry year when planting new trees.
I can haul water, but I cannot dry out a waterlogged soil.
Some years planting late with potted stock works well .
Regardless , packing the clay back very well, so there are no air pockets , that become water pockets, and a small mound to keep surface water away, seams best.
After the first year the clay settles and the following years the situation improves.

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reading about you people’s soil makes me appreciate only having a couple inch layer of clay about 16 inches deep…

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Makes me want to go dig a hole! But I think my time would be better spent putting on mouse guards in the nursery.

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My soil is straight dark clay and rock. Lots of rock. That aside all of the trees love it and the rocky clay keeps them firmly in place as they grow.

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What is your tree spacing? Mine are a bit haphazard and perhaps too close. My peaches are about 7 years old and with their wide open center they are getting close to the trees next to them. Fortunately or not, I alternated trees so that a peach might be beside a very upright pear. Even with stretcher bars, those pears seem to keep a tight frame.

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I’ve walked around really old plantings of grafted black walnuts along with pecans, shellbark & shagbark hickories, & hicans… and that guy spaced appx. 20 steps between trees. So I did the same except for a few trees got less spacing.

Dax

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Thanks Dax, I will step mine off and see how it compares. Regina

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