Is it time to quit with perennial clover?

[matinc]

So when would you plant it and can it be broadcasted and crimped over the top of it

 

[SD51555]

So when would you plant it and can it be broadcasted and crimped over the top of it

Depending on how much ground you wanna cover, I'd still try it now if you've got ground looking for a plan. It's easy to say if you're only risking $50 on a seed, but if you're talking bigger acres, I would kneel it out and wait for next fall. Ideally, I'd plant it the same time you plant white clover in the fall in that 45-60 days before frost window.

I've only ever broadcasted alfalfa, and it grew fine for me.

 

[matinc]

SD curious how much OM does 200 pounds of rye generate when crimped. Also you said there is as much carbon above the ground in duff and as much as below ground I'm roots. Can you please explain this ty

 

[SD51555]

SD curious how much OM does 200 pounds of rye generate when crimped. Also you said there is as much carbon above the ground in duff and as much as below ground I'm roots. Can you please explain this ty

It's not pounds of rye that's gonna determine what you get, it's space you've got to grow it, how productive it is, and how long your season is. If you're in the south, you could get up to 10 tons (5 above ground, 5 below) per acre. My area, my best crop might make 6 or 7 tons.

The magic of rye happens in three places. Duff above ground we can see, that's an easy one. None of that becomes organic matter, that is all lost to the atmosphere, and that is ok so long as the next crop is right back at it growing another residue crop. It's be a disaster if that didn't happen. Worms will pull some down, but I don't think that's the big contributor.

The roots below ground become organic matter as they are consumed by other organisms and pooped back out. That ones also pretty easy to understand.

The third one is the liquid carbon pumped into the soil while the rye is living and growing. That's where you really get the boost. Buried somewhere in the soil fundamentals library, there are slides i posted about the quantity of nutrients mined and cycled by rye height. Even Rick Clark quit testing somewhere around 28". I can't imagine those stats if the rye gets to finish at 60" or taller and has clovers growing with it to keep the soil going.

I got lucky this year and caught some rain in the first part of the year and that was all translated into a big biomass year. I'm afraid I'm going to be relying on that duff layer all next year to get the plots through if this drought kicks back up.

 

[SD51555]

I'm already back into D2 'severe' drought and didn't realize it until I looked at the map today. I knew it was dry, but it didn't hit me until I looked it up.

 

[matinc]

SD so how long after creating a hard pan with a disc and going to no till with a crimper with rye n clove will it take the microbes and earthworms to show up and Rev the soil up. Thank you for all your information.

 

[SD51555]

SD so how long after creating a hard pan with a disc and going to no till with a crimper with rye n clove will it take the microbes and earthworms to show up and Rev the soil up. Thank you for all your information.

I can’t answer that one. It’d depend on how bad your hard pan is. I wouldn’t lose much sleep over it. Just start doing the right things and it’ll all fall into place eventually. There’s not a lot we can do to undo compaction faster than nature short of getting under it with a single deep shank and breaking it, and I’m not convinced that will do it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[matinc]

SD I've been researching OM and it said there is as much carbon in the top 7 inches in a field with a OM at 1 percent as carbon above the field. Does this sound correct to you.