Usage of Earthworm to to loosen compacted soil

[Nishant]

Hello Friends,

Two weeks back, I discovered that my pine tree has very dry rootball and the rootball had become very compact? I have soaked the rootball with water , however the hardness of the root ball is worrying for me. The tree has gone week over last one year, naturally the root has been struggling, not getting any water etc.

I obviosuly cannot to any repotting untill the tree rehabilitates. However I was thinking of using earthworm to loosen the soil. Just buy some earthworms and place them in planter in a tiny pit each and hopefully they will burrow through while eating the soil and poop it outside.

Anyone tried this or can comment about this.

Thanks

 

[Adair M]

No, it would be better to use an ice pick, or a screwdriver to punch holes in the soil. Once you have pierced in, wiggle the tool back and forth, and around and around to create a bit of a cavity. This can be backfilled with bonsai soil.

Your tree can hold out until next spring for repotting.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I was pretty happy with earth worms, until the birds started digging in the pots.

It helps to break down larger particles, but they leave a kind of fine mud which is difficult to wash out of the soil when the tree is still in the pot. I'm not against using them, but I think the benefits are limited and can cause other difficulties.

 

[Nishant]

Wires_guy_wires, what other problems it can cause? I have to rake the least risky approach and am ready to put in more work and time.

Pushing a screw driver kind of object in when roots are already scanty is a brave idea. I may be damaging whatever little roots are inside. Also given the size of tree, I am not skilled enough to try repotting.

 

[rockm]

You DO NOT want earthworms in your bonsai soil. They aren't going to penetrate compacted soil. What they will do is live in the better draining soil and their droppings (casts) will clog that up pretty well. Earthworm castings are basically fine silt...Additionally, birds will look for them in your pot. Birds can easily destroy the tree when they're doing that search. You're also training those birds to come to your bonsai for food...

If you're using a root rake on a bonsai, you're causing far far more damage than simply pushing a screwdriver or ice pick through the root ball. Root rakes can be a disaster when used incorrectly, particularly with pines. They rip roots out over a comparatively large area. A screwdriver driven into the soil has a much smaller area that it affects. It mainly pushes roots aside or severs one or two, which isn't a really big deal. The idea with the screwdriver is the same as aerating a lawn. You open up the soil, allowing air and water to penetrate it. That penetration will allow air and water to gradually move into areas surrounding the hole through the root mass. It's much less invasive and more effective than ripping at the root mass with a rake...

 

[Nishant]

Can I try this? Bring the root ball out of its pot and soak up the root ball really well and then try to press/squeeze the root ball with both hands untill it cracks open? This way will not brush any instrument agains the roots.

Just seeking your thoughts

 

[LanceMac10]

Can I try this? Bring the root ball out of its pot and soak up the root ball really well and then try to press/squeeze the root ball with both hands untill it cracks open? This way will not brush any instrument agains the roots.

Just seeking your thoughts

No, it would be better to use an ice pick, or a screwdriver to punch holes in the soil. Once you have pierced in, wiggle the tool back and forth, and around and around to create a bit of a cavity. This can be backfilled with bonsai soil.

Your tree can hold out until next spring for repotting.

Yikes!! Your figuring this is less invasive than the procedure described by @Adair M ? C'mon man!!!!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

No, it would be better to use an ice pick, or a screwdriver to punch holes in the soil. Once you have pierced in, wiggle the tool back and forth, and around and around to create a bit of a cavity. This can be backfilled with bonsai soil.

Your tree can hold out until next spring for repotting.

This!
Plus, I find that earthworms leave behind castings that result in muddy deposits in the bottom of the pot when I do get to repot.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Wires_guy_wires, what other problems it can cause? I have to rake the least risky approach and am ready to put in more work and time.

Pushing a screw driver kind of object in when roots are already scanty is a brave idea. I may be damaging whatever little roots are inside. Also given the size of tree, I am not skilled enough to try repotting.

The mud layer on the bottom of the pot is the biggest issue. They like shaping their own habitat.
I found they have no problem digging through inorganic bonsai soils.
If the soil ever dries, they'll leave the pot. If the pot is raised from the bench, then the worms will have a couple generations a year, and each time they become smaller. This reduces the effect they have.
If the pot is on the ground, they might actually dig up ground soil and deposit it in your pots.

