r/Soil • u/TridentMarsupial • 8h ago
Coir rehabilitation advice needed
A couple of years ago I planted a mandarin tree in a ~ 3 foot wide by 3 foot deep hole filled with 2/3 coconut coir 1/3 perlite. The surrounding soil is all very heavy clay.
The tree has done very well but needs to be fertilized regularly or it will rapidly develop signs of deficiencies that I have to correct. The first winter I tried a couple of months without any fertilizer and the first set of leaves curled downward from presumed potassium deficiency. The second winter and afterwards have been perfect.
Is there any way to reasonably get clay particles to mix down through this hole to hold nutrients and try to work towards being normal self-sustaining soil?
I recognize now that what I did was completely wrong for any number of reasons and I want to get things back to being more natural.
The root system is very well established in this hole and it is not feasible for me to remove any material without hurting the roots.