# Vertical Mulching



## NCTREE (Aug 9, 2011)

Hello everyone, I'm new to the vertical mulching thing and looking for some tips. I would like to add VM to my services as an alternative to fertilizing for rejuvenating old and sick trees. I would be using an 6" auger bit on a stihl drill. I would like to hear about other methods for applying and especially what kind of cocktails you guys use to backfill the holes. The local landscape supplier has garden compost for sale which is a mixture of peat moss, hay, cocoa bean hulls, cotton seed meal, and poultry litter. Also anyone been experimenting with mycorrhizae as part of the ingredients when VM? Thanks!


----------



## BC WetCoast (Aug 9, 2011)

NCTREE said:


> Hello everyone, I'm new to the vertical mulching thing and looking for some tips. I would like to add VM to my services as an alternative to fertilizing for rejuvenating old and sick trees. I would be using an 6" auger bit on a stihl drill. I would like to hear about other methods for applying and especially what kind of cocktails you guys use to backfill the holes. The local landscape supplier has garden compost for sale which is a mixture of peat moss, hay, cocoa bean hulls, cotton seed meal, and poultry litter. Also anyone been experimenting with mycorrhizae as part of the ingredients when VM? Thanks!


 
Rejuvenating old and sick trees with vertical mulching? I think you better do proper diagnosis first and know your soils. While I agree that VM will benefit a tree that is growing in poor compacted soils, is it really going to benefit trees growing in fairly coarse soils? 

What are you getting from your 'cocktail'. Essentially, organic matter and NPK, primarily nitrogen. The tree doesn't care how the nitrogen is produced or delivered (ie derived from natural gas or cow/pig poo). There are issues like availability, release rate and salt index to consider. What I'm trying to say, is that I don't think you should do VM instead of fertilizing rather you should do VM as well fertilizing, using whichever technique is appropriate to the site.

A 6" auger bit? I think that's going to be pretty big, especially if you have rocks in your area. It will also be a chore to get through areas where the trees have a dense root mat. I've only seen fence post augers which are about 6" and if they catch something, people are going for a spin. I think the few times we've done VM, we've used a 2" hole and just put in more holes.

I think the best tool for vertical mulching is an air spade. That way you don't do any root damage.


----------



## TreEmergencyB (Aug 9, 2011)

Guy i worked for used a 2" bit when he did it. His stihl drill sucked idk what good gas drills are out there though.


----------



## beastmaster (Aug 9, 2011)

Vertical Mulching is something I only know about in theory, having no first hand experience, but I though it was used for compacted soil as a way to allow water, air and nutrients to enter the root zone? I would be interested in hearing more. Beastmaster


----------



## sgreanbeans (Aug 10, 2011)

We did quite a bit of this when in San Diego, we used a 2" with a 1/2 electric drill with the side handle. We back filled them with a combo of mulch, potting mix, Urea 46-0-0. It seemed to work pretty good. We went light on the Urea, about 1/2 a cup.


----------



## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 10, 2011)

I'll second Scott, I've done it with an black dirt mix with slow release fert. You can get some good results in high compaction. Sulfuric acid in the hole helps when you have high pH soils. 

As for the drill choice, high torque electric will work much better then any gas drill on the market.

I've sold it as a cheap way to amend soils over the long term. If there is not sever compaction, then a top dress of a good organic soil mix is cheaper and easier to do. Scalp the lawn, rake in the mix, water down. I've seen a few same-site studies where adding micro-biota boosted vitality in treated trees.

I like basal area soil replacement better for large trees (but then I have an air-tool) we can greatly increase the bulk density in the primary trunk absorption zone, and alter the micro hydrology - local water will perk into the soil vs run off.