 

[Nishant]

No, it would be better to use an ice pick, or a screwdriver to punch holes in the soil. Once you have pierced in, wiggle the tool back and forth, and around and around to create a bit of a cavity. This can be backfilled with bonsai soil. Your tree can hold out until next spring for repotting.

Thanks Adair for reply. Before I go any further just thought of sharing pictures in case that can give any more ideas about soil.

This tree was originally in a round pot and then I put it in barrel planter two years back. So the coarse soil you see on sides and bottom is the soil I got from kaizen bonsai.

 

[KenE]

Just sit it in a bucket of water for a couple of days. Add a couple of drops of washing up liquid to help with penetration. The water will get through. If any of the outer substrate can be gently picked away with something like a chopstick, then do so. If you expose any roots great,but if not don‘t worry. Wrap the root ball in sphagnum moss until spring. Sphagnum moss is a superb recovery medium. Look it up. Water normally, Then follow normal potting procedure next year,

 

[Adair M]

Does it live under that umbrella all the time?

remove the umbrella.

pines love sun. 24 hours a day! Lol!

 

[Jzack605]

Arborists use a technique called vertical mulching in which an auger is used to drill holes within the drip line and then back filled with material such as compost, sand, fertilizer, etc. this aids in de compacting the soil and encouraging fine roots. I see no reason why this couldn’t be done at a smaller scale with a hand held power drill.

 

[rockm]

Can I try this? Bring the root ball out of its pot and soak up the root ball really well and then try to press/squeeze the root ball with both hands untill it cracks open? This way will not brush any instrument agains the roots.

Just seeking your thoughts

That, my friend, is insane. You can't treat roots like a wet towel. Squeezing soil against the roots will destroy them, probably ALL of them, plain and simple. I Couldn't think of a better way to kill this tree...

 

[Nishant]

Does it live under that umbrella all the time?

remove the umbrella.

pines love sun. 24 hours a day! Lol!

Not all the time, but when it rains or likely to rain. I have to keep the needles away from mosture in order to get the Dothiroma fungus away. Its a transparent umbrella. So light can come through. Removed the original canopy and replaced with clear polythene sheets.

 

[Adair M]

Not all the time, but when it rains or likely to rain. I have to keep the needles away from mosture in order to get the Dothiroma fungus away. Its a transparent umbrella. So light can come through. Removed the original canopy and replaced with clear polythene sheets.

Spray with copper fungicide.

Anything between the sun and the needles blocks some light frequencies.

 

[KillerButts]

Arborists use a technique called vertical mulching in which an auger is used to drill holes within the drip line and then back filled with material such as compost, sand, fertilizer, etc. this aids in de compacting the soil and encouraging fine roots.

This is just the kind of sneaky I want to learn about. Do you know of any sites similar to this for arborists that might share more sneaky?

 

[Forsoothe!]

This sounds like an emergency repot is in order at this wrong time of year. IMHO the the pot should just be broken off and plant the whole rootball in the ground for as long as it takes to start looking healthy, then "collecting" the tree at some appropriate time in the future. I view in-ground planting as an intensive care unit to get back to a reasonable starting position. Most trees, especially Pines can get along fine in the ground with whatever rain comes their way and can even stand too much moisture for a period, too. Ant extra care is a bonus. The ground is the right temperature year-around, too. Everything in a pot is at a disadvantage and it's not a good place for a sick tree.

 

[Nishant]

Thanks Forsoothe for your reply. I have done something halfway what you have suggested.

I have opened the sides of pot so that I can water the full root ball and the results are encouraging in last two weeks. I see new roots forming in the bottommost part of planter where moisture is more consistent. I will see how it goes by fall.

 

[sorce]

This thing is damn near infamous!

I love how you gather information and make moves which seem like no one else suggested, but are clearly a derivative of the information that works for you in your garden.

This IS the Best use of forum information there is.

Brafreakinvo!

If this tree dies I will cry.

I love the lines, but I love more, that I can likely count on you to pick the best one, which I haven't "seen" yet.

#learning

Sorce