Are your trees/plants/grass stressed, in poor condition, of low vigour, under attack, or subject to compaction or other site-related pressures?
Compacted soil can prevent access to oxygen and water, eventually leading to root damage and tree death. But thankfully we have the equipment to both determine the level and depth of compaction and remediate the issue.
First, we test the soil with a penetrometer
This measures the resistance of the soil and gives us an indication of both the level of compaction and the depth that it reaches. From this, we can determine which of our machines is most suitable for your site and requirements.
For below the Surface Soil Decompaction we use our Terravent’s
We own three of these machines, two “old school” nitrogen powered machines and a new one powered by a stage V compliant compressor with up to 45m of hosing meaning access isn’t an issue. By pushing a 22mm diameter hollow probe into the soil, we can inject nitrogen gas or compresses air at pressures up to 50 bar to a depth of 1.5m, creating fissures within the soil layers, relieving compaction, aerating the soil and helping drainage.
Post air injection we can then inject beneficial liquids, to feed the soil microbes and boost the soil food web, or a mixture of dry material designed to improve the soil structure and feed the soil rhizosphere, before pouring biochar down the probe hole to help maintain a free passage of air and moisture.
These machines do not have to be driven over the area to be decompacted, cause minimal surface disturbance with minimal damage to the delicate soil microbiome and are ideal for high-use areas where the grass is to be retained. We can also combine this with Hollow-coring of the grassed area to relieve surface compaction.
The Airspade can be used to relieve surface and near surface compaction.
By first removing sections of turf, the soil can be turned over using the air spade to direct high-pressure air into the soil. Soil ameliorants, such as compost and bio-char, can also be added to improve the soil structure. We then recommend dressing the rooting area with chip mulch to protect the soil structure and provide composting organic matter to the area further boosting the soil food web.
This area can also be drenched with compost tea to add further nutrients to the soil if required.
In certain cases, we can also add Worms to the soil.
These can assist with long-term soil decompaction, by moving around within the soil and helping break down organic matter, but don’t worry we don’t blow these in with high-pressure gases, but simply auger a hole to drop them into after we’ve finished.