Poor soil fertilizing

[indiana boy]

So might be a silly question but how do I fertilize poor soil. My ph is fine but nutrient levels suck. Fertilize several times during growing? Thanks in advance

 

[scott44]

So might be a silly question but how do I fertilize poor soil. My ph is fine but nutrient levels suck. Fertilize several times during growing? Thanks in advance

You probably want to start with a soil sample first so you have place to start. If you already have the sample and know what you need you can add it just before planting.

 

[yoderjac]

So might be a silly question but how do I fertilize poor soil. My ph is fine but nutrient levels suck. Fertilize several times during growing? Thanks in advance

How is you OM? Deer don't need farm type fields. They will do fine with a mix of crop and weeds. The first thing to do is to keep what you have. Avoid tillage which could reduce OM and nutrient cycling further. Next, choose crops that perform well in infertile soils. Until soil health and good nutrient cycling rebuilds, I would add commercial fertilizer as recommended by a soil test except for N. Soil tests don't normally measure N and most only use the crop selected to provide a recommendation. Choose a smart mix of legumes with any N seeking crops. In general, I'd put the lion's share of my money into P & K. Legumes tend to respond to K first.

As for timing, I would not worry about it. I typically fertilize once a year at most. In recent years, I'm skipping fertilizer all together and still producing nice crops. I'm on poor quality heavy clay soil.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Put p&k down in the fall if you feel like it. Otherwise skip it all together.


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[broom_JM]

So might be a silly question but how do I fertilize poor soil. My ph is fine but nutrient levels suck. Fertilize several times during growing? Thanks in advance

You have soil in Indiana that has a neutral pH, but low nutrient levels? That is a most unusual circumstance. How have you determined that your nutrient levels suck? Do you have the results from a proper soil survey or is this an anecdotal observation of how something grew? I'm in central IN and would be glad to help you sort it out.

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[indiana boy]

I’ve sent soil samples off. My ph is 7-8 some how. I don’t know if that is the problem or what. My ground use to be livestock pasture. My P and K show very low in my bottom ground. My plot on higher ground has good to optimum levels.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I'd just spread a couple hundred pounds of gypsum per acre. The sulfur will bring down the ph and you can never have to much calcium. Do a little research on plants that mine P&K.

I think what you will find is that a mix of radish, rape, annual rye grass, and buckwheat will be your best bet. With this being said I would plant buckwheat in early June. I would do a Throw and Mow plot of Radish, Rape, and annual rye grass in early August. I'm not sure about your area but I would guess that all of these plants will winter kill. The following spring I wouldn't hesitate to plat soybeans. If you soil test again your numbers might still be on the low side but the numbers that are shown will be plant available nutrients. Most agronomists will tell you to add the nutrients to get them into the High category. That is only because you need the high levels of nutrients because most of them arent even available to the plant to take up.

Broadcast a brassica blend into your soybean plot in mid august and follow that up with a winter cereal ( I prefer awnless winter barley) and an annual clover in early September. The following spring you may want to consider planting corn or a milo/sunflower blend to use up the N that the soybeans fixed. Of course if your deer really hit the brassicas you can just do soybeans and brassicas every year.

 

[sagittarius]

Gypsum will add calcium and sulfur, but will not change soil PH. Ammonium Sulfate (AMS) will add sulfur and nitrogen, and lower the PH. AMS is the one of the most soil acidifying sources of N you can get.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Gypsum will add calcium and sulfur, but will not change soil PH. Ammonium Sulfate (AMS) will add sulfur and nitrogen, and lower the PH. AMS is the one of the most soil acidifying sources of N you can get.

Can you please explain to me how the sulfur in AMS lowers PH but the sulfur in gypsum does not?

 

[SD51555]

Can you please explain to me how the sulfur in AMS lowers PH but the sulfur in gypsum does not?

 

[broom_JM]

I would tell you to sell your land and give up hunting, before I'd recommend planting rye GRASS, of any kind. Winter rye (grain) is exceptional on horrible soils, which you truly do not have. With high pH soils, I would amend accordingly for P and K, then include alfalfa in any perennial plot you might establish. Another option on the higher ground is an area of sugar beets.

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[4wanderingeyes]

I would tell you to sell your land and give up hunting, before I'd recommend planting rye GRASS, of any kind. Winter rye (grain) is exceptional on horrible soils, which you truly do not have. With high pH soils, I would amend accordingly for P and K, then include alfalfa in any perennial plot you might establish. Another option on the higher ground is an area of sugar beets.

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While I agree, I do not like rye grass, when I first started food plotting, I bought a mixture with "high sugar rye grass" in it, the deer ate it, and It just keeps coming back, but I really dont want it in my food plot. Now I just have about a 50'x60' patch of it that I have sprayed several times, and it just comes back, I have learned to just live with it, because the deer eat it, and that is what the food plot is about. If I could do it all over again, I would never plant it in a food plot, but trails, logging roads, steeper hillside for erosion I would.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Annual ryegrass in my area will put down roots to a minimum of 20" if planted in early to mid September and will winter kill. I dont plant it but it is commonly used as a cover crop. I think it is better suited though for planting with tillage in case it does not winter kill. The reason I mentioned it was for its ability to send down deep roots to scavenge (plant available) nutrients from deeper in the soil profile.