Digging holes: How to measure capacity

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Just a quick thread to help with the digging of holes.

To dig your hole close to a certain capcity(in gallons), first consider that a cubic foot contains 7.48 US gallons.

To measure a holes cubic footage, multiply the width, by the width or legth, and then mulitply that by the depth. Then mulitply the cubic footage by 7.48 to get the gallon capacity.

For example, a hole 2 feet wide, by 2 feet wide, and 1.5 feet deep, is 6 cubic feet: 2'X2'x1.5'=6 cubic feet

Multiply that 6 cubic feet by 7.48, and we have a hole that will contain 44.88 US gallons.

For the Metric users
Metric is even simpler:

Measure Liters by multiplying the width of your hole in centemeters by the width(or length), and then multiplying that by the depth, now divide that by 10 to get your capcity in Liters that will fit in the hole.

My personal opinion on hole size
Now comes to question, what size should the hole be? Generally most growers I have read and talked to seem to think digging much deeper than 1.5-2 feet deep is wasted, once you are that deep it is better to make the holes wider. This would be because most Cannabis roots grow latteraly.

Here is a cheat sheet showing possible hole dimensions and gallon capacities:

1'wide x 1' wide x 1' deep= 7.48 gallons

1'wide x 1'wide x 1.5' deep= 11.22 gallons

1.5'wide x 1.5 wide x 1.5 deep= 25.24 gallons

2'wide x 1.5' wide x 1.5 deep= 33.66 gallons

2'wide x 2'wide x 1.5' deep= 44.88 gallons

2'wide x 2'wide x 2'deep= 59.84 gallons

etc, etc.

In this thread I used liquid US gallons, keep in mind that potting soil, Peat moss, etc, usually comes by the dry quart(not the same as a normal liquid quart, potting soil never come by the liquid quart), Liter, or Cubic foot(cuft). You may need to convert them into liquid gallons in order to fill your holes correctly.

3.43 (dry)Quarts in a US liquid gallon

3.78 Liters in a US liquid gallon

7.48 US liquid gallons in a Cubic foot

To make it easy for myself, I use a 1, 2, or 5 gallon bucket to measure my ammendments as I pack them into by backpack for transport to the plot.

 

[hamstring]

I have to agree that digging too deep is a waste of energy but I like to go 2 ft deep not because of root depth but the loose soil has better water retention.

Not sure if retention is the correct term but when loose the soil soaks up the water better it does not run off. I feel like this helps supply water to my plants longer but unsure if I am correct.

Lots of good threads regarding roots.

PEACE

 

[trichburner]

Retention is not an incorrect term , nor is the opposite which is drainage . The type of soil plays a big role in how deep you need to dig . Soil deeper down stays moist longer due to not being exposed to the wind and sun . Holes in hard packed/clay soil need to be dug deeper for drainage reasons , otherwise you run the risk of drowning your plant during heavy rain spells . While in sandy soils it may not even be necessary to dig at all if water supply is adequate and a tight feeding schedule can be maintained .

Generally most growers I have read and talked to seem to think digging much deeper than 1.5-2 feet deep is wasted

In my area (midwest) that holds true for the most parts . The soil is loam and drains well while also holding the right amount of moisture . I would expect that is not the case in the south where clay soil is common .

The status quo says you should make holes as big as possible to allow for maximum root growth . That's fine and all , but there is a point where that extra root growth will not be noticed in the yield at harvest time . I'm a firm believer in effort vs. return . Expending more effort for little return is wasted effort that could have been used for one more plant which would yield much greater return . Make sense ?

 

[Guest]

Thanks a lot guys, appreciated posts.

Respects

 

[DirtDevil]

By-Golly I was just digging in clay today. I dug that shit 2-3 feet deep and threw my special soil mix in it.

LOL, today I put my shovel a few inches in the dirt and turned it over and got like 5 earth worms, so I thew them in my soil box. Then I kept digging until I found like 8 million earth worms and I threw them all in the soil mix to. they died though because my soil mix was pre dryed to make for easy hauling.

 

[green-genes77]

I tend to go wide and broad as well, and no more than two feet deep. Unless you aren't watering, the roots will have little cause to go deeper.

This reminds me of one of my least favorite things: working out 80% of a hole and then encountering a rock too big to get out of the hole. I usually kill myself a little bit managing to roll them out but a couple of times they have just sat there mocking me

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Thanks guys, I hope this helps some folks.

