No-till

Had wheat in this year. Harvested it! Did nothing Have unbelievable amount of weeds. Still dod nothing, it is wet! Would like to plow but I keep telling myself do nothing it is no-till. I have done this before and felt the same way. Will feel
better in spring after beans are planted and hit with Roundup. can i broadcast fertbutlizer in spring? I prefer grandular, but feel this is such a waste!No way to side dress! Just thinking aloud, any coments am I missing anything? Thanks for
listening.

Notill doesn't work here, but it's sure a time and money saver in places it does.

Roundup is starting to not work here, need something for the tough broadleaves that are resistant. This may be a worse problem in notill, if not now soon in the future. It shows up almost overnight. Something to keep in mind.

Lot of folk like to put p and k on in fall, feel it needs time to be in the ground. With notill, you especially have a situation you build up the soil nutrients right on the surface, but a couple inches down where the roots are there isn't anything really. Then, if you get any wind or water erosion, that super rich top 1/4 inch of nutrients is the most likely to get removed.... Broadcast fert in notill, I think you end up putting fert on this year, that will eventually be used by the crop 5 years from now when it finally gets worked in a bit.

Some sort of strip till, or banding the fert into the soil a bit, would seem helpful. One has to be careful with beans tho, they don't like fert too close to the sprout in strong doses.

It's a tough thing, you have to work out for your own farm and goals and long term........

I do all my p and k (and N for corn) in spring, granular. The coop broadcasts it with a variable rate air spreader, and I work it in in a day. Even worked in, I believe a lot of fertilizer ends up being used over a 5 year period, anyhow the p and k, and one is kinda trying to average out good over the long haul.

I guess others would know a lot more about notill and can laugh at my thoughts and steer you right.

Paul

If you can manage the weeds, no till will be fine. If you work the weeds in next spring with tillage, you most certainly will get a good stand of weeds. Just leaving them on the surface would probably see less germination. (depends a lot on weed speices)

As far as fertilizer on top, it will incorperate pretty quickly into the soil. Rain will disolve it, and in it will go. We have been no tilling 31 years, and see very little nutrient stratification. After a few years of no till, you get a lot more worms, etc that will constantly move soil and nutrients lower into the soil profile. there have beewn some instances of runoff from fertilizer applied and not worked in- but if given a big rain, you can loose the fertilizer and the soil if incorporated with tillage leaving the ground bare.

No till has been a big plus to us- we've increased soil OM about 50%, reduced erosion, reduced fuel, labor and machinery costs dramatically, and yes, our best yields have come off no till fields. It can take some patience, but it will work.

Well said. I agree, it does work in many cases. Ben

Mine has been no-tilled for 15 years.One trip to plant, one trip with the spray rig, one to harvest. It did take more spray the first three years(coming out of CPR.)

In my neighborhood we have short growing season, cold dirt, lot of snow melt, Clay waterlogged soils, high ph, high organic matter, deep frost line, low sun angles in early spring.

It is a perfect storm of everything possible that works against notill.

30 miles away folks do it, not common, but some make it work. They have different soil type more loam or sand base, less snowfall patterns, something different.

'Here' you will pay a heavy price several out of 10 years if you try notill. Several have, and our climate in our soils catches up with you.

Good people have tried.

I believe strip till could work here, but even that is a difficult thing. A few are trying to hammer it out, and making progress. Not mainstream yet by a long shot, but can see them getting there.

Paul