Appreciation post: The old timer who saved my day when a post hole collapsed

I was setting a 6-foot cedar panel in a client's yard in Tacoma last spring, and the ground was still wet from rain. I had the post in the hole, started pouring the concrete, and the whole side of the hole just gave way. This older guy from the house next door, who'd been watching from his porch, walked over with a shovel and a piece of scrap plywood. He showed me how to use the plywood as a temporary brace against the wall of the hole while I packed the concrete in, which kept the post perfectly straight. Has anyone else run into this with soggy soil and found a better trick?

3 comments

3 Comments

jennyp1916d ago

Man, that soggy soil is the worst.

terry_lewis2116d agoMost Upvoted

Read somewhere that it can actually suffocate plant roots. They need air down there too, not just water. Honestly makes you rethink how much you're watering.

milaprice8d ago

But what about plants that love wet feet? My cannas and elephant ears go nuts in the heavy, damp part of my yard... they'd totally rot if it was dry. Some irises too. Maybe it's not the soil, it's just putting the wrong plant in it.