A long handle spade works really good on soil that is difficult to dig with a foot. We made custom ones with 1" hollow pipe, so we were able to get it heavy enough for a good hit but not so heavy it destroys your shoulders. For everyone else just get the ones with the long wood handles.
I've been planting a lot lately, and amending clay soil with compost 50/50 and I'm astonished how much extra dirt I've accumulated. I'm not surprised you excavated 12 bins full of that soil!
It would have been really helpful if you continued the video with planting the tree .... how much compost? Ratio of compost with native soil? What kind of compost do you use? Other amendments? Fertilizer? Does this advice just apply to trees or anything planted in our clay soil? Also my soil if full of rocks too. Should I pick those out? Any advice appreciated!
Thanks for this. I'm in Southern Arizona and the soil has a bit more organic materials than the Phoenix area, but not enough to mean i don't have to add. I've had so many people telling me not to amend my soil, but all the people i see with big beautiful trees swear by it. I decided to amend anyways, and my babies are thriving so far (except for the ones the gophers like lol).
Everytime I plant, someone says you don't need to make the hole that big. Believe me, I'd love to make smaller holes but it's not worth it. I've taken to using a jet water spray to loosen start the hole and let the water loosen the dirt so it's easier to shovel out.
Did I miss the part where you tell us what to put in the hole? Is it ALL compost, or some fraction of compost and some of native soil? And do you add any fertilizer or anything else?
Another wonderfully delivered vid. Your soil is very similer to London soil...clay !!!.. Thankyou for refreashing my memory on things.. Been a while since i went to college Ps In the same boat with what I could do and now the" old bones"haha
thanks! explains why my fig trees are all stunted. i didn't make a big enough hole and I didn't amend either. i put many 25 gallon fig trees into the ground. was lazy with the hole size, and also didn't amend. compacted soil like yours. so you have any recommendations for my bad predicament? The trees have been stunted in growth and fruit production, some approaching 5 years old.
people KEEP repeating the nonsense that amending the hole is bad because the roots will stay in the hole.... That has never happened to me... I've tested it and trees that I didn't amend when planting have grown nowhere near as much as the trees that had the holes amended at planted
I just dug up a tabebuia i planted last fall that is in decline because of bad root rot. I followed the whole "plant in native only, mulch heavy with wood chips and never amend" rule. It's the only one of the trees I planted last fall that got root rot. My jacaranda was planted in heavily and i mean heavioy amended soil and didn't get root rot. My hydroanthus was planted native+some amended soil and didn't get root rot. Arbutus marina was planted in native+some compost and no root rot. Everything i plant that I don't amend with seem to struggle in our heavy clay soil.
Great video. Our soil is horrible. Deep calache and rocks!! Had to bring in an excavator to dig the holes past it. Our 18 trees are doing well. Gophers is our issue here. Ate the root of our Pecan tree!!! Help!!! 😫😡😫
Hello, what do you think is the minimum temperate zone to do what you're doing? I understand you're in east Phoenix, which is called Zone 13 or something like that, which is incredible that you're doing what you're doing. Could I do a food forest in Zone 7? Sorry for such a general question. Thank you.
If you happen to dig near a cactus the soil is often a bit more loose. So you can use them as a mild indicator of drainage. They also tend to grow near where the water flows not where the water sits. Vegetation also loosens soil over time. A lot of Arizona did used to have more ground qater and thus more plantlife so more places had better soil too. Its sort of a mixed bad to be honest. Good question though.
There is much debate on whether the roots stay within a highly amended zone. And it somewhat depends on the tree type. Scientists have looked at this. It is better to amend a little as necessary and more from the top down, as nature does it. There is a trick a top scientist uncovered for getting plant roots to break that barrier. I have posted that before.
A long handle spade works really good on soil that is difficult to dig with a foot.
We made custom ones with 1" hollow pipe, so we were able to get it heavy enough for a good hit but not so heavy it destroys your shoulders.
For everyone else just get the ones with the long wood handles.
I've been planting a lot lately, and amending clay soil with compost 50/50 and I'm astonished how much extra dirt I've accumulated. I'm not surprised you excavated 12 bins full of that soil!
Great advice! I will make all my tree holes larger..
It would have been really helpful if you continued the video with planting the tree .... how much compost? Ratio of compost with native soil? What kind of compost do you use? Other amendments? Fertilizer? Does this advice just apply to trees or anything planted in our clay soil? Also my soil if full of rocks too. Should I pick those out? Any advice appreciated!
