Compacted Garden Soil | The 1 ODD Soil Test Nobody Does.

[@GardeningInCanada]

GIC Crew! I am not going to lie I am running on coffee & dirt at this point! Looks of comments/dms about the coveralls here is the link geni.us/Fs8Z F R E E Garden Guide! This is all the garden gear I use in a year, along with a curated list of videos you may want to check out if you want to master the seed starting process! chipper-originator-4877.ck.page/a073b6b263

[@mush3199]

🥰

[@ebby0808]

Thank you for the interesting and silly content. Stay healthy.❤

[@blacksmithden]

I recently posted a picture of my freshly tilled bit of in ground garden in a facebook group. Its only about 12ft by 12ft. One person posted the comment "You tilled !??!!?" with a few negative emogies. LOL. Well, yes I did. I spread out about 1 1/2 truck loads of compost on the compacted clay, and started grinding. The rock hard compacted clay was so hard that the rear tine tiller was actually bouncing on it in spots and was having a hard time getting down into it. When you can park a tiller in one spot and it takes about 10 full seconds for it to grind in about 6" in one spot with me rocking the tiller from side to side a bit....I have a news flash. NOTHING was EVER going to grow there without tilling it !!!! NOTHING !!!! That was actually the case. Most of it was just bare ground and even weeds and quack grass wouldn't grow in there. We're talking near concrete level stuff. I put a bunch of other things in there too like 4 cu ft of perlite, 4 cu ft of vermiculite, some biochar, and a few kg of gypsum. I'm going to add another truck load of manure and a couple of bales of peatmoss this weekend and I'll be tilling it again when I do. With a little luck, by adding come extra compost every year, I'll get lucky and the clay won't compact back down into concrete again. Sometimes the 'no till' crowd can be a little 'rabid' in their 'absolute level' convictions about it. No "no till crew", no one thing is EVER the answer to EVERYTHING, so get over it.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Omph yes… I mean. I personally don’t understand the garden shaming thing 😅. To me it’s kind of a “ try new things and see what works” hobby. You aren’t killing anyone. Your tillage probably made a space that was useless into something that’s valuable

[@blacksmithden]

@@GardeningInCanada At one time, I had a garden there, but it had reverted back to pretty much bare clay over the years. I then had about 3 cords of firewood stacked on it for a few years. It had a garden shed on it for a while with everything under the sun piled in it. After the shed got moved, I used it as a turn around and parking spot for my motorcycle. My large dogs have used it as a play space for the past few years. It was just pounded flat. It wasn't even dusty. It was just flat hard clay. Nothing grew there. By the time me, and my evil rototiller are done, it "should" be a really nice spot to plant tomatoes again. I'm closer to 60 than I am to 50, so I don't have half a decade to piddle away on watching compost MAYBE work it's way in there. I might as well spread compost on my concrete driveway and try growing there. LOL. As for garden shaming, it's just a state of the times. The internet is into shaming whatever doesn't go along with the current fad. I don't really care what other people are doing. I just do what works for me, and I'll never feel bad about it no matter what some guilt spewing fool says. I would hope most people feel the same way and ignore the internet idiots. I'll let everyone in on a secret. I even use Roundup in the yard !!!! When I've got grass growing in spots where I just can't get at the bottom of it, I'll give it a little dose of roundup with a paint brush. I know...just EVIL !! Yes, I'm the gardening devil !!!! ROFL !!!!

[@jimrobinson7441]

@@blacksmithden Yeah, that guy's an airline pilot too in another thread, and a neurosurgeon in another...

[@blacksmithden]

@@jimrobinson7441 Me ? Airline pilot ? Hahahaha. I'm the son of a life long private pilot, and I've got 15 hours of my student time done but that's it. Neurosurgeon ? Industrial mechanic, yes. Neurosurgeon...I wouldn't want to be anyone who agreed to have me near them with a knife. ROFL !

[@jimrobinson7441]

@@blacksmithden No I didn't mean you, I meant the guy who called you out for tilling up your clay area.