----------



## Job Corps Tree (Aug 10, 2011)

A few of the Large tree we do take care of like the Grand Oak at out County Court House we have a biofertilizer with Mycorrhizal Fungi., Both Airates and adds Fert. but it needs the mycorrhizal to use any Fert. Gas Drill 3" 6" deep cup of our Root Saver mix , top with sand or black soil and Water to charge the Fungi
just a thought


----------



## Zale (Aug 10, 2011)

Vertical mulching with a auger bit is not that effective. IMO. You need to keep in mind what percentage of the root system are you really impacting? There have been studies that indicate vertical mulching with an auger impacts very little of the root system. If you can get an Air Spade, this is a better tool to use. Instead of vertical mulching, think radial trenching.


----------



## forestryworks (Aug 10, 2011)

BC WetCoast said:


> know your soils


 
Well said.


----------



## NCTREE (Aug 10, 2011)

I wish I had an air spade then I could do some radial trenching. It seems more logical. Anyone have a used one they want to sell? Just a question but those things are expensive. What about making the holes at 45 degree angles instead of straight down. Oh yeah I mistaken when I said the auger bit was 6" it's more like 3.5" it still sucks trying to get around rocks.


----------



## ATH (Aug 10, 2011)

NCTREE said:


> .....those things are expensive.....


If you buy one, you will need a compressor to run it. Suddenly, the air tool will sound cheap.


----------



## sgreanbeans (Aug 12, 2011)

Reason 845723445 for me to go back to SoCal, If I even mentioned something like that around here, they would laugh. No one understands that there is more than just saws to take care of their trees! Here, most of the time anyways, trees are looked at as a nuisance, more so than a asset. I take every opp to educate, but figure it mostly falls on deaf ears.


----------



## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 21, 2011)

NCTREE said:


> I wish I had an air spade then I could do some radial trenching. It seems more logical. Anyone have a used one they want to sell? Just a question but those things are expensive. What about making the holes at 45 degree angles instead of straight down. Oh yeah I mistaken when I said the auger bit was 6" it's more like 3.5" it still sucks trying to get around rocks.


 
I know several people who have made airtools with plumbing parts. About 75% as good as the name brands.


----------



## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 21, 2011)

sgreanbeans said:


> Reason 845723445 for me to go back to SoCal, If I even mentioned something like that around here, they would laugh. No one understands that there is more than just saws to take care of their trees! Here, most of the time anyways, trees are looked at as a nuisance, more so than a asset. I take every opp to educate, but figure it mostly falls on deaf ears.


 
Sales can be like jarheads looking for a date, purely a numbers game. Offer your secondary services to as many people as you can and you will get a few takers, they will eventually tell people...ect...ect...ect.

I had a young trooper who was the stereotype "Brooklyn Guinea WOP" He'd claim getting laid almost every day, sometimes twice  yeah, sure. Then we were out on libo together, and I saw his action. The epitome of "if it moves, he grooves". I think the only demographic of female he did not hit on were the WTF'rs Snackies. One chick in Spain had vestigial sideburns and a noticeable stash 

I do not do much rootwork, but it is growing. Once people see results they tell others.


----------



## NCTREE (Sep 16, 2011)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> I know several people who have made airtools with plumbing parts. About 75% as good as the name brands.


 
Do you know anyone that has some blueprints or pics of the homemade air spades? I can rent the compressor.


----------



## treevet (Sep 16, 2011)

NCTREE said:


> Do you know anyone that has some blueprints or pics of the homemade air spades? I can rent the compressor.


 
Radial trenching seems to be a positive although you will be desicating mass fibrous roots. But using a compressor to vertical mulch is only compressing the (clay based) soil surrounding the vertical tunnel you have made by compressing the perimeter of it as it is displaced.

We use a tanaka drill like the engine in the Wraptor. It is very capable and much better than dragging around a cord sometimes attached to a generator which is how we did it 40 years ago. We actually used (working for another company) drill bits that has absolutely no threads way back then (on wet days).

The earth auger displaces soil by bringing some (not compressing the surrounding like an air tool) out and then we often use pea gravel or course sand (mixed with some organic stuff) which retains your effort of making the hole which is not the case in the pneumatic holes you made. The unfilled holes I see people making with the air drills probable collapse at first rainfall. Speaking of rainfall, vert mulching is also not just useful for alleviating compaction but also to capture rainfall on hilly terrain over root areas that tends to get hardpan on the surface.

