CULT: Soil Aeration
- To: "INTERNET:i*@onelist.com"
- Subject: CULT: Soil Aeration
- From: S* M* <7*@compuserve.com>
- Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2000 18:32:44 -0500
From: Sharon McAllister <73372.1745@compuserve.com>
Message text written by Janet Natale:
> This sparked an idea...what if you could aerate the soil like they do
with grass, kinda poking the soil with lots of holes...(a single spike
would
take too long...what about a pitchfork plunged into the soil several times
around the clump?) Seems like it would allow better drainage, encourage
bacteria/worms/decay-workers alike. Just a thought. Less invasive than
tilling.
<
It works if you insert the instrument several inches away from the edge of
the clump, angle the tines underneath the clump and then pry gently back
and forth to loosen the soil in that all-important root zone. [If you hear
roots break, you've overdone it.] While you're at it, you can also feed
the root zone by sprinkling a bit of fertilizer in the holes.
This is an old gardener's trick for maintaining mature clumps in a display
where they are not competing with other iris or encroaching on each other's
territory. Let's you dig no more than a few widely-scattered clumps each
year and leave the majority in place so that the border has consistent
bloom.
If the pitchfork handle breaks, your ground is probably too heavy. A
spading fork will usually do the job if wielded with care, but I've broken
a few of those as well in Oklahoma's red clay and New Mexico's sun-baked
adobe.
Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com
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