[@ArmageddonAfterparty]

You're getting more weird with every episode. This is a good thing.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Just unhinged 😆

[@timan2039]

Spring fever in a cold climate will do that.

[@lostpony4885]

Its probably the soil fungus

[@lanahill6429]

IKR ! I was thinking the same thing...Ashleys back on track...rockin the cheeky & geeky.. making gardening non intimidating & Fun !🤣❤

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@timan2039AHAHAAH yes it’s exactly this… it snowed AGAIN today

[@LateForDinner-mn1hn]

I talked to an old gardener many years ago and his advice to loosen up soil in the garden was to plant potatoes. He didn’t mention that it’s the digging up of the potatoes at harvest time that really loosens the soil. l😂 Really like your channel, keep up the great content.

[@GardeningInCanada]

BAHAHA awe yea I guess that’s true too. 😂

[@伏見猿比古-k8c]

I heard some people also use daikon radish to loosen up the soil.

[@roishonbowman6174]

I'm loving this new side of you

[@GardeningInCanada]

😆 I’ve tried to be less silly so people take me seriously. But over the last three years I have learnt that haters are gonna hate regardless.

[@roishonbowman6174]

@@GardeningInCanada Facts!

[@NotGoddess]

Your videos of late have been very quirky. Please continue. Let the geek shine through.

[@GardeningInCanada]

😅 the irony is friends and family would’ve said Ashley on camera previous all serious is not real Ashley. This is me every day. I’ve been holding this in for like three years. 😆

[@PrairieDawnC]

@@GardeningInCanada let it go! Let it go!

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

Thanks from Ontario Canada

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thanks for watching!

[@kellyzent2415]

Thank you Ashley for a great fun video! I enjoyed learning about compacted soil and how to be a better gardener.

[@GardeningInCanada]

You are so welcome!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thanks for stopping in

[@miltkarr5109]

Kale and collards make a lot of root mass in my compacted soil seems to help but the downside is they are like wood for a year. I put transplants next year in the rotting rows without digging the kale roots out. Its like slow feed aeration.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s an awesome idea! Love this good job

[@sparrowsknow8491]

Hey I just wanna say I love these more laid back like kinda layman’s terms videos you’ve been doing. Just you being you as far as I can tell. No worrying about being “professional “ or whatever idk, it’s refreshing. And on top of it you know your shit. I’m officially part of your GIC community all the way from the USA in Chicagoland 😊❤

[@GardeningInCanada]

Woohoo! 🙌 welcome aboard the crazy train

[@dismurrart6648]

Im in michigan so love your videos. I bought a house thats on basically pure clay so im taking a year to do minimal alterations to it, and plotting. Your videos help me a ton.

[@GardeningInCanada]

You can do it! Don’t get discouraged

[@dismurrart6648]

@GardeningInCanada oh yeah I have a friend who is a biologist who is giving me advice. It's extremely nutrient rich so I'm optimistic and taking it a section at a time.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s awesome! 👏 and helpful

[@brianseybert192]

Soil aggregates are very noticeable under the microscope as well. Actually, that is one of the biggest concerns regarding jumping worms. The JW's remove all the soil aggregates, turning the soil into a granular material that no longer holds onto moisture. I saw this 1st hand 2 years ago in my potato bed, under the microscope a dramatic loss of soil aggregation. Besides the tiller radishes, borage and comfrey have huge taproots to get into hard clay pan soils like we have here in south central WI. Nice video! Stay Well!!!

[@GardeningInCanada]

I feel so bad for you that you have to deal with with those buggers! Electrocute the soil 😂

[@brianseybert192]

@@GardeningInCanada Actually, I considered to do just that last year. I was going to use a 12 volt battery, connect a couple diodes and hit the soil. Fortunately the trapping in wet shredded leaves did the job. Really bummed out I can not use all these beautiful leaves I collect as mulch. Question? Can dried cut grass as mulch potentially heat up (start composting), and burn plants? I hate leaving my soils uncovered after I plant my seedlings. Trying straw in my potato bed as mulch, not sure if the JW's will be that interested in it. Am trying a couple different mulch materials, straw and the chunky stuff I sift from my hot compost, hopefully it does not draw the JW"s. You looked like a true gardener in this video, covered in overalls and rain gear, a real trooper. StayWell!!!

