Is Your Soil Compacted? How To Know And What To Do.

Is the soil in your yard compacted? While most property owners value having a nice, solid surface to walk on and plant in, too much compaction can cause serious landscape problems. Why? How can you tell if yours is too compacted? And what should you do about it? Read on to learn about what everyone should know about overly dense soil.

Why Is Soil Compaction Bad?
Most people think of the ground under their feet as very solid, but it actually isn’t. Spaces between molecules of matter — including dirt, rocks, roots, and decomposing material — allow air to circulate within the soil.

This circulation of air is an important requirement for good plant growth. It permits oxygen and other gases to get to every plant, decomposition to occur unobstructed, water to reach thirsty roots, and roots to have room to grow. Overly compacted soil, then, inhibits all these processes and makes your ground less fertile. 

How Can You Spot Compaction?
If very compacted soil is bad for your landscape, an important first step is to know how to spot it. The good news is that any property owner is able to notice some of its effects.

What might they look like? Because water can’t drain where there is no space, you may see rain and irrigation water puddles (or runoff) instead of being absorbed. Grass, plants, and trees that don’t get nutrients can’t grow well. Weeds that thrive in compact conditions will appear in your yard. The soil may feel more like clay. And it’s usually noticeably difficult to penetrate the dirt. 

What Can You Do About Compaction?
If you think your soil is compacted, you have a number of good options to solve the problem. The most immediate and common fix is to perform manual aeration. To aerate the ground, you may use a tool that creates small vertical tunnels in the soil so that air can start circulating in it again. Core aeration removes a few inches of actual soil while solid (or tine) aeration simply opens up holes. 

You may also need to address the reasons for some compaction. While the ground can compact during normal use of the property, some compaction happens due to overuse. Areas where vehicles or lawn equipment regularly drive over or park on the dirt easily get compacted. Your ground might be compacted by too much playtime in an area, too much tilling, excess rainfall, or too much sand. 

Why Regularly Consider Compaction?
Depending on the reason for compaction, it may or may not be a regular occurrence. Normal compacting from falling rain or snow and the simple passage of time is likely to happen again and again. On the other hand, if you changed how you use a section of lawn — such as by diverting a path — compaction may not be as much of an issue in the future.

The best time to fight compacting soil is when it’s in the early stages. If you aerate or change the soil makeup before plants are affected, your yard will have a stronger and healthier life. Many property owners, then, address compaction annually if not more often. 

Where Should You Start?
Do you want to know if compaction is the cause of your landscape problems? Or are you not sure which aeration method is right for you? If you are looking for more permanent solutions to specific compacting, start by meeting with the lawn and yard care pros at Dirt & Turf. We’ll help you assess the ground’s condition and needs, developing a plan to bring it all back to peak condition — and keep it there. Call today to make an appointment.