This is all based on need as said in the second post after finding a clay base soil with compaction and a tree that is known and showing not to be able to tolerate this.

As for fertilization....a soil or foliar analysis should precede forcing a bunch of salt on your tree and high N can cause other probs. We are talking apples and oranges here or soil structure and soil content.


----------



## Zale (Sep 16, 2011)

treevet said:


> Radial trenching seems to be a positive although you will be desicating mass fibrous roots. But using a compressor to vertical mulch is only compressing the (clay based) soil surrounding the vertical tunnel you have made by compressing the perimeter of it as it is displaced.
> 
> We use a tanaka drill like the engine in the Wraptor. It is very capable and much better than dragging around a cord sometimes attached to a generator which is how we did it 40 years ago. We actually used (working for another company) drill bits that has absolutely no threads way back then (on wet days).
> 
> ...



How much experience do you have using an Air-Spade?


----------



## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 16, 2011)

NCTREE said:


> Do you know anyone that has some blueprints or pics of the homemade air spades? I can rent the compressor.


 
I did around 10 years ago. Basically he used black pipe a ball valve and reducers for a tip. Play around with it, I bet extra parts and all will run less then $75. An old funnel on the end works as a blast shield, and you need heavy insulation to keep from burning your hands. Air friction makes it hotter then the ####ens.


----------



## treevet (Sep 16, 2011)

Zale said:


> How much experience do you have using an Air-Spade?


 
I have used one a number of times since they were invented and demoed.

What's your point Zale.?


----------



## Zale (Sep 16, 2011)

treevet said:


> I have used one a number of times since they were invented and demoed.
> 
> What's your point Zale.?


 
I don't understand your statement that the air tool compresses the walls of the hole. If anything, in a clay soil it tends to fracture and lift the soil.


----------



## treevet (Sep 16, 2011)

Zale said:


> I don't understand your statement that the air tool compresses the walls of the hole. If anything, in a clay soil it tends to fracture and lift the soil.


 
Since neither one of us nor anyone posesses xray vision this is mostly conjecture but...if you make a space by vert mulching with air gun down into clay soil....where does the displaced soil go that was in the space now occupied by the air/airpressure?

It must compact the surrounding soil (not just the wall of the opened space) just as though you ran a steam roller over the top of the soil and displaced into a rut downward and compacted the soil below.

Ofcourse there is some lifting the longer you pump the air in there but still....

I think most of this air spade stuff is just a gimmick except exposing the root crown which is very useful for a variety of reasons.


----------



## NCTREE (Sep 17, 2011)

It makes sence to me the air spade is going to be forcing pressure down on the soil where as the auger is going to pull soil out of the hole and displace it. As far as exposing the root flare wouldn't a high pressure watering hose do the same as an air spade?


----------



## NickfromWI (Mar 18, 2013)

That's not what the airspade does. It blast the soil out of the hole. 

You couldn't cause soil compaction with an airspade if you tried. 


love
nick


----------



## treeseer (Mar 18, 2013)

NickfromWI said:


> That's not what the airspade does. It blast the soil out of the hole.
> 
> You couldn't cause soil compaction with an airspade if you tried.
> 
> ...


X2! The Air Knife lifts large areas of soil, sometimes 2'+ from the nozzle

Augers downside is drilling through roots. Slight problem there...:bang:


----------



## treevet (Mar 18, 2013)

I disagree with you and Nick and have seen one work many times. Soil is excavated in a root crown excavation. When aeriating some soil comes out but most stays in and MUST compact in the perimeter of the space created by the forced air. Dessication of fibrous roots has to occur as well.


----------



## mckeetree (Mar 18, 2013)

treevet said:


> I disagree with you and Nick and have seen one work many times. Soil is excavated in a root crown excavation. When aeriating some soil comes out but most stays in and MUST compact in the perimeter of the space created by the forced air. Dessication of fibrous roots has to occur as well.



