The Soil Science Society of America has announced that entirely too many Americans are digging holes all wrong for spring plants in their gardens.
Specifically, the soil group — America’s largest — cautions against just digging some cavity with smooth, compact sides. This method is patently unsound, the Madison, Wis.-based society explained in a press release sent to The Daily Caller.
“Perhaps the most important concept for the long term survival of your plant is create a hole in and with un-compacted soil,” soil scientist Clay Robinson advises. “Plants need water and air to survive. Compacted soils — from heavy equipment, too much foot traffic or many other sources — don’t have large enough soil pores in them. And roots have a very hard time pushing through compacted soils.”
Instead, Robinson says, the thing to do is to use a trowel or a garden spade to break up the ground around a hole.
“The soil will break off in small clumps of various sizes,” Robinson promises. “If you look closely at the sides of the hole now, you can see some natural structure and cracks along the sides of the hole. These cracks help air and water movement, and root growth.”
Gardeners who want to improve their hole-making abilities can view a step-by-step hole-making video developed by the Soil Science Society of America in cooperation with the American Society of Agronomy. It’s available on YouTube.
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