Denny's Soapbox

When it comes to the Horticultural business, the internet can be a very dangerous research and resource tool. I would like to discuss a recent example of this danger concerning an article that ran in this section of the newspaper right next to mine on October 28th called “The Right Amount, and Type of Soil Makes a Big Difference. This article was originally written by Dorene Weinstein from the Argus-Leader newspaper in South Dakota. Horticultural advice given for South Dakota homeowners has very little bearing for gardeners in Cincinnati. In this case, I would not only challenge information that was published for the tri-state area but I would also challenge information for South Dakota as well.

This article encouraged homeowners to add a lot of topsoil to their homes property. This certainly would make any topsoil company extremely happy, but it is totally unnecessary. I received an e-mail from Steve Sandfort, Retired Cincinnati City Forester and chairman of the Hamilton County Soil and Water District about this article. He concurred with me that this article addressed a problem that really just does not exist here in Hamilton County. This article stated that a lot of our good soil blew away during the droughts of the 1930’s. That event happened in the Great Plain states which includes South Dakota. We actually benefited from that drought because a lot of that good soil wound up in Ohio and other neighboring states.

We have the Hamilton County Earth Works Regulations which were developed by our Soil and Water Conservation District. These regulations help control soil erosion for development sites that are 1 acre or larger. Each developer must file an erosion control plan with the county. Field inspections are then done to ensure the rules are followed. Our soil in the tri-state area varies from heavy clay soil to very sandy soil with lots of textures in between. Our trees and shrubs do just fine around here as long as the proper plants are chosen for the proper location and the plants are then installed properly.

This leads me to the second point of said article that discussed the many merits of berm (mound) planting due to our heavy soil. There is a nursery person’s oath that goes “Plant ‘em high, slowly die. Plant ‘em low, never grow. Plant ‘em right, shear delight.” Planting any tree or shrub on elevated soil of 7” or more is not good for the plants. The higher the mound, the more difficult it will be to keep plants watered or allow rain to soak in. Roots run a great risk of serious damage due to very cold temperatures that can occur here during winter. The roots are also restricted with their growth, limited to the mounded soil area. Always plant your trees and shrubs just slightly above ground level in your natural soil. Always install plants that are suitable for your planting site.

So the moral to this story is I would encourage you to seek local resources when researching for your garden project and be careful about using the internet when it comes to gardening advice. There are lots of good landscape firms, garden centers and even garden websites in our local area to assist you