Rye and winter lime applications

I saw a demonstration where a soil scientist buried a pair of men's white briefs in a field that had been cultivated and a pair in a field that was no-till planted. The briefs from the cultivated field were totally intact. All that was left of the pair from the no-till field was the elastic waist band. She said the bugs and such from the no-till field ate the fabric. I just wonder if adding anhydrous had anything to do with the decomposition. Does the anhydrous stimulate the bugs?
Anhydrous is going to kill any and every living creature it comes in contact with. Biology is by far and away the best thing for breaking down crop residue.
 
I have a sickle mower that I plan on using to mow the food plots with and let the residue lay on top of the ground to break down. I know that there is a big move to use crimpers to terminate a cover crop but since I already have the sickle mower and I am just gonna use it. It's actually fun to play with all of this and watch what happens. Should have been a scientist.
 
What are you mowing skye king? Some stuff it might not kill by mowing, if thats your intent.

Kind of debating what to plant in the stirred up wood chip consume'. Stick with rye, or maybe do something different. Sudangrass, summer cover crops like hemp or canola, got some milpa plot seeds too.. Clover will be mixed in whatever I plant there.

Went against my rule this year and harvested a deer in my backyard. So, hunting will likely get a year or two break, so keeping it tall and concealed isn't a virtue. General area is too well used by people to be a fawn area. Deer have lots of cover right nexrt door, succesional forest. The neighbors stopped mowing next to my house. Guess they like their privacy.
 
The science that I have been looking at claims that by letting the residue lay on top of the ground and decay allows the microbes to grow and build the soil. Doing that and no-till planting should build the soil back over time.

Why would killing a deer in your back yard keep you from hunting? I kill them out the back door crossing my pasture.
 
There was a EHD outbreak in 2020. Letting the population build back up.

Between not being able to bowhunt and the corn harvest taking 2 weeks where I hunt, I had a heck of a time getting a deer.

Starting to see deer daily again on my way to work before dawn.

been debating rototilling it in or not, and if I do till, how deep.
 
The science that I have been looking at claims that by letting the residue lay on top of the ground and decay allows the microbes to grow and build the soil. Doing that and no-till planting should build the soil back over time.

Why would killing a deer in your back yard keep you from hunting? I kill them out the back door crossing my pasture.
There's way more biological activity in unbroken soil. I wish I could remember where I saw it, but there was a youtube video years ago when the no-till cover-crop farmers were just getting popular. It was one of the lesser known dudes, but he was asked why he didn't have trash wheels on his planter. His response was that by the time he was ready to plant, there wasn't enough residue left to worry about it. I think that was further down south where they've got more months of biological activity, but his point was, there is no residue problem in healthy soil.

I had to add mulch to my trees that I planted in the spring of 2021. I put three inches of softwood chips around each tree, and in two seasons, those three inches of softwood chips had broken down so far that there were weeds punching through, and thin spots were showing over the mats. And that was in two years with almost no rain or humidity. The trees are really responding well too, now that a bunch of that duff has been broken down by whatever is living under it. It's always interesting to dig into my chip pile and see the moisture and the huge clusters of fungi growing in them. And my chips piles don't usually make it more than two years, and I'm out and have to get fresh brought in.
 
There's way more biological activity in unbroken soil. I wish I could remember where I saw it, but there was a youtube video years ago when the no-till cover-crop farmers were just getting popular. It was one of the lesser known dudes, but he was asked why he didn't have trash wheels on his planter. His response was that by the time he was ready to plant, there wasn't enough residue left to worry about it. I think that was further down south where they've got more months of biological activity, but his point was, there is no residue problem in healthy soil.

I had to add mulch to my trees that I planted in the spring of 2021. I put three inches of softwood chips around each tree, and in two seasons, those three inches of softwood chips had broken down so far that there were weeds punching through, and thin spots were showing over the mats. And that was in two years with almost no rain or humidity. The trees are really responding well too, now that a bunch of that duff has been broken down by whatever is living under it. It's always interesting to dig into my chip pile and see the moisture and the huge clusters of fungi growing in them. And my chips piles don't usually make it more than two years, and I'm out and have to get fresh brought in.
Yep, that is exactly what I have been looking at and why I bought my no-till drill. I think it is called the buffalo system. Here in Louisiana the climate is warm enough and our winters are not as harsh as they are up north so the microbes kinda grow all year. Last week we had snow, maybe an inch, that stayed for just a few days with temps down to 11 a few days. This morning it is 47 and the high is supposed to be 65.

Anyway, that is my strategy. Leave the residue on top of the soil and no-till drill into it trying to grow the soil back.
 
There was a EHD outbreak in 2020. Letting the population build back up.

Between not being able to bowhunt and the corn harvest taking 2 weeks where I hunt, I had a heck of a time getting a deer.

Starting to see deer daily again on my way to work before dawn.

been debating rototilling it in or not, and if I do till, how deep.
Wow! That is the first time I have heard of EHD. Had to look it up to see what it is. We have been worrying about CWD, trying/hoping to keep it from spreading. When I was a kid and even into my 40’s I never heard about Disease in deer. Must’a had my head in the sand. Suddenly everywhere you turn there is another disease popping up. WHY?
 
