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Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots

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Posted by ottawan_z5a Canada (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 2, 11 at 1:15

Need Suggestions for changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried plant pots.
I am in Zone 5a so I have to store my potted plants in a cellar during winter and in summer partially bury the pots which have holes on the sides.
It is that time of the year to dig out the plants. My ground soil is not all clay but enough to make it somewhat difficult to dig out the pots and cut the roots. The soil gets a bit hard around the pots and becomes lumpy. There may be a way to make the soil soft for easy dig out of pots in the future, such as adding a lot of sand will make it easy to dig out the buried buried pots and the sand is long lasting but it may not be nutritionally useful for the plants roots that come out of the pot holes to graze for moisture and nutrients.

I just noticed something last week related to this issue.
A narrow strip of my driveway is made up of stone dust (medium or fine crushed stone). I had placed some pots on it and the roots, fairly good amount of it, had penetrated the stone dust area. I found that it was easy to work with a shovel to extract the roots and pots from this medium of stone dust.
I am just thinking that adding good amount (?) of stone dust to the soil will make the soil less compact-able and easy to pull out the pots and then cut the roots that had gone out to graze. My question here is if the stone dust will be detrimental as nutrient source for the plants, or if it will be helpful in some (?) way or just neutral?

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RE: Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots

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To make much difference by adding sand you would have to add so much that it would be cost prohibitive. Organic matter, 5 to 8 percent, is something that will make tht soil more workable.

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RE: Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots

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Use a pot-in-pot system.

- Dig a hole for a pot that will hold the growing pot.
- Plant as desired, then set that pot into "ground-pots"
- Through the season, rotate the growing pot at least a quarter turn to ensure that roots don't root into the underlying native soil.

Here's how it's done commercially.
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/crops_livestock/crops/nursery_crops/Poti npot+Nursery+Production.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: pot-in-pot system

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RE: Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots

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Gypsum will soften tight clay. A small-area experiment might be worthwhile. But the organic-matter suggestion is an excellent one. Any nonsticky organic matter should help considerably, and most organic matter is relatively granular and not too sticky (though some mucks are).

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RE: Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots

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Thank you all for good suggestions. I will gradually add organic material.

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RE: Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots

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It was said "Gypsum will soften tight clay."

Not necessarily so.

That works *only* if the underlying problem in the clay is excess sodium. And only a professional soil test can tell you that.

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RE: Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots

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Gypsum effectiveness -- "only a professional soil test can tell."

Or a small cheap easy and harmless yard experiment

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RE: Changing ground soil texture for easy dig out of buried pots_

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She has a good point though, it is far from a sure thing that gypsum would work.

Here in the SEUS the issue seems confused. Some ag professional people put our heavy non-sodic clays as an exception, being non-sodic non-arid clays where gypsum does in-fact work, while others are not so sure.

I don't know from personal experience but will try it sometime.

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