Soil Compaction

Healthy soil is a blend of decomposed minerals, organic material, microorganisms, and pore space, which provides oxygen. Soil characteristics include color, structure, and texture. Soil color is influenced by the parent mineral, for example, a red soil may indicate iron. Soil structure describes how the soil arranges itself in aggregates, for example, clay soil dries in hard, dry clumps. Soil texture is the composition of sand, silt, and clay, for example, sandy soil drains quickly, where clay soil holds on to water. Healthy soil should be teaming with life to provide a home for trees, shrubs, and plants.

Soil can become compacted, which means pore space is reduced or eliminated. This may happen purposefully during construction of a house, where soil is compacted to stabilize the soil. This can also happen when raindrops strike bare ground over a period of time, ground is used as a path or road, or ground is left fallow with nothing growing in it. When soil becomes compacted, water runs off and does not penetrate the soil; roots cannot move through the soil as easily; and the water and oxygen exchange between soil and roots cannot take place. The microorganisms that are required for healthy soil cannot live in this condition. The soil becomes unusable.

Soil has become compacted in a section of the yard
where a tree was removed.

My garden has an area where the soil has become compacted. We took out a pine tree several years ago that had grown out of scale for the property, and was growing close enough to the house to become a fire hazard. We cleared out the tree roots, but never replanted anything in the area. The soil has become compacted, with nothing growing on it except for a colony of moss which revives during the winter rains. The rest of the year, the soil is like a clay brick. I’d like to restore this patch of ground to life.