[@yourvoicecanbeat]

Your videos have been extra funny lately.😂 All the blooper like side jokes have been great.

[@prairieprepper]

Me, an intellectual: The *Penetrometer* is NOT called *Dickey-John's,* is it? oh. Oh my. 😅

[@GardeningInCanada]

LMFAO I know… that why I was chuckling because I was like “there is no way these people are going to believe me”

[@NotGoddess]

I grew daikon one year to break up the soil in an area (clay loam but very hard). The smell as they decomposed was intense.

[@伏見猿比古-k8c]

Well...at least it added nutrients to the garden.....though most people take them out after using them to loosen up the soil.

[@NotGoddess]

@@伏見猿比古-k8c I ended up covering with wood chips - that damped down the smell enough to let them keep at it. And the soil got some much needed organic matter.

[@reneedevry4361]

I really enjoyed this video. ❤️This is your best yet👍 Thankyou 🥰🇨🇦

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@ULUnLoco]

lookin good as always. Also great content.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Appreciate it!

[@TooMid]

I literally yesterday said i was going to start using the skid steer instead of the pick and shovel. You have both saved my life and ruined it at the same time. 😊😢😂

[@belieftransformation]

Such great & geeky information 😅 Thanks for sharing! Blessings to all 🤗🇨🇦

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you enjoyed it! And happy to have you along for the ride 🤓

[@ladylamellae]

"I would have assumed I was on drugs but no" I swear I saw evidence to the contrary growing behind you in a video not that long ago 😂

[@GardeningInCanada]

LMFAO oh yea… good point 😅

[@Fabdanc]

I'd really appreciate a video (if you don't have one already) on re-using/refreshing potting soils in containers. When I transitioned my containers from summer to fall/winter/spring (I'm z9b, Gulf Coast), I pulled out probably 75% of the plants, leaving some roots to decay, added more slow release fertilizer, vermiculite, and then topped off with more potting soil as needed. But the plants did not do as good as when I just completely dump the soil and add brand new potting mix. I really try to dump as little as possible because I can't really take the old soil somewhere to dispose of it -- like a friend's yard/garden.

[@Cidtalk]

Wonderful! I get an education from you every time! I only really do raised beds and containers, but even in them I get some "compaction" because I don't always change out the soil from year to year. The bottom of my cement raised bed (4x8 feet, about 30 inches deep.... translation per the Google - 1.2 x 2.4 meters, and 76.2 centimeters deep) was so hard I could barely get a shovel in it. I dug it all out and turned the soil over, contrary to what people say:) I added organic matter all the way to the bottom as I filed it up. Controversially I'm sure, I added the bottoms of all of my amendment bags I have gathered through the years (worm castings, vermiculite, perlite, organic dry fertilizers, coir, peat pods, the soil from small containers and buckets with roots left in them, etc.) and for the past month, even though it has no plants in it, I water it once a week and keep it semi covered with all the sticks and poles laying across it so the neighborhood cats don't fill it with poop!. It seems to be doing it's thing. It drains at a reasonable pace and it does what you have taught me is aggregation:) Thanks for all the information...and sense of humor!

[@GardeningInCanada]

I never change out my beds. But I do refresh my Containers.

[@Raul28153]

Yah I got solonetzic soil (AKA hardpan). And the unworkable clay goes all the way to the surface. I dropped a subsoiler into it, ripped it all up, and then tilled in 30 yards of Mushroom Compost and about that much sand. Now I have a garden.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Omph that’s not fun

[@Raul28153]

@@GardeningInCanada Welcome to New Jersey. North Jersey has great soil but central west is clay. To dig it by hand, one needs a pickaxe. It's like asphalt.

