What have been some ways you have helped loosen and aerate your compact soil?
I'm noticing that my backyard grass lawn has very compact soil. It's pretty silty too, which also adds to the slow-to-drain feature. Likely due to biweekly lawn mowing, having events on the lawn, and of course the shallow rooted grasses & lack of deep rooted plants.
I am hoping to turn this grass lawn into a walkable perennial pollinator garden, as well as providing shelter for my hens (my town doesn't allow roosters unfortunately).
But, I don't want to till and destroy the microbes of the underground "wood wide web" & mycorrhizal connections.
That being said, I am planning on putting manure (if I don't have enough compost) on top layer of soil, to start the soil building process. The area is roughly 62' by 29', so yeah I'd need a lot of compost for full coverage. My compost area is 4'x4', so I will likely start with manure layer.
But as I wait for the compost pile to decompose, I am trying to think of other ways to de-compact the soil, naturally with little disturbance.
That's when I thought, "root vegetables."
I already have an abundance of sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes that just multiply themselves every season. They are drought resistant which is a bonus in drought years!
I was thinking maybe they would be successful in loosening the soil by growing their tubers somewhat deep in the ground (I harvested on last year that was 16 inches deep in a pot!), and aerating it with its roots and tubers. As well as growing beautifully tall growing, wind catching, pollinator-loving stunning sunflower-like flowers!
I was thinking, since the soil I want to put them in is already compact, I'd back fill the hole I put them in with compost, so at least the area they are put is loosened enough to succeed in growth. Likely spread the tubers out couple feet apart so plenty of space for future spreading. The next question is if the undisturbed silty soil surrounding the hole it was put in, will be too compact for the tubers to grow horizontally and spread. If they will just stay growing in the same spot which is loose, or if they will be strong enough to penetrate the surrounding compact silty soil.
But hey, its all about trial and error, right?!
Does anyone have any experience with loosening soil with root vegetables/tubers instead of tilling?
Hi Millie! This is an amazing question, and it seems like you have a great system in place. I'm excited to hear progress updates on your project! One way you can loosen and aerate your soil is by broadforking. A broadfork is very similar to a traditional gardening fork, just well… broader. The sharp tines create deep holes in the soil that become channels for roots, water, and oxygen to enter the lower layers. When you lean back and slightly lift the soil, it adds aeration underneath without causing excessive disturbance. The tradeoff for using this tool is that you will be getting a workout in. It is more labor intensive than using a tiller, but the soil disturbance is much less, yay healthy soil!
You are on the right track with planting deep rooted crops! I recommend Long-rooted daikon radish aka Tillage radish as a cover crop, they have ultra-thick, deep taproots that grow 3-6 feet deep! When you terminate the cover crop, the roots can rot in place over the winter, providing food for microorganisms. As the microbes break down the tillage radishes, they create big holes of organic matter and nutrients that aid in improving soil structure.