 

[Raistlin Majere]

thanks for the #'s
i always carry a 5gal bucket up when i dig holes
dig a hole big enough to fit the bucket in, use the bucket to move the native soil to where ever then move on to the next hole

all of which sucks so i always tried to use the same spot as long as i could
roots and rocks SUCK !!!!

have fun digging those holes LOL i have moved indoors now hehehe

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

I added some conversion numbers in the measurments most used by manufacturers, like (dry Quarts), Liters, and Cubic feet.

I'd like to write a version totally for metric, is there a equivilent in metric for a foot, what is the more common metric measurment used between a centemeter and a meter??

 

[smokeyMcPOT]

Hey Backcountry this might help you a little on those conversions. As well as anyone else who's interested.

http://www.metric-conversions.org/cgi-bin/util/convert.cgi

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Yeah, good link, here is another- http://www.onlineconversion.com/index.htm

I think a Decimeter is the unit I am looking for, that being 10 Centemeters or a 10th of a Meter, the rough couterpart of a US foot.

 

[trichburner]

You're a little off there BC . 1 inch is roughly 2.5 centimeters . 1 decimeter would be roughly 4 inches . Next time you're in a hardware store , check out the rulers , they should have some 12 inch rules with both metric and American graduations . I'm pretty sure the 12" rulers are marked at 30 centimeters .

I've found the best way to use both measuring systems is to not make comparisons or try to convert between the two . For the purposes of this thread , I think it would be more convenient for everyone if someone posts up the hole sizes and volumes using only metric designations . Otherwise we will be dealing with some oddball fractions if we try to convert . Math and grass often do not make good bedfellows .

for example : half meter long x half meter wide x half meter deep = ? litres . And repeat for the more standard larger and smaller dimensions .

 

[skunke]

First outside grow going to be digging 20l 5 gallon holes the size of 5 gallon pales, what you guys think?

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

You're a little off there BC . 1 inch is roughly 2.5 centimeters . 1 decimeter would be roughly 4 inches . Next time you're in a hardware store , check out the rulers , they should have some 12 inch rules with both metric and American graduations . I'm pretty sure the 12" rulers are marked at 30 centimeters .

Hmmm, I'm not understanding exactly where you are saying I am off??? It looks like you are indicating that I converted from US measurements to Metric, but I never did, the metric version is all metric.

Am I misunderstanding you????

 

[Dignan]

Thanks guys, I hope this helps some folks.

BC-

You have been working on leaving a legacy behind for several years now. I am blown away by how generous that is, spending your precious time dropping threads in the hope that they will help someone down the road sometime. And I have no doubt they have helped hundreds of growers trying to figure this outdoor thang out already, and will help thousands by the time it's all said and done.

Mad respect to you, my brother. And thank you.

Dig

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Thanks Dig!

trichburner- I think I understand your misunderstanding now.
When I said I was looking for the eqivilent of a "foot" in metric, I was not actually saying that a foot equalled a Decimeter, insted I was asking for a midway measurement between a centemeter and a meter(which is a decimeter, or 10 centemeters), kind of like a foot is a midway measurement between a inch and a yard in US measures. I wanted to use a measure that wsn't as large as a meter or as small as a centemeter.
Sorry if I wasn't more clear about that when asking for help from my metric savvy brothers.

 

[Guest]

We, in Europe, do not use decimeters very often, almost not at all. At least I don't hear the word decimeter. But, as you said, it's easy and not a problem to count it.


My thanks, BACKCOUNTRY.....

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

I had a feeling a decimeter wasn't that common, I've never encountered it at all before.

 

[guest3589]

I have to agree with Dignan on this one BC, thanks for taking all the time to teach this material.

 

[trichburner]

Thanks Dig!

trichburner- I think I understand your misunderstanding now.
When I said I was looking for the eqivilent of a "foot" in metric, I was not actually saying that a foot equalled a Decimeter, insted I was asking for a midway measurement between a centemeter and a meter(which is a decimeter, or 10 centemeters), kind of like a foot is a midway measurement between a inch and a yard in US measures. I wanted to use a measure that wsn't as large as a meter or as small as a centemeter.
Sorry if I wasn't more clear about that when asking for help from my metric savvy brothers.

I think we're on the same page . I'd probably been more clear if I didn't use the ruler as an example . I knew you weren't trying to say the decimeter is 1 foot , but when I typed that post , i did think you overestimated how long the decimeter is . I see what your getting at though . Best bet is just use centimeters , it seems that's what everyone is used to . Or if I understand Skunke correctly 20 Liter hole is about the equivalent of a 5 gallon bucket full of soil . Sounds good to me