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

[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.