Top dressing hardened?

I top-dressed my plants about 3 days ago, went to check their moisture level today and noticed that the tops of the soil had become hard as a rock. Had to really dig in to break it up. Anyone had this happen before? They were pretty dry so I'm going to water them again, just curious if anyone else has experienced this? I scratched it in pretty good, moved the top 2-3 inches of soil around and mixed it in as best I could. Can't really dig much lower without damaging roots.

I know fresh wet worm castings will dry to something resembling concrete in the open air. These amendments need to be kept moist in order for bacteria to do their work anyway, so my outdoor plants have a thick mulch of hay over the top-dressed worm castings which maintains surface moisture.

Northwood said:

I know fresh wet worm castings will dry to something resembling concrete in the open air. These amendments need to be kept moist in order for bacteria to do their work anyway, so my outdoor plants have a thick mulch of hay over the top-dressed worm castings which maintains surface moisture.

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I'll have to pick something up

what was you top soil made with ? besides worm castings

I’ve had this happen. I just watered a small amount and let it sit on top for a minute or two. Then is softens you and is able to absorb water better.

check out this place "Unclejimswormfarm.com" or Build-a-soil.com for quality stuff !!!!!!!! Peace

Always throw mulch over your top dressing. I use straw but anything that will easily break down and helps retains moisture could be made to work. Used to use pine bark nuggets too which are fine as mulch but straw breaks down faster.