Pulled Soil Samples Today

[phil@thesidehill]

I went up to the sidehill and pulled samples for soil tests. I pulled samples from the spent brassica strips that will get seeded to crimson clover around first week of may and i pulled samples from the rye/clover strips that will get seeded to brassicas this summer. I also pulled samples from the expansion area from last year.....it is a former junk yard and i'm sure it is lacking. the brassicas that i planted in that area this past summer did alright. I limed and fertilized it last year as well...but there was a noticeable difference between those brassicas and the brassicas in the strips in the established plot area.

Pretty much every scoop of dirt i took had 3-6 earth worms in the soil! I'm letting the samples dry down a bit and then i will bag them up and drop them off at the extension office in the next day or two.

 

[wiscwhip]

I think the only kind of "worm" we could have had on our old place was those giant ones from the movie "Dune".

 

[ruskbucks]

That's a good sign. The night crawlers love brassicas too. My wife was freaking out last year walking out at night thru our brassica last fall. We had some heavy rains when you walked you could actually hear all the night crawlers sucking back into their holes.

 

[SD51555]

Be sure to figure some residual nitrogen being released from your brassica plot in this year's considerations if you've got bulbs in the ground.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Be sure to figure some residual nitrogen being released from your brassica plot in this year's considerations if you've got bulbs in the ground.

I'm hopeful that is the case. Quite a few bulbs rotting in those strips now.

It looks like the medium red clover that i seeded into the rye mix last september is coming up good now. i had also seeded some left over crimson in as well....and it looks like some of it may have avoided the winter kill?!

 

[tooln]

Soil test are your best friend for any plot.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

just dropped them off at the extension office....now the waiting game begins.