My trick for digging post holes in rocky soil near Nashville

I was working a job outside Nashville last fall where the ground was full of limestone chunks. After fighting with a standard clamshell digger for an hour, I tried soaking the hole with a hose for 10 minutes before digging. It softened the soil enough to get through without breaking the handle. Anybody else have a go-to method for rocky ground like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicehernandez7d ago

Soaking the ground is a solid trick. I've done something similar in Georgia clay where you have to let the water sit for a good 15-20 minutes then come back to it. Another thing that helped me was using a digging bar to break up the limestone chunks before switching to the clamshell. I'd jam the bar in at an angle and pry the rocks loose, then scoop out the loosened stuff. Makes a huge difference when you're dealing with those big flat rocks that just want to laugh at a shovel.

janarivera7d ago

I get what you're saying about the digging bar, but honestly (and I might be in the minority here), I've had way better luck just using a heavy pickaxe for those flat limestone pieces. The bar always seems to slip off for me or just gets stuck in the mud.

julia_anderson7d ago

Did you have to mess with the water pressure at all? I feel like too much water would just turn it into a muddy mess before you even get started.