Excavating holes for a new fence, planting trees, or constructing a well can be time-consuming and laborious.
When you think of erecting a new fence or planting trees in your yard, digging a hole generally ends up being the most difficult step of the process.
However, you can shorten the time and lessen the pain if you are willing to learn some tips about the job
In Most Instances – using a powered tool is the best option for digging a hole in your yard because machinery can outperform a human. That is why we use machines to complete our work, and it is also safer.
But, depending on where you live if you have clay soil or rocky terrain, you will most likely have to put your hands into digging because those types of soil generally will not cooperate well with a motorized piece of equipment.
Read on to learn about the different options for digging a hole in your yard.
Using a shovel
Post-hole shovels are distinct from standard shovels.
Post-hole shovels are narrowly constructed and have a rounded tip for digging ease.
Regular shovels are wide, which is impossible at digging deeper holes than the height of the shovel.
And post hole shovels have an ergonomic design with reduced muscle-strain properties while digging.
Using a manual post-hole digger
Manual post-hole diggers are more effective than specialty shovels.
They have two handles and blades and resemble a giant pair of scissors.
To use a manual digger, push into the ground and pull the handles apart.
If you live in a rocky area, use the scissor-action manual post-hole digger. For deeper and narrower holes, double-pivot diggers are ideal.
Using a powered post-hole digger
As stated before, utilize gas-powered Post-hole diggers when there are a lot of holes to dig in a short time.
These have a motor that drives a drill bit into the ground, and displaces soil and holes into the ground.
If you are going to rent one, don’t get a one-man digger. You will be much worse off if you get a one man digger because they are not very powerful, and they will strain your body more than a two man unit.
Using mini excavators and skid steers
Similar to powered augers, mini excavators and steer equipped solutions are mechanized digging hole methods.
They are however, faster and ultimately more efficient making them perfect for larger scale projects like fencing the whole garden.
On the Downside – excavators and steers are very expensive to hire.
Steps to Digging Holes in Your Backyard
Here are the steps to follow when digging holes in your backyard.
Inform local authorities
First things first, I recommend you contact the local government to find out if digging holes is even safe.
The local government will come and look at your yard to see if there is any buried infrastructure, such as water pipes, gas pipes, electrical lines, etc.
If there is no buried infrastructure in your yard, you are given permission to move forward.
Wait for dry conditions
Digging holes on a rainy day is challenging.
If you’re digging deep, with it raining, water will pool in the hole and stop you from digging down.
Even Uber driver George had trouble digging in the rain because of soggy dirt.
Mark an outline
outline the size of the holes you plan to dig
This gives you some kind of visual of how much area the hole will take up.
It is actually easy to misjudge how big the finished hole will be without outlining.
Don’t be stingy on the size when determining your outline. It is often better to have a bigger hole than a small hole.
If you are digging a number of holes, you can use some string as a guide of the area you are measuring.
Using the string will trip you up if you attempt to make a straight line and equal spacing on the holes required!
Gather the required tools
The type of tools you can use varies, depending on how big, and what kind of holes you are digging.
Regardless, you will need a shovel to remove spoil from the hole.
Further, you may need:
- Digging bars
- Clamshell diggers
- Or power augers
Even though larger tools often have a greater efficiency; they are not suitable for everyone.
So, instead select tools that will fit for your size.
For example – using a huge powered drill doesn’t help you, if you are a lean person, it will do the work, but you will tire quickly.
Use powered equipment (if possible)
Hand digging is hard work and that is why we use powered tools if the situation permits.
Machines will function at a much greater efficiency rate and cover large areas very quickly.
Powered tools do have their limitations. For example powered augers are useless to dig holes in clay soils or rocky areas.
In clay soils, a shovel is a better option than a powered auger. And clamshell diggers are much more effective in rocky areas.
Powered machines are high cost options to hire, which is not feasible for a small project.
If you only need a couple of holes, hand digging is economically better too.
What To Do After Digging A Hole
Excavating large holes means you’ll have to remove large quantities of dirt.
Nobody wants a pile of dirt in their yard. Not only is it unattractive, but it could also create an attractive habitat for rodents and other destructive wildlife.
Here are some creative ideas for disposing of the displaced soil.
Spread it over your garden
The best possible place to dump your dirt is in your garden.
If you live in an area with erosion issues, you can use the dirt to replace the lost soil and fill up the gullies.
You may choose to use what you have left to do some landscaping, especially if you have any areas where the ground is uneven.
Give it to neighbors
If you still find yourself with excess soil after landscaping and rejuvenating your garden, consider offering it to your neighbors.
Post in local communities to see if anyone could use the soil. In this way, you can eliminate a problem and also help someone else.
Send the soil to a landfill
Finally, you might want to take your soil to a landfill.
However, it must be non-contaminated and meet minimum sanitation safety standards from the local government.
You can get this information from your local town hall or municipal office.
Also, keep in mind that some landfills will also charge you a fee for them to accept your soil!
Wrapping Up
How simple it is to dig holes depends on soil type, and your equipment.
If digging dirt is primarily just loose dirt, machines would be the quickest and most efficient.
If you are digging through clay, and rock, Mallet on hand would be best.
Regardless of what you should do, making sure you discard displaced dirt appropriately is important. Leaving at the sites makes it sloppy.
Even worse, to be a harbor for destructible rodents like rats, and moles.