About a year ago, I came up with a plan for recovering from
soil compaction in a section of my garden. Recall we had removed an overgrown
pine tree and then never planted anything to protect the healthy soil. The clay soil
had become compacted, unsightly, and unusable. Part of my plan to fight soil compaction was to break up the soil and add organic material.
In September, I started to execute my plan. The patch of dirt is relatively small, so I broke up the soil manually with a shovel. I did wet the soil lightly with a hose, and then waited a day or so. Once the dirt had softened, I turned the soil, breaking the large chunks into smaller ones to increase pore space. If this had been a larger area, I would have borrowed a tool from the tool lending library to help with the process.
Next, I added some organic matter, in this case chicken manure, and allowed it to set for a couple of weeks. I also created a small path of wood chips to the compost bin, on the border of the area I was restoring, as a buffer against further soil compaction.
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| The soil has been broken up in a 10' x 10' section of the yard. |
In September, I started to execute my plan. The patch of dirt is relatively small, so I broke up the soil manually with a shovel. I did wet the soil lightly with a hose, and then waited a day or so. Once the dirt had softened, I turned the soil, breaking the large chunks into smaller ones to increase pore space. If this had been a larger area, I would have borrowed a tool from the tool lending library to help with the process.
 |
| Organic chicken manure amendment. |
Next, I added some organic matter, in this case chicken manure, and allowed it to set for a couple of weeks. I also created a small path of wood chips to the compost bin, on the border of the area I was restoring, as a buffer against further soil compaction.
 |
| A bark path to the compost helps prevent additional soil compaction. |
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