Re: How tight should soil be compacted

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 17 Oct 2021 08:16:44 +0100, Jeff Layman
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On 17/10/2021 05:56, bob prohaska wrote:
>> In rec.gardens John Robertson <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> I'm not a gardener but I planted some seeds of food eaten from the kitchen
>>> (pears, apples, lemons, oranges, avocados, watermelon, pomegranate, etc).
>>>
>>   
>> Those seeds all have fairly different germination techniques; for example,
>> avocado pits are commonly sprouted in water. Sounds like you're experimenting,
>> to see what grows and what doesn't.
>> 
>>> I put the soil in typical plastic plant containers but I don't know if I'm
>>> supposed to pack the results tightly or loosely or mediumly. If I pack them,
>>> with a mallet I can easily triple the amount of soil and even if I compact
>>> them with my fist, I could easily double the amount of soil, so compaction
>>> certainly makes a huge difference in soil volume.
>>>
>>> There must be an optimum amount of compaction though, for soil volume and
>>> for water sponging I would think that the experts already know about.
>>>
>>> What's the rule on compaction when you dig the soil out of the ground with a
>>> shovel and then when you fill a dozen of these quart to half gallon sized
>>> black plastic planting containers?
>> 
>> Depends on the seeds, soil and importance of success. If you're using
>> natural soil you might let water do the compacting. Flood the pot of
>> soil, push the seed into the resulting mud and flood the pot again.
>> That's how nature compacts soil and will give some hint how the seeds
>> might fare on their own in your area.
>> 
>> If you really want the seeds to grow, David's approach is customary.
>> There's much less risk of waterlogging if you use a porous mix, pack
>> it till it's just immobile when flooded and make sure all liquid drains
>> in a few minutes. Very few seeds will germinate if submerged.
>> 
>> I think waterlogging is the biggest objection to using natural soil
>> in pots. It's too easy for the water to get trapped in the pot,
>> especially if the pot is plastic.
>
>Waterlogging and/or drying out are the two commonest reasons for 
>germination failure. It doesn't matter what soil or compost you use, or 
>even how compact it is, if you follow this guidance:
>
>Put the soil/compost in the pot. If using soil, just fill to within 1/2" 
>of the top; if using compost, fill to the top and press down 1/2". Put 
>the pot in a bucket and fill with water to the soil/compost level. Leave 
>for an hour (some peat-based composts, if dry, can be very slow to take 
>up water again. A drop of washing-up liquid in the water can help). 
>Remove pot and allow to drain for 15 minutes. Add seed(s), and either 
>push into the compost until well covered or place on surface and cover 
>with a little moist compost. Put pot in a polythene bag and seal the 
>bag. Just keep an eye on the pot every week or so to see if germination 
>has taken place. With the bag sealed, you won't have to worry about 
>under/overwatering. Once germination has taken place, remove the pot 
>from the bag.

Though I have had little problem with planting, iirc, I have to reread
this thread. 

My big takeway is that there are two groups I didn't know about,
rec.gardens and alt.agriculture.fruit.  That's more important to me than
any one thread.   

Esp. after alt.home.lawn.garden faded away, I'm not sure when. 

Glad you included us, John.