Reading this reminds me how confused I was when I first began gardening in the desert some nine years ago. Winters were not cold enough to produce frost heave, and summers were too hot for worms; and I wondered how ever the soil would be naturally softened and loosened. I suppose part of the answer is that it isn't, hence the rapid flooding during rainy seasons. But the other answer is the presence of ants, which do a good deal of soil moving. I was just reminded of this while planting out a miniature rose this morning, when I disturbed a nest I hadn't even known was there. It's an uneasy alliance, as they bite mercilessly, but they do an extremely necessary job! So we get along fairly well.
I hope you don't mind this long comment on your wonderful post. Loved your snow pictures!
Never heard of frost heave, and very excited to hear about it now! It helps me understand how and why the frost, thaw cycle is so important to good soil structure when there's organic matter present. Great article, thank you Jack
Reading this reminds me how confused I was when I first began gardening in the desert some nine years ago. Winters were not cold enough to produce frost heave, and summers were too hot for worms; and I wondered how ever the soil would be naturally softened and loosened. I suppose part of the answer is that it isn't, hence the rapid flooding during rainy seasons. But the other answer is the presence of ants, which do a good deal of soil moving. I was just reminded of this while planting out a miniature rose this morning, when I disturbed a nest I hadn't even known was there. It's an uneasy alliance, as they bite mercilessly, but they do an extremely necessary job! So we get along fairly well.
I hope you don't mind this long comment on your wonderful post. Loved your snow pictures!
Never heard of frost heave, and very excited to hear about it now! It helps me understand how and why the frost, thaw cycle is so important to good soil structure when there's organic matter present. Great article, thank you Jack