Soil Aeration Experiments| Grade Changes| Compaction| Decompaction

Eric Frei · 29th March 2012, 04:32 PM

It doesn't help when articles like this are published.

Gardening Guide: How to Design a Flower Garden Around a Tree | Newsolio

Quote:

Thursday, March 29, 2012
Gardening Guide: How to Design a Flower Garden Around a Tree

Many gardeners look for creative places to add some floral life and color to their home’s landscape. Designing a flower garden around a tree is a wonderful way to do this. By following basic guidelines you will be able to build an attractive garden that will also save you from having to trim around that tree ever again. That’s a great trade-off in any yard!

The first thing to realize is that the flower bed must be elevated. The roots may be just a few inches below the surface of the grass. Digging down will at least prove difficult or frustrating, and at worse will damage root structures and jeopardize the health of the tree. Raising the bed 6 to 12 inches will alleviate this problem and give your flower plants the room they need to send roots down and out without interference.

Since the bed will have to be raised, consider what material you will use to form the border, to keep the soil in place. If you live where stones abound the chances are you will already have a rock pile handy, and they can form a very handsome, natural border. If you do not have field stones, you can find them at your local garden center or nursery. If you live in a rural area, wait until spring and most local farmers will welcome your assistance in removing protruding rocks from their fields. Strangely enough, rocks rise in heavy soils, so each year, the first crop of the season is made up of them! Rocks 8 to 14 inches in diameter work best. It will be easier to use a single course of larger stones, rather than stacking two or more courses on top of one another. Other popular materials include natural split pine logs, railroad ties, pressure treated lumber, and a whole range of natural and manufactured stone products available from garden centers.

The next step is to lay out the shape of the garden. A simple circle or rectangle is easiest, but you may want to be more creative. Your vision and skills will determine the simplicity or complexity of your design. Peruse several gardening books that feature garden designs to generate ideas. Once shape is determined, use 4-5 layers of newspaper or a single layer of thick landscaper’s fabric, to create the shape on the ground. This will kill the existing vegetation and prevent weeds from growing.

On top of the paper or fabric set your stones or build your retaining structure. If you use field stone, you might find it best to build it two layers deep – that is, one immediately inside the other, not on top of the other. Place the stones so that they are offset from the ones in front, which will help to keep soil in place better.

When your border or retaining structure is complete, fill it with quality top soil to within one inch of the top. Water it to compact it, and add more if the dirt settles. You now have your garden plot, ready to be planted with your favorite annual and perennial flowers, ground cover, bulbs, or even small shrubs. Choose those which do well in partial to full shade and you’ll have the perfect spot to get out of the sun on a warm summer’s day!

My online comment to that article was:-

"Clearly the author of this trash has no idea how trees grow or their needs. This is a recipe of disaster to the tree."

Brent Ferris · 31st March 2012, 04:40 AM

It was great advice Eric, even the gardening around the tree -- they just had to move the garden well away from the tree in such a way the tree would still act as a focal point, but its root systems wouldn't be affected. Great advice, just misguided.

Eric Frei · 12th May 2012, 10:48 AM

Perhaps the best and most recent (2011) research into soil decompaction and tree roots. A very good read with lots of data comparing methods against control.

The methods are Airspade, fertiliser, mulch and a combination of the 3 called AFM

Brent Ferris · 13th May 2012, 03:24 PM

It certainly is a good read Eric, and says a lot for keeping the soil the same without changing the profiles, and avoiding compaction at all costs.
A bit sobering that few to none of the commonly used methods to decompact the soil had any real benefit to the trees. I suppose some of that might relate to volume of soil impacted vs volume of soil used by the tree roots.
Even more interesting was the observation that the controls did as well or better than any of the methods.
It could be that slower growing trees might have had more benefit, or a higher intensity of decompaction might have a greater effect -- but it strongly says trees do their mightiest to adjust, and our efforts are best utilized in preventing compaction in the first place.
And if we have any integrity at all, not to plug decompaction efforts with the resultant paycheque.

Fertilizing at the surface seems to have the best results, with not too much effort.

31st March 2012, 04:40 AM	#32
Brent Ferris Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,557	Re: Soil Aeration Experiments\| Grade Changes\| Compaction\| Decompaction It was great advice Eric, even the gardening around the tree -- they just had to move the garden well away from the tree in such a way the tree would still act as a focal point, but its root systems wouldn't be affected. Great advice, just misguided. __________________ My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports Consulting Forester If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too ! We do great jobs, even in small yards. Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered) Email -- treeshaveneeds@3web.com Cell 416-460-5704

13th May 2012, 03:24 PM	#34
Brent Ferris Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,557	Re: Soil Aeration Experiments\| Grade Changes\| Compaction\| Decompaction It certainly is a good read Eric, and says a lot for keeping the soil the same without changing the profiles, and avoiding compaction at all costs. A bit sobering that few to none of the commonly used methods to decompact the soil had any real benefit to the trees. I suppose some of that might relate to volume of soil impacted vs volume of soil used by the tree roots. Even more interesting was the observation that the controls did as well or better than any of the methods. It could be that slower growing trees might have had more benefit, or a higher intensity of decompaction might have a greater effect -- but it strongly says trees do their mightiest to adjust, and our efforts are best utilized in preventing compaction in the first place. And if we have any integrity at all, not to plug decompaction efforts with the resultant paycheque. Fertilizing at the surface seems to have the best results, with not too much effort. __________________ My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports Consulting Forester If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too ! We do great jobs, even in small yards. Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered) Email -- treeshaveneeds@3web.com Cell 416-460-5704

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