I dig a post hole, plant the post, now there isn't enough dirt to pack the hole

[TrogL]

How does that work?

[forgotmylogin]

1. Non-Euclidean geometry. n/t

[Shermann]

2. However many trips to Home Depot you estimate you'll need to finish the project, double it

But then that becomes your estimate, so you'll need to double that.

[House of Roberts]

3. Power auger or hand diggers?

Power augers absorb dirt.

[TrogL]

16. Hand digger

Put the dirt right next to the hole on a tarp

[abqtommy]

4. Use your foot or a tamper to pack the dirt back inna hole...

[TrogL]

15. What dirt? I'm out. Read the OP

[Arkansas Granny]

5. When I was growing up the old-timers used to talk about the moon phase having an effect on digging h

During some phases there wouldn't be enough dirt to fill the whole and during others you wouldn't be able to get all the dirt back into the hole.

Here are tips from Farmer's Almanac.

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/best-days/outdoor-chores/dig-holes/

Sounds like hogwash to me.

[Midnight Writer]

8. I worked for a lady who told me an interesting story about the Moon and digging fence posts.

She told me her family was putting up a fence on their farm.

Their old neighbor told them to be careful not to set the posts when there is a Full Moon, or the Devil will pop those posts right out of the ground.

Well, of course, they went ahead and put the posts in during a Full Moon, fenced in half the pasture.

Woke up the next day, and every single post had come out of the ground and were laying in the pasture.

Swear to God.

She was quite sincere, said the family prayed for weeks for God to protect them from the Devil, who they had apparently insulted. They had a run of bad luck until the day her Grandmother died, and then the Devil went away.

Last time I saw this lady, she showed me a book about the Clinton Death List, and she was all wide eyed and excited about it.

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is where today's Republicans come from.

[Patterson]

9. My grandpa worked on the line crew for the electric company

and swore by this.

[Bayard]

6. Use Quikrete

It will keep your post from rotting. I just dump it in dry and add water. Sets up overnight.

[Wawannabe]

10. This!

Works!

Rocks might be answer to the missing dirt dilemma. Lol

[csziggy]

13. Except in some cases, the Quikrete just holds the water at the bottom of the hole

So it rots out faster.

For us, it doesn't make any difference. Setting posts in solid red clay has it's own problems, just ending with the clay holding water in the hole with the post - this clay is what they use to line ponds with so they don't leak. The problems start with drilling the holes - forget digging them by hand.

I used to have a 32 horsepower Massey Ferguson tractor with an auger. I needed to run a new fence line so my husband ran a line to make sure it was straight and we tried to get started. I operated the tractor, he guided the auger to begin the hole. First hole, he lined it up, I dropped the auger and started trying to drill the hole. The point just sort of polished a divot in the clay. My husband climbed up on top of the auger (the tractor was a little under powered for that auger). The divot got a bit shinier. I set the brakes on the tractor, ran the power up to max, and climbed on the auger next to my husband. The divot was positively polished.

We'd had no rain for over a month. The clay was absolutely dry and there was no way an auger was going to cut into it. We ran soaker hoses the length of the proposed fence line and soaked it for over two months before we could drill the holes and set the posts. After a month, we could drill about eighteen inches, then the clay was dry below that and couldn't get any further.

[Bayard]

14. I hear you

Way back, when I bought my farm in eastern CA, we had no idea there was so much decomposed granite in the soil. The giveaway should have been the many large granite boulders/outcroppings we had around. Down the road from the mountains of Kings Canyon National Park.

Middle of summer, when there had been no rain for months, and temperatures regularly hitting 100. We (as in, my husband at the time) needed to put up board fencing for the horses. We had just bought a beautifully restored little 1951 Ford 8N tractor, with a front end loader, and multiple attachments, including a brand new auger.

Ended up breaking 3 tips off the auger before figuring out you needed to drill a little bit, fill the hole with water, wait for it to sink in, then drill a little more. 8 ft posts, needing to go 3 ft in the ground. Took forever to get one small pasture fenced. Lots of him hanging off the auger, while I ran the tractor. I don't miss the ex, but I sure miss that tractor.

Makes drilling the red clay of Kentucky feel like a breeze!

[Wounded Bear]

7. You're not supposed to dig. Use a post hole puller instead...

[Thomas Hurt]

11. You just need to dig the post hole bigger next time...

[CentralMass]

12. That is a great analogy for how our political system works.

[lillypaddle]

17. You guys ...