Re: Building up the soil

Posted by Rick Kaufmann on June 27, 2008 at 12:42:44 from (66.59.108.158):

In Reply to: Building up the soil posted by fergienewbee on June 27, 2008 at 01:13:50:

I think you are spot on with your initial plan of a buckwheat/winter rye rotation. To be as cost effective as possible you may want to consider a planting of clover next spring or fall instead of corn/sorgham. With proper pH and soil fertility as well as weed control you will get a good 3-5 years productive use out of your stand instead of just the annual benefit you would get from the corn and sorgham. Considering what input costs are now, your cost /acre with be much less extended over the life span of your stand. Besides clover is the undisputed king of forages for deer and turkey. Little else compares in terms of palatibility and crude protein content. I would consider either Durana or Whitetail Clover. If you have a sprayer or can hire it out spray with Glyphosate now. Mow everything down to 4-6" first if the field is full of grass and weeds and wait a week or two for things to start growing again before spraying. Wait another week or two after spraying and disk heavily or moldboard plow. Plant your Buckwheat and cultipack. Buckwheat will do well enough in acid soil down as low as pH of 5. It will also act as a smother crop to choke out other weeds that come up. It also releases chemical substances that kill weeds. Deer like Buckwheat alot also. The growth cycle of Buckwheat is short, only about 60 days. Get your soil samples done before you plow down the Buckwheat in September. Add the required lime to reach at least a pH of 6.5 over the next three years. Plow down the Buckwheat, disk and plant you winter rye by the end of September, beginning of October. As soon as it's dry enough in the spring to get in the field plow down the rye. broadcast your required fertilizer per soil sample and plant your clover. Now all you have to do if everthing works right for the next 3-5 years is mow once or twice a season, fertilize in either spring or fall and keep weeds and grasses in balance with a selective spray like Pursuit. The deer and turkey will love you for it and you will have good hunting. If you are serious about doing this you need to jump on it right away since it's already near the end of June. Good luck.

Rick

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