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nafex - Re: [nafex] hole digging

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  • From: "del stubbs" <pinewoodel@hotmail.com>
  • To: nafex@egroups.com
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] hole digging
  • Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2001 23:26:18 -0000

thanks Ed, the fork hadn't occured to me, Ill put my potato fork to
good
use, yes the sides do glaze up. Because of the 'flower pot ' problem -
having the finely pulverized clay to put back in seems to me to be my best
solution, unless i'm to plop them on top of the ground and cover with loam
from elsewhere, and hope the roots go down. the orchard is on a decent
slope, 10 to 20 degrees, Mn. del


>From: Ed & Pat Fackler <rocmdw@aye.net>
>Reply-To: nafex@egroups.com
>To: nafex@egroups.com
>Subject: Re: [nafex] hole digging
>Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2001 10:29:58 -0500
>
>Del----------
>
> My only comment re: below is that digging holes in clay soils with
>any
>type of circular digger will almost guarantee a clay pot, even if soils are
>only slightly wet.
> If you are insistent on digging with such a device, I'd use a fork to
>deglaze the sides prior to planting of trees. Otherwise, your trees will
>be sitting in a clay pot for over a year (or until frost heaving breaks up
>the sides of the hole). This generally results in literal drowning of tree
>roots.
>
>Ed
>
>pinewoodel@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > just did an archive search and found nothing relevant.... ive got 200
> > holes to dig for trees this spring in our heavy clay. Was able to
> > borrow once a Gravely garden tractor with a hole digging attachment.
> > Its a rorary drill for planting , digs a hole about 16" wide and 16"
> > deep.Its advantage is that it grinds up the clay. If i had the
> > physical stamina and was built like a gorilla i could consider hand
> > digging but the clay would come out in spade size blocks, not so nice
> > for roots. Graveleys are a heavy duty machine and not every one knows
> > they make a hole digger. However my only other option at present is to
> > find a way to attach an old 9" post hole auger i bought to the loader
> > of my farmall M tractor ( they don't have 3 pt. hitches). Has anyone
> > seen a post hole auger fited to a loader of a tractor? I figure with
> > this configuration i could drill multiple holes and break up the
> > clay.How do you all dig holes? minnesota del
>

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