Last week, I started a series on gardening failures and victories in our own yard, starting with hardscape. I hesitated a bit writing this week’s, because it goes against what seems to be conventional wisdom about how to garden. But here it goes. And be aware… this is very much written for my context: dry, western United States; within the 100 year flood zone in my city. I pretty much regret any serious digging or earth removal or mounding which has happened in my yard. Soil movement needs a clear purpose.

First, I’ll say I’m glad I’ve never had any raised beds, particularly in wooden or metal borders–huge fad. Yes, I realize that they make gardens look tidy and are helpful for those with mobility challenges because they raise the surface of the soil. However, raised beds dry out faster, and they are often (usually?) filled with offsite soil. The former is an issue because we should be SINKING our beds to COLLECT precipitation rather than raising them and consuming more precious (irrigation) water. The latter causes textural interfaces and water infiltration issues, essentially creating anoxic dead zones where roots won’t grow. Finally, materials for beds are not cheap and of course involve embodied carbon. You can garden your veg or flowers right in the ground with your own soil!

I do, however, regret any removal or movement of soil on our lot that was about anything other than guiding precipitation. We removed soil when we put in our swingset (now gone, as the children are grown), and we filled the excavated area with 12″ of arborist mulch, level with the ground. After 20 years of topping that off, we essentially have 12″ of loose, crumby, highly organic “soil”, and we intend to put a riparian garden in this spot, as it retains moisture quite nicely. However, that soil had to go somewhere. Where did it get hauled? It might have become someone else’s “topsoil” or it may have been landfilled. Some of it was used to create berms in our backyard, but like raised beds, berms shed water. I question whether these shapes, which disrupt soil structure and mix horizons, are worth the damage, the risk of compaction, and the disturbance just for visual appeal.

Similarly, I regret that we excavated any soil in our front yard (I already expressed mixed feelings last week about bringing in rock). While the soil removal does not increase our home’s risk of flooding (we were added to the 100 year flood plain in the mid 2000s, after we did this project), I would argue that any removal of soil in a flood plain should be questioned.

Last year, we moved some soil around to create rain basins and berms and wells around trees and shrubs for directing and harvesting precipitation. These, along with small swales, will hopefully lessen our odds of flood damage, increase the usefulness of the precipitation which falls on our lot, and reduce our use of irrigation water. As we remove soil, we think about where it can be placed in a useful water-guiding berm so no soil leaves our site. As we continue planting more native plants to support pollinators and birds, we will also expand our precipitation harvesting. To learn more about this, check out Brad Lancaster’s books and work.