Wow! That is the first time I have heard of EHD. Had to look it up to see what it is. We have been worrying about CWD, trying/hoping to keep it from spreading. When I was a kid and even into my 40’s I never heard about Disease in deer. Must’a had my head in the sand. Suddenly everywhere you turn there is another disease popping up. WHY?
 
Wow! That is the first time I have heard of EHD. Had to look it up to see what it is. We have been worrying about CWD, trying/hoping to keep it from spreading. When I was a kid and even into my 40’s I never heard about Disease in deer. Must’a had my head in the sand. Suddenly everywhere you turn there is another disease popping up. WHY?
EHD is pretty prevalent in the south, but the deer have developed some immunity to it. It's also called blue tongue in areas.
 
EHD is pretty prevalent in the south, but the deer have developed some immunity to it. It's also called blue tongue in areas.
 
Like I said, must’a had my head in the sand. When I was in Alaska the no-see-ums were bad. I have never experienced them here that I know of. I guess the deer injest them from licking their nose or body. I did not pay attention to the article but are deer the only animal the contracts EHD?
 
EH D came up herei n mid september. Stopped spreading about 20 miles north of me as soon as a frost happened. I cross the hudson river to work and the deer population is day and night.

They get their kidney's destroyed and seek water to drink. Farmer in town was pulling them out of his pond. He stopped counting at 140. Swamps by me stunk from dead deer.

 
Like I said, must’a had my head in the sand. When I was in Alaska the no-see-ums were bad. I have never experienced them here that I know of. I guess the deer injest them from licking their nose or body. I did not pay attention to the article but are deer the only animal the contracts EHD?

EH D came up herei n mid september. Stopped spreading about 20 miles north of me as soon as a frost happened. I cross the hudson river to work and the deer population is day and night.

They get their kidney's destroyed and seek water to drink. Farmer in town was pulling them out of his pond. He stopped counting at 140. Swamps by me stunk from dead deer.

I read the article. That must be awful seeing all those deer just die and rot.
 
Did some prep before the snowstorm. LAst week had those nice shards of ice in the soil for frost seeding. I put about 150lbs/acre of Rye in the woodchips with some clover. Stirred it in with 3 passes of a srpign cultivator. It mixed everything well as ripped up some ground a bit. The spot used to be mowed lawn, so that stuff can get beat up.

After the passes, I rolled the chips / dirt in with the ATV tires. Didn't want to mess up the lawn with the cultipacker drivign to it. Then I put some clover seed on top.

Went to tractor supply looking for plotpsike clover blend. They had domain blend. Imperial was $40 for 4lbs, too rich for my blood. Usuallu try to get it on sale and use about 10% of that in clover blends. $30 for 3.75lbs. Usually buy bulk online, but needed some before the snow.


Used 1/2 domain and the other hald peddington patriot clover. Their northern climate version of durana.

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Sky King,

Yeah the EHD outbreak was bad. guessing about 85% dead. Went from seeing 12-25 deer on my road before light going to work down to seeing 2 or 3 twice a week. Now I see deer daily again. Been trying to not shoot any.

This year was real tough to hunt with my arm and the farming situation. Popped one last few days of muzzleloader.
 
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Got my soil test back.

Screenshot 2024-02-16 6.10.35 PM.png
screwed up ordering the test. Thought they would due nitrogen. nitrate test was extra an extra $7. Glad to see organic matter is 3.7% 5.8 pH is a little low, but not horrible. This place was bush spots / fallow lawn for the last 20 years, before that a apple orchard. I have had food plots in there for 5 or 6 years. Turnips/oats/clover 1st year. Clvoer for another year or two, then did daikon radish with oats/clover fall 2020 and it's been rye n clover since.

Bags of lime vary quite a bit in rpice locally. Seems this year home depot has the cheapest 3.97 a 40lb bag of pelletized. Cant find the analysis online anywhere. MSDS says 99% calcium carbonate. Likely do 3/4 ton / acre this year. MAy not rototill at all this year, or maybe just the woodchip extension in august.

Debating killing the rye and doing straght lover this summer. Seeing some thin bladed grass, like fescue or rye in there. Got plenty of clethodim, roundup,
 
Yep, that is exactly what I have been looking at and why I bought my no-till drill. I think it is called the buffalo system. Here in Louisiana the climate is warm enough and our winters are not as harsh as they are up north so the microbes kinda grow all year. Last week we had snow, maybe an inch, that stayed for just a few days with temps down to 11 a few days. This morning it is 47 and the high is supposed to be 65.

Anyway, that is my strategy. Leave the residue on top of the soil and no-till drill into it trying to grow the soil back.
Called release system now. Ole grant not above switching teams for more money.
 
I just want to know how the liquid lime did. How did it change your PH? I have been searching for a lime spreader to buy with the thoughts of buying bulk ag lime and spreading it myself. But, If the liquid lime works That would be much easier since I already have a spray rig.
Sadly, I didn't see any real difference in the soil samples but the plot was greener even if it was all weeds this year... However, i do have great luck with liquid fertilizer and maybe it's because it's spraying on the foliage..
 
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