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by Wendy Blair A friend says that she can dig her garden soil with her bare hands! Woe is I. Even with a sharp trowel I have trouble digging my own. Although watered daily, my plants look exhausted. Any ideas? Gardeners make much about the “friability” of their soil. Your friend probably added fresh compost annually for the past 40 years. Relax. It’s true that garden soil should be about 50 percent air, but plants, like all of us, make do in less than optimal conditions. Roots have trouble if they can’t access water and minerals unless tiny air pockets (“pores”) let these get through. Worms, those essential replenishers of soil, also need both air and moisture to survive. But there is no quick way to aerate soil. Clay soil needs to be dug up, as much as half of it thrown out, and the rest diluted with organic material such as composted leaves. But your soil won’t enjoy being dug up and turned over all at once. Spread two inches of compost over one section, then mix the compost in to a depth of 12 inches or more in that part. Do more when you can. This autumn, mulch your whole garden with an inch or two of compost. Most soil gets compacted by being walked on. Add flat steppingstones or make little paths.