[@thecookreporting]

I like your passion for dirt

[@rdraffkorn3184]

i have found over the years that knowing all the different ways to measure the physical characteristics of a soil aren't near as important as knowing to add organic material ; mostly in the form of green growing plants. And what grew there before is also important to what will grow there next , but i digress...

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup very true

[@JamieW-o7b]

This is such a valuable and condensed video for so many people to learn from. Excellent! UK

[@dormaierd]

When you put text on the screen, how about leaving it up a little longer? Thank you!

[@伏見猿比古-k8c]

Girl next door: Mommy, why is that woman stabbing dirt?

[@GardeningInCanada]

ANAHAHAH literally 🤣

[@liav4102]

I wonder if some extension offices would have the compaction tool available to borrow 🤔

[@GardeningInCanada]

Honestly they might!

[@Cursed_cass]

I get compacted soil here in IA. I have spots in the yard that are worse than others. It drains slowly, but i have a lot of worms and grubs. The Loess Hills is a big Ag area. Sometimes my seeds take longer to germinate due to the clay and i struggle with some root veggies. Either the bulbs wont form in the clay or they wont form in a raised bed due to high nutrients and getting compacted after rain. The best luck ive had with radishes is putting down like 3 inches of loose potting soil or seed mix and the radish seeds on top. Then they can form in the loose soil. Im wondering if my yard needs some fertilizing because i have invasive weeds that wont go away. I have sprayed them. This year the foxtail clover is everywhere and i have tons of tiny bare patches of grass.

[@ausfoodgarden]

I really like the wire test for growable depth. My in-ground soil is very compacted clay and no way I'd get the wire in there very far before it bent. I'm drilling holes with a mini auger and filling them with compost and adding more on top. I've done this before with good results. Also growing anything that survives to help break it up. Meanwhile, I'm growing my main crops in raised beds. Cheers!

[@larryrice7392]

Love your videos. Information is great and the weird sense is great too.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you like them!

[@deborahhustad1201]

Love your channel. You are so fun and informative. Great combo!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Ahah awe I’m glad 🙂

[@danrooney2019]

Thoughts on using wool for moisture control/mulch. How does it affect soil and plant growth ect Just an idea 💡 been researching and now experimenting with some on outdoor container flowers😉 Hot and humid summers. Virginia

[@GardeningInCanada]

I have seen companies do wool pellets for mulch. Nothing wrong with that. I’d assume it doesn’t pull a ton of N for decomp

[@JamieW-o7b]

Our allotments are a fine glacial 'rock flour.' Waterlogged like an anaerobic clay all winter yet crumbling to fine sand in summer. Very difficult to increase the humus, avoid compaction, or to retain water and aid root penetration. But we are getting there.

[@carolstuff]

Thanks Ashley!

[@rhondatrumier5530]

Funny and informative. Love it!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johnbladykas4885]

I use a Jora form tumbler Composter. After a month it turns out giant Black soil balls They are wet ,stuck together like glue. When it dries out it’s like a rock

[@CWorgen5732]

Cackling at all of the penetrometer and knife bit, especially the "that's growable" remark.

[@iunderscoream]

I once grew 8 foot tall sunflowers and they ripped through my compacted clay soil! They were basically trees.

[@tonystephengrayson]

Dicky John Penatron😂

[@GardeningInCanada]

I know it sounds absolutely insane but it is real 🤪. Soil science just has bizarre word choices …

[@workingfortheirfuture]

Thank you for the great info!

