Plants will not grow well in compacted soil. Without sufficient air in the soil, water and nutrients will be difficult to circulate, and plant roots cannot grow properly. Fortunately, you can take several steps to improve and prevent soil compaction. This article explains how to loosen compacted soil, restore airflow to the soil, and make the soil an ideal place for plants to grow.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Protecting Congested Areas
Step 1. Find the cause of soil compaction
Some things that can clearly cause soil compaction, for example, are frequent vehicles passing and being stepped on. Some other causes that are not so obvious include excessive tillage, leaving the soil exposed to rainwater without protection, or cultivating soil that is still wet. By knowing the cause, you can take precautions to minimize the cause and prevent this from happening in the future.
Step 2. Divert traffic to avoid compacted soil
Divert livestock, vehicle, machinery and pedestrian traffic from passing through congested areas. Create alternate routes and cover the area with fences or posts. Do this for extended periods of time to allow the soil to rest, and consider protecting the area permanently by creating only one lane for pedestrians, vehicles, or livestock.
Try using damaged soil as walkways and pathways in and out of the house to limit the spread of soil compaction
Step 3. Reduce tillage
If the compacted area is used for cultivation, move the plant elsewhere for at least one growing season. You can replace it with cover crops at the end of the season, such as peanuts or elephant grass. The roots will break up the soil, and next season you can harvest it and mix it into the soil with a hoe/shovel or tiller to better aerate the soil.
- If you live in a country with four seasons and the compaction is light, work around this problem by allowing the soil to freeze and thaw in one growing season.
- You can plant tillage radish (a type of radish) to help with severe compaction. Its large roots will go deep into the soil and form a space after rotting.
Method 2 of 3: Aerate Soil
Step 1. Make a hole using a garden fork
If the area is small and overgrown with grass, you can drill holes in the soil using a metal garden fork or tacked sandal. This aeration hole allows air, water, and roots to enter the soil. Start on one side of the yard by driving a garden fork into the soil in one direction every 8-10 cm.
You may have to repeat this process in a different direction for better aeration
Step 2. Dig the compacted soil
Loosen up the compacted soil by digging it to a depth of 5-8 cm with a hoe or shovel. Use a shovel or hoe to divide the soil into small rows about 30 cm wide. Make small trenches behind the rows, and use the rows to replace the soil that has been removed from the trench you are digging.
If the soil is not fertile, you may need to dig a deeper trench, about twice the length of the spade blade, to aerate the top layer and mix it with the fertile soil
Step 3. Use a plow with an additional aeration device
Rent or buy a plow at a hardware store and also purchase an aerator to install on the machine. Run the plow, then run again 2 or 3 times to loosen the soil deeper.
- In large areas, plow machines are not as effective as coring machines because they only break up the topsoil.
- Excessive tillage can actually make the soil compact. This happens because the area under the tilled part of the soil becomes hard.
Step 4. Remove the soil core
Plug aerators (a type of plow) can be used to tackle large areas with high traffic, such as lawns or fields. This tool can be rented at a farm or hardware store, and can be used to work wet soil. When run on the ground, this machine will disassemble the soil core and move it about 5-8 cm. Repeat using this tool across the area. Allow the raised soil to dry before you split and spread it.
- You will have to run this machine several times if the area is very congested.
- Find out where the pipe and plant roots are near the surface. This tool only reaches a few centimeters into the soil, but it can damage the structure of the pipe or shallow roots.
- You can also use push aerators that have to be manually shoved into the ground and removed, which are great for tackling small gardens or lawns.
Step 5. Replace the soil
This is an intensive solution and is usually applied to a small area to add grass back there. Dig the compacted soil manually or using a machine. Place the demolished soil in a plant mound or mix it with fertile soil. Replace the soil with new topsoil and spread it over the entire area.
- Go to a farm shop or seed seller to get good quality planting media that can be used to accelerate plant growth.
- The bigger the plant, the more replacement soil is needed for the plant to thrive. Trees and shrubs require replacement soil as high as 30-100 cm.
Method 3 of 3: Preventing Soil Compaction
Step 1. Allow the soil to dry before use
Planting in the rainy season must be done carefully. You'll be excited to grow crops this season, but the soil will be too wet if you cultivate it straight after it rains. Tillage that is too wet can make it lose its structure and compact quickly. Wait for the soil to dry and break easily.
To test if the soil is ready to work, try forming a ball out of a handful of soil. The ground is ready to be dealt if the ball breaks when pressed and dropped
Step 2. Avoid over-cultivating the soil
Aeration is beneficial for the soil, but too often tillage makes the soil unable to get its ideal shape. Good soil will form small lumps after being treated once. These clumps are pockets that form structures in the soil that allow water and air to enter. It may be tempting to cultivate the soil frequently, but doing so makes the soil lose its ideal shape. Only till the soil before planting and when you aerate it.
Also consider gardening and farming without tillage. Several studies suggest that agriculture without tillage can reduce compaction and increase soil productivity
Step 3. Add organic ingredients
When aerating the soil, try adding compost or mulch. Yard leaves, wood chips, and even food scraps are inexpensive materials that can be added to lawns, gardens, or around plants to freshen up the soil. You can make your own compost or buy it at a farm store or seed seller. This organic matter will be broken down by organisms such as earthworms, which will aerate the soil.
- If the soil is very dense, add a mixture of 50% compost to regular soil, or 25% compost to sandy soil.
- If possible, do not amend the soil using inorganic materials such as sand. If there is only a small amount, the sand will actually exacerbate the compaction.
Step 4. Limit traffic in compacted areas
Compaction usually occurs due to pressure on the soil. Do not use lawn mowers and use vehicles with wider tires, reduce tire pressure and reduce axle weight. When you are building a house, limit vehicular traffic in areas where the land will be covered, for example by walking paths or patios (a type of terrace). In addition, covering the soil with mulch and 2 cm thick plywood or synthetic materials can reduce pressure on the soil if vehicular traffic is unavoidable.
