Re: Best way to improve my sandy soil -Kinda long

Posted by riverbend on June 16, 2006 at 21:22:02 from (208.160.33.47):

In Reply to: Best way to improve my sandy soil -Kinda long posted by Dave from MN on June 16, 2006 at 15:20:51:

Your plan sounds good, but you might want to consider a few changes. Plant about 20 pounds per acre of hairy vetch with your rye. It is a winter annual and will fix some nitrogen (~100+ pounds per acre). Buy local seed (Buckwheat Growers in Wadena (sp?)), some of the imported stuff is not winter hardy here.

The ideal time to seed rye and vetch is when the soybean leaves turn yellow. You can just broadcast the rye. The falling leaves will give it enough cover to germinate. Drilling is the best, but you would want to get that done by the middle of September. Late August would be better, and you might get away with going as late as mid October.

Depending on where you are, it might be too dry to get a good crop of oats after plowing the rye. Sorghum X Sudan is a warm season grass, and will grow tons of organic matter. Water might still be a limiting factor. Drilling in a crop of soybeans will fix some N for the sudax and make a better stand.

Get all the chicken manure that you can and compost it. Composted manure is much more stable and builds humus much faster than raw manure.

Taking a hay crop won't improve your soil as fast as spending a year or two actively building it up. It will take between 5 and 7 years for the biological activity to recover.

Greg Reynolds
Riverbend Farm
Delano, MN

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