Not my experience with air spade. I guess results vary.


----------



## treeclimber101 (Mar 18, 2013)

You could only compact soil with an airspeed if you used the wand end the beat the mud tight ! :msp_w00t:


----------



## treeseer (Mar 19, 2013)

treeclimber101 said:


> You could only compact soil with an airspeed if you used the wand end the beat the mud tight ! :msp_w00t:




The auger on the other hand glazes clay soil as it spins. no xray vision needed--poke your finger down there and feel the smooth.


----------



## Pelorus (Mar 19, 2013)

I think the degree of glazing correlates to the auger speed, and a slower speed will cause less glazing problems. Soil moisture content is another variable re. glazing.
Air injection will follow the path of least resistance, ie. mostly towards the soil surface, which is also why blasting holes are capped with mud or something similar, in order to direct the explosion downwards and outwards. Instead of upwards. 
Automatic weapons use recoil / gas blowback to cycle too, don't they? All conjecture on my part, as Canadian laws kinda restrict possession of explosives and arsenals in private hands. :msp_sneaky: But some soil compaction with an airspade seems a reasonable possibility.


----------



## stltreedr (Mar 19, 2013)

I think there's a grad student somewhere looking for a thesis....


----------



## NickfromWI (Mar 19, 2013)

J


----------



## Pelorus (Mar 19, 2013)

Mebbe it ain't a great notion to verti mulch Mrs Smith's compacted Magnolia right after a heavy rainfall using a high speed drill?


----------



## BC WetCoast (Mar 19, 2013)

I've never seen soil being compacted on the side wall of a hole when using an air spade, but we have coarser soils. Most soil gets either blown out of the hole or into the area that was previously excavated.


----------



## Zale (Mar 19, 2013)

We have heavy clay soils in our area. Glazing or further compaction from an air spade has never been a issue. I wouldn't worry about it.


----------



## John Paul Sanborn (Mar 26, 2013)

NickfromWI said:


> That's not what the airspade does. It blast the soil out of the hole.
> 
> You couldn't cause soil compaction with an airspade if you tried.
> 
> ...



Who are you?


----------



## John Paul Sanborn (Mar 26, 2013)

There can be some compaction with air tools, but my experience is that it is a very thin layer on harder soils. Mechanical compression is much worse with a drill, shovel or anything one can dig with. Any procedure will have some drawbacks, I've done mechanical, pneumatic and hydro excavation around trees, my preferred is pneumatic. 

One good thing about auger amendments is that one can take a low cost treatment to prove a point to a client reluctant to invest in extant specimens, especially if they have "always looked like that. " When they see that the sulfuric acid "rootbeer float" greens an oak up within a few weeks we can often get in and do some work that will affect the tree for a much longer period.


----------



## NickfromWI (Apr 16, 2013)

Hey John! It's me, Nick the Splicer!!


love
nick


----------



## treevet (Apr 16, 2013)

Sorry, I don't believe you, I think you are that NickfromLosAngeles guy :cool2:


----------



## Morgan Hughes (Aug 7, 2018)

NCTREE said:


> Hello everyone, I'm new to the vertical mulching thing and looking for some tips. I would like to add VM to my services as an alternative to fertilizing for rejuvenating old and sick trees. I would be using an 6" auger bit on a stihl drill. I would like to hear about other methods for applying and especially what kind of cocktails you guys use to backfill the holes. The local landscape supplier has garden compost for sale which is a mixture of peat moss, hay, cocoa bean hulls, cotton seed meal, and poultry litter. Also anyone been experimenting with mycorrhizae as part of the ingredients when VM? Thanks!


