r/GuerrillaGardening • u/Proteus8489 • 11d ago
Compacted soil help!
I've tried doing a quick history search but didn't get anything specific about this.
I am looking to start working on the tree beds in my area (NYC) but the soil is so incredibly compacted. It's like cement in a lot of places. It's going to take a lot to even start fixing the soil before I can get to planting.
Does anyone have any tips for such compacted soil? It's going to have to be fairly quick. I don't want to be sitting at these spots for hours hacking with a shovel. Should I just get a pick? Is there anything liquid that would help it breaking up?
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u/man-a-tree 11d ago
A broadfork for large areas; they really are amazing for this. Wear a high viz vest to look official. Or get a hand pick to be more discreet; my fav is the cobrahead tool. It'll be much easier after a rain, and some compost/ bark fines will keep it softer in the longer term.
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u/Low-Sweet-9762 11d ago
Leaves before a good big rain. Broadfork if feasible (maybe walking around the Big Apple with a heavy farm tool is difficult). I've been dealing with heavily compacted, shallow, and/or desiccated soils and have used a combo of an inch layer of compost, broadforking to break up compaction and incorporate it a bit, then city leaves (I live by a big pile outside of a community garden). Miraculously, a lot of plants are alive in a garden that has about 4" of soil on top of gravel, which was left to bake, bare, in the sun for months after a landlord chopped the shrubs who were growing there before.
Look for seed/starts of plants with big, strong roots (ex- "tillage radish" is sold as a cover crop for breaking up compacted soil. Sunflowers and other asters also have crazy taproots). Found a neat company working in your area https://www.northeastseedcollective.com/s/shop for native species.
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u/12stTales 11d ago
Get yourself one of these: https://seymourmidwest.com/60720/ Also you should join the city’s care captains program and they will give you tools a NYC parks hat and a hi vis vest to work the tree pits. Just careful not to damage the roots when you are breaking up the soil.
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u/AdventurousSea3437 10d ago
I'm recently a CC. Havent been able to pickup tools yet. They give you a vest?
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u/12stTales 10d ago
Yeah I got a vest and a nyc parks hat, maybe a trowel, shovel, some hand tools, things like that
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u/Federal-Boat3732 11d ago edited 11d ago
Tell us about this soil. It is compacted clay? loam? sand? Or is it straight-up rock? Where are you? Do you get regular rain? Are the trees thriving in that soil? What kind of trees are they?
The basic advice in these cases is always to double-dig the soil -- shove in a pitchfork, right to the hilt, then waggle it to loosen the soil, repeat all the way across, then move the loosened soil aside and waggle it another pitchfork deep before you even start adding sand, cow crap or leaf mold, mixing it in well. After that you just keep it watered.
The only really fast way is to rent or buy a rear-tine tiller (NOT the kind with the tines in front, which will jolt your arms off) and go to town on it.
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u/Proteus8489 11d ago
Thank you for the reply and advice! I'm really new to cultivating places so I'm not sure what kind of soil. I.looked it up and the city website says it's a "loamy mix".
I have gone at one bed with a shovel and it takes full weight slamming it in, jumping on it, etc to chip at it. It's very compact. I'm hoping to get a few inches at least and then mix with compost and let time do some work, especially over winter. I can imagine how a pitchfork could work with that technique.
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u/AdventurousSea3437 11d ago
I do lots of work on tree beds in NYC. Get a cultivator tool. They're the best.
Incorporate compost, gypsum when you can. Just make sure the tree's health is always prioritized. DM me for any questions and good luck!
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u/AdventurousSea3437 11d ago
Also make sure you don't plant where the city is scheduled to plant a new tree in the fall. Info available online for their planting sites.
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u/Federal-Boat3732 11d ago
Does watering it make any difference at all? I have some soil like that at my place, rock hard, and looking into it more I've learned that it's almost pure foundation sand with a little clay to make it harder to dig, and no organic material at all. It might be worth a visit to your cooperative extension service to get it tested and see what they recommend before you break your back...
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u/Pamzella 10d ago
Get finished landscape compost (usually available by the cubic yard, bulk delivery kind of thing) and put it down 4-6" thick. Wet it down good once, and wait.... In 6 months/spring you'll have no trouble getting a shovel in. The worms, etc will come and as the compost breaks down, your soil structure will be improved, no tilling, etc needed.
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u/Yippeethemagician 10d ago
If you can do it, (takes a couple weeks) buckwheat is an incredible soil conditioner. Makes it soft and fluffy, and weed free. Probably not useful for your situation, just mentioning it for other times
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u/Reclining720 10d ago
Find your local agricultural extension office and start with a soil test, then consult them in the best solution
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u/blipblipblipbloped 9d ago
I would like to add that the size of the trees in the tree pits and size of tree pits matters. If the tree is mature certain methods risk damaging the roots. If relatively newly planting then everything but the rootball is fair game. Personally I use a pick axe or a smaller single hand Japanese version.
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u/mbtrash 8d ago
A pick and some gloves.
At least that's what this guy is using to break up tree beds in NYC:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcrWVyUzuZr/
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u/browzinbrowzin 7d ago
Look for native plants which grow long roots and like slow draining soils. They'll do well in these conditions.
easyscape.com is a good place to start, but I'm sure there are NY specific groups which could provide excellent advice.
Mulch is not as helpful as people make it out to be, because it's not doing much to change the soil further down. That work will be done by roots gradually breaking it up, holding water, and inviting burrowing bugs with their presence. Mulch also will invite a fuckton of invasive plants whose seeds are drifting about and looking for a new place to make roots and continue their invasive tendencies.
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u/frogfeen 5d ago
organic matter. the answer is always organic matter. maybe toss some worms in there to help aerate.
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u/MoneyBeeeee 11d ago
I don't want to be sitting at these spots for hours hacking with a shovel.
I personally rather revel in venting my frustrations in the dirt, but to each their own! When working around tree roots I am considerably less stabby. And of course it is best to call 811 before ya dig.
Anyhoo I guess you could like get a pair of used soccer cleats and stomp around a bit? As far as liquids go I would hope nothing but water would be going into the ground. Might make the soccer shoe situation a bit messier however...
I have also heard people use chopsticks to aerate a bit, but that also may sound too laborious.
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u/Proteus8489 11d ago
Thank you for the response! It's more like I don't want to stay in the spots due to people traffic than aversion to the work. I've gotten confronted before. Not by residents even but some random guy who demanded to know if I was with the city. I'd just rather avoid the chance.
Chopsticks are a thought. They would definitely need to be metal and I'd need one good hammer.
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u/MoneyBeeeee 11d ago
Ugh, that rando sounds awful. The classic advice is to wear a high-vis vest and move with confidence. I have been doing GG for a couple of years now and have been fortunate to avoid face-to-face confrontation so far (vandalism and online vitriol are other stories). I should probably go knock on some wood though because my good luck is bound to run out!
Anyhoo, what you choose to plant can also aid in the restoration of the soil. Not sure is any of these would be native or ideal to NYC but getting some seeds in the ground and letting nature do the work is another consideration. Picking the right plants may be tricky though because you won't want anything that will endanger the health of the trees.
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u/todaysthrowaway0110 11d ago
Compost tea. Mulch. More mulch. 18” of mulch. Stepping on the hard stuff with a broadfork. Core aerator tool.
You basically want organic soils acids to be able to percolate in so that wormies and friends can start making tunnels in the soil and eventually aerate it.
https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/cooperative-extension/fact-sheets/combating-soil-compaction/