[@dnawormcastings]

Great video 🇳🇿❤️

[@PrairieDawnC]

Is there any advantage of letting burdock weed grow until it blossoms and then cutting off the plant at the soil so the root remains?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup even weeds can serve that benefit! Just don’t let them go to seed 😂

[@buds8423]

Or…. You dig the hole add water, and the water goes no where, then you dig another hole and don’t add water, and it slowly fills with water, you aren’t compacted-your water table is too high! 😂

[@minekush1138]

i find the more i break up the ground before planting the more i yield come harvest time this is less a thing if you keep growing in the same spot every year while adding stuffing like in a old garden i dont dig up much dirt cuz theres no need the soils already just right

[@r3sistxwampa685]

Geek crew at your service mam🫡

[@GardeningInCanada]

Ahahahahah

[@mountainvalleysunshine7228]

Hey whould worms help with compaction?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh yes! Absolutely. Any sort of macro bugs, roots etc make a difference

[@timothyshanley1132]

Love your videos, question why are some of my raised beds hard to trowel for planting seedlings? I add my own compost every spring, never walk on beds; but two of my beds are just hard. They are 4 years old as are other four beds, but only two are always hard unless it just rained.....help thx Tim btw I live on Long Island New York

[@laurieleannie]

I think I may need some sand in my soil….. yours is so different than mine!

[@gabriellakadar]

Off topic: I need a new pair of overalls. I like the bib design of what you are wearing. Would you mind terribly to let me know which brand you are wearing?

[@GardeningInCanada]

They are these ones. Honestly the only female coveralls that I have even had that actually fit and don’t have a big saggy crotch. geni.us/Fs8Z

[@gabriellakadar]

@@GardeningInCanada thank you.

[@gabriellakadar]

@@GardeningInCanada I ordered a pair.

[@wbshappy1]

As I was sifting my compost, (I have a rotary sifter, I made from bicycle rims and metal fabric--what can I say, I'm cheap! :) ) I found a lot of what I suppose were "Aggregates". It seemed to me they were spherical clumps formed by the rotary motion of the sifter. I just broke them up and put them back into the compost. Is that what you recommend? What should I have done?

[@markuswade2158]

"I live for this shit" ❤❤❤

[@GardeningInCanada]

😉🤓

[@liav4102]

Some parts of my lawn seem to be heavily compacted, plenty of people advertising goose poop aeration (I always think it looks like goose poop lol) but I wonder if maybe dandelions with their nice chunky tap roots might be a better option. What say you?

[@GardeningInCanada]

The aerators are miracle workers. But theoretically a radish would be the same

[@lostpony4885]

Is the knife test still valid if i measure which size sledgehammer can drive it in?

[@GardeningInCanada]

AHAHAHAHA omg I just burst out laughing

[@austintrees]

5:55 - yes please, but only if you include America

[@joman104]

I find that my radishes will struggle to produce a large root, if the soil is too compacted. (Just regular radishes haven't tried any of the deep rooted ones)

[@MacroAggressor]

I was trying to look up the GIS soil type abbreviations online the other day (AgC, BO, etc) and I couldn't find _anything_ helpful. Lots of dense papers on soil types, but nothing to explain how to use the soil types on the GIS survey maps. Any hints?

[@MacroAggressor]

PS. You definitely have active US viewers. Even for us Southerners, you put out some very helpful knowledge.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Do you want to know specifically stuff about the soil zones in the map? Or the maps itself?

[@MacroAggressor]

@@GardeningInCanada So if I look at my plots in the county's GIS, they list different soil types and how many acres of each are in each plot. However, they're all abbreviated and there's no legend or reference I've been able to find on their site, nor on the internet at large. Each abbreviation is one to three letters; for instance, some of mine lists DgA, BO (presumably Bog), AgC, TwD, TwB, and W (presumably Water). Have you ever seen these kinds of abbreviations?

[@mr.hamilton5393]

Sharing x2

[@TheoriginalDebunkit]

Very compacted soil. Water test - 6 inch and 6 inch depth hole filled with water took 4 days to go down an inch (mostly evaporation from 90°F + heat days. I haven't been able to grow carrots in the soil, told to try beets. help

[@Jerr-e5e]

Does comfrey plow thru that type of soil

[@GardeningInCanada]

They do have a massive root system

[@breezybre2670]

What about impaction from snow?

[@Jamiek485]

Ty!

