Actually dull content (and satisfyingly so) 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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Dang man, at least tag nsfw if you're going to be sharing pics of your hole
What kind of tree?
You check that hole for drainage and size? I planted a tree in super hard soil into a hole that wasn't much bigger than the pot, and it turned into a little pool every time it rained because the compacted soil around it wouldn't allow water (or roots) out of the 'in ground pot' I accidentally made for the tree, and it drowned.
Drainage and size have indeed been cause for some concern, if not a slight headache. (Thinking ahead, I worry that "I drowned a tree" might not be acceptably dull content for this community.)
However, the last hole I dug for another tree not too far away from this present hole turned out fine, so I hope the ground is okay. As suggested elsewhere, I'm also filling the hole with new, extra dirt.
First off most of the guides you find online or even from nurseries show the wrong way to transplant shrubs and trees.
Filling the hole with new dirt is pretty much the worst thing you can do. Water and roots follow the path of least resistance.
When you have soil with higher porosity surrounded by soil with lower porosity, water collects the higher porosity soil. It has more room for water and collects it from the surrounding area. This often leads to drowning the plant or root rots forming.
The roots also are not going to push through the harder more compact soil when nice soft porous soil is available. So they circle around the hole you dug. You end up with rootbound plants long term.
You functionally create a pot in the dirt when you add in the "better" soil that you purchased.
The best way to transplant into the ground.
Bare root or minimal soil is recommended for the plant. You really don't want to be adding too much around it.
Refill the hole with the dirt that came out of it. Pack the dirt as you fill it to match the surrounding soils compaction level. Don't be shy, make it good and firm.
If you want to fertilize at transplanting add a very small amount around the top of the hole when filling it up, not at the bottom of the hole. You want the nutrients to leach down to the roots with water. If you want to add in more fertilizer/compost. Dig some small shallow holes 5-10cm from the outside edge of you hole and add in fertilizer. This will reward roots that break through the edge of the hole encouraging them to grow further.
Quality hole. Dirt is definitely gone. Goes straight down into the ground. All signs of top quality. Good job.
i once dug a hole in my (parent's) back yard to search for water.
well i didn't find water but i found a girlfriend. (no joke)
dang that sounds so unhinged once i type it out loud.
here's the explanation
Well the back yard wasn't really fenced in and neighbors could easily walk in and through as a shortcut to the bus stop, and in fact they did all the time. Anyways i dug the hole and a girl from the neighborhood saw me do that and came to walk by and ask me what the hell i was doing there. i was telling her that i was digging for water, and well, the rest is a secret.
Everything reminds me of her 😞
It was made for me! This is my hole!
10/10 hole right there
Me too!
However mine is unfinished :(


Nice hole Man. Pretty round. Before you plant under cut sone of the hole so the roots have some more loose soil.
Spades are not meant for digging, they're for edging and moving stuff. A shovel has a pointier head, which cuts into compacted soil easier. It's the kind that actually looks like a spade, but for some reason isn't. You can stick it in the ground, and push it down with your foot.
Woah there buddy, do you have the right permits for an excavation like that?
What inspired you?
The Mrs, in the parlance of this sub.
When I dig a hole the dirt is usually right next to it. This hole feels surreal like its a hole to stay a hole. Where's the dirt?
I learned from the last hole I dug a few years ago and shovelled the dirt right on a cart. I used it to fill a sloping flower bed.
I have a pick axe, technically a mattock that I use in my yard. It's all clay and gravel. It's fun to swing.



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