Thanks for this. I'm in Southern Arizona and the soil has a bit more organic materials than the Phoenix area, but not enough to mean i don't have to add. I've had so many people telling me not to amend my soil, but all the people i see with big beautiful trees swear by it. I decided to amend anyways, and my babies are thriving so far (except for the ones the gophers like lol).
Everytime I plant, someone says you don't need to make the hole that big. Believe me, I'd love to make smaller holes but it's not worth it. I've taken to using a jet water spray to loosen start the hole and let the water loosen the dirt so it's easier to shovel out.
Did I miss the part where you tell us what to put in the hole? Is it ALL compost, or some fraction of compost and some of native soil? And do you add any fertilizer or anything else?
Another wonderfully delivered vid.
Your soil is very similer to London soil...clay !!!..
Thankyou for refreashing my memory on things..
Been a while since i went to college
Ps
In the same boat with what I could do and now the" old bones"haha
great video. thank you.
Great video! You and I discussed this a little a couple months ago but this more comprehensive video is a great supplement!
Wow, thank you! Amazing information.
Thank you so much for doing this for us 👍
What do you Amend with ?
thanks! explains why my fig trees are all stunted. i didn't make a big enough hole and I didn't amend either. i put many 25 gallon fig trees into the ground. was lazy with the hole size, and also didn't amend. compacted soil like yours. so you have any recommendations for my bad predicament? The trees have been stunted in growth and fruit production, some approaching 5 years old.
Comment are turned off on your over wintering fruit tree part one and two posted on Jan 4th. Love your videos and I live in Golden Valley az.
people KEEP repeating the nonsense that amending the hole is bad because the roots will stay in the hole.... That has never happened to me... I've tested it and trees that I didn't amend when planting have grown nowhere near as much as the trees that had the holes amended at planted
I just dug up a tabebuia i planted last fall that is in decline because of bad root rot. I followed the whole "plant in native only, mulch heavy with wood chips and never amend" rule. It's the only one of the trees I planted last fall that got root rot. My jacaranda was planted in heavily and i mean heavioy amended soil and didn't get root rot. My hydroanthus was planted native+some amended soil and didn't get root rot. Arbutus marina was planted in native+some compost and no root rot. Everything i plant that I don't amend with seem to struggle in our heavy clay soil.
Good one Jay!
Great info, thank you for sharing
Great video. Our soil is horrible. Deep calache and rocks!! Had to bring in an excavator to dig the holes past it. Our 18 trees are doing well. Gophers is our issue here. Ate the root of our Pecan tree!!! Help!!!
😫😡😫
Hope someone told you about the gopher exterminator..
@@sunshinedayz2172 HI!no luck there but a 1/4 in. Wire mesh on the bottom and around the sides has worked great!
Wow, no wonder the soil needs to be amended. It helps to understand the reasons behind it.
What about when we plant too many trees together in small area
Hello, what do you think is the minimum temperate zone to do what you're doing? I understand you're in east Phoenix, which is called Zone 13 or something like that, which is incredible that you're doing what you're doing. Could I do a food forest in Zone 7? Sorry for such a general question. Thank you.
You can absolutely plant a food forest in zone 7. Just make sure you plant trees that are suitable for your zone.
Yes! Plants suitable for you!
Jake serious question do you worry about soil ph ?
Do you have an official website ?
Can dirt settle in Arizona
What’s the best way of getting in touch with you?
If Arizona soil have poor drainage why they always say plant cactus in loose drain soil?
If you happen to dig near a cactus the soil is often a bit more loose. So you can use them as a mild indicator of drainage. They also tend to grow near where the water flows not where the water sits. Vegetation also loosens soil over time. A lot of Arizona did used to have more ground qater and thus more plantlife so more places had better soil too. Its sort of a mixed bad to be honest. Good question though.
@@4thdimensionalexplorer interesting. Good answer too. I'd always thought best to replicate the soil where native too but now I see it just depends.
Your math is a bit off but we get your point.
There is much debate on whether the roots stay within a highly amended zone. And it somewhat depends on the tree type. Scientists have looked at this. It is better to amend a little as necessary and more from the top down, as nature does it. There is a trick a top scientist uncovered for getting plant roots to break that barrier. I have posted that before.
👍♥️🇺🇸