[@79PoisonBreaker]

So what about when moist spring soil is soft like 45 cm rebar hand push all the way but by summer it gets rock hard needing sledge hammers to get tent pegs in lol. my clay behaves very different depending on moisture level, sometimes the water will pool for a day and other times it runs through the hole like a screen.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Great point! So that again comes down to keeping the moisture in your clay as much as possible. You may need to make sure you got lots of Walsh and that stuff. You could try amending it with more organics and sand, for example. But ultimately some soils you just need to continually mechanically manipulate to win.

[@trevor5290]

Another great video. Thanks! Quick question because I'm on info overload from too many videos LOL. Raised bed 15" (also on legs so no ground to penetrate). Brand new & drainage holes and I put logs on the bottom and want to put peat moss in there to hold moisture. I want to put cabbage and cukes on trellis in it this year as they're ready to go. Is the peat moss a good or bad idea? No leaves around here and cedar mulch I have froma tree we had to get cut down is needed for top layer of both veggies and perennials so don't want to waste it in the bed. Thanks

[@GardeningInCanada]

To be totally honest, I would go for a potting soil. Just a cheap one even would be OK. Only because there will be lime in there to neutralize the other otherwise acidic peat. If you’re up for it, you could make your own. I would do 25% compost the rest peat, not too much perlite light because you’ll regret that decision once August rolls around. And then lime according to how much so it ends up being to help with that pH. I just don’t know that making your own would be cheaper than necessarily buying it.

[@trevor5290]

@@GardeningInCanada thank you Ashley. Yes, I already thought the cedar would be acidic. Compost and peat it is with some lime to stuff the branches and then the triple mix that is already here. Thanks once again.

[@CWorgen5732]

Do you have a video on workwear for women? I'm tall and overalls are tricky.

[@kendravoracek3636]

💚💚

[@GardeningInCanada]

❤️❤️❤️

[@tomatocan2502]

i just opened up a 12 by 14 plot in my yard thats been under weed mattng and gravel aggregate. the soil seems clay heavy and compacted. i want to make it my potato area. i dont want to introduce anything that will give the potatos scab as my other beds give them greif. Any thoughts ?

[@SDAllen769]

Do you have any info on Red soil? I live in Texas and have this hard mess 😖

[@generrosity]

Damn question. With some clay-er soils, compaction also means more sodium with less calcium (work Gypsum being helpful in this specific instance). If you have good soil and it gets compacted... How does the Ca get lost?? Or is it a thing more for untouched soils over hundreds of years? 😆 Random curiosity only sorry!

[@HeatGeek1]

I confused. Putin compacted my soil? Did he do this while I was on vacation?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Everything is his fault. 😂 when I was editing and said monstrosity Putin popped into my head.

[@xinalorreen2031]

Aw, but Putin's not a monster, he's just trying to free the Russians who are stuck in somewhere that was relatively recently named "Ukraine".

[@HeatGeek1]

@@GardeningInCanada LOL maybe spetsnaz snuck into the garden at night on his behalf.

[@buds8423]

Do not do the overwinter radish carrot thing in your northern garden beds if you have a vole problem- unless you provide some owl/hawk roosts directly above! Otherwise, you will become a vole winter haven with a Huge spring rodent eruption! Also, those defrosted, rotted, slimy radishes may break up the soil, but they make hand tilling and planting very unpleasant!🤢

[@GardeningInCanada]

Hahaha oh my really?!

[@carolyn9547]

When are you coming to X?

[@GardeningInCanada]

I don’t know what X is 😂

[@brianramsey3824]

Ashley if I knew your whole name I'd use it. Language lol...I don't really care u just throw me a curve ball lol

[@Aussie-des420]

😂

[@europana7]

Why the click bait title ??? Totally annoying

[@didgeridooblue]

The soil test no one does is soil compaction.

[@GardeningInCanada]

🫶🏻 you got it

[@puppiTube]

Compaction.. use gypsum.

[@prairieprepper]

Me, an intellectual: The *Penetrometer* is NOT called *Dickey-John's,* is it? oh. Oh my. 😅