Vertical mulching is by far the best thing you can do to any desirable tree in any soil type and should be considered as vital as pruning and watering. That said, know your soils and soil pH. Six inches is too big a diameter, stick to 2-3 inch holes. Keep the six inch bit for areas that don't drain well and fill the hole with pea gravel, this is Way easier than a French drain and a couple holes like this will really drain a spot that stays wet too long provided you get down to the naturally porous subsoil.
For 2-3 inch holes 12-24 inches deep, start about six feet away from the crown of the tree and make holes 2-3 feet apart in concentric circles out to or just past the drip line. For clay soils fill holes with fine screened compost mixed 50/50 with sand, some gypsum, and a mycorrhizal inoculant. For Sandy soils, use straight compost and mycorrhiza. For really dense poorly draining soils, use compost and pea gravel with gypsum and mycorrhiza. Use a broom handle or dowel to Tamp the mix into the hole as you fill, air pockets will kill roots. You can add fertilizer, but go with a slow release or organic fertilizer to avoid root burn. 
Depending on pH, add some acidifying fertilizer or lime to the mix. Vertical mulching is great for trees but will also do wonders for a yard or ball field. For a sports field, you really want to make sure to Tamp down the fill material firmly all the way to the surface and leave a little mound on top so there are no divots.
For all vertical mulching, water in everything thoroughly.
Vertical mulching, especially with mycorrhizal inoculants and compost (real fine screened compost, No wood chunks) will add organic materials to the soil, improve drainage as well as water retention! This will reduce water bills, add to the effectiveness of fertilization, decrease the formation of surface roots on younger trees, add vitality and vigor to any tree young or mature, aerate the soil, encourage deeper root production of trees and turf making them more drought resistant, add beneficial fungi, microbes and bacteria to the soil.
Stay Far away from water mains, gas lines, sewer drains, and irrigation lines as you will make a mess and kill your profit margin.
You have to sell this service, people don't know about it, educate them.
Over time the soil will increase in porosity as the mycorrhiza grow out from the holes and the organic materials and gypsum condition the soil.
Always upsell by suggesting larger mulch rings around desirable trees, as I rarely see mulch rings the size recommend, with a nice layer of native, well composted hardwood mulch on top, you shouldn't have to water more than twice a week even in a Texas summer with little rain.


----------



## Jason Douglas (Aug 8, 2018)

Calculate volume for a proposed auger hole.

Now multiply that by your number of holes in your grid or concentric pattern.

Compare that small volume to that created by trenching or decompacting with an air gun. It's not even close.

Hell, just making a huge new mulch bed with wood chips shows remarkable soil improvements from structural, chemical, to biological aspects in a surprising amount of time.

Vertical mulching/core aerating should be reserved for the circumstances of dealing with a relatively thin and shallow layer of hardpan imo.


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 9, 2018)

Jason Douglas said:


> Calculate volume for a proposed auger hole.
> 
> Now multiply that by your number of holes in your grid or concentric pattern.
> 
> ...


Yup, I love the breakdown over time benefits to wood chip mulch. All the trees I care about and planted get topped off yearly and the soil has gone from native poor to absolutely wonderful.


----------



## DSW (Aug 13, 2018)

Topping the trees you care about eh?

True professional.


----------



## ATH (Aug 14, 2018)

Context clues are a wonderful thing.


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 14, 2018)

DSW said:


> Topping the trees you care about eh?
> 
> True professional.


I see we got's a wise guy lol, topped off mulch not limbs  I'd be surely lying if I said I have not topped though and all kinds of tree torture in my early years in the 80s


----------



## DSW (Aug 14, 2018)

ropensaddle said:


> I see we got's a wise guy lol, topped off mulch not limbs  I'd be surely lying if I said I have not topped though and all kinds of tree torture in my early years in the 80s



The first time i read it i did read it that way. Went back and understood after that.

In the eighties all i did was pee on trees.


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 15, 2018)

DSW said:


> The first time i read it i did read it that way. Went back and understood after that.
> 
> In the eighties all i did was pee on trees.


Ha ha no sweat I knew you read it wrong and to your credit i should have said top coat or dressed but i'm getting lazy only 2 days off this month.


----------

