What's your organic matter?

[dipper]

we have to stop Pickering like wash women and talk about fun stuff. What's your organic matter in your plots? What are you doing to improve it?
For the most part the soils in central wi are very young due to the glaciers of the last ice age wiping out the rich soil. This means our soil is generally low in organic matter. Mine is about 2%.
The scarey thing is money drives business and farming is a business. Farmers in central wi have only one choice, to make $, that means they compensate with another natural resource, ground water. During the 2012 drought my neighboring county used billions of gallons of water to irrigate it's crops. Irrigation is becoming a necessity of farming, and we are loosing surface and ground water. there is no current regulation to preserve one of our most valuable resource.
Are you doing anything to improve your organic matter? Do you care? Have you ever thought about improving your soil? Do you view your soil as a resource, even if it is only a half acre food plot? What kind of soil is it? Do you know the history of your soil?

 

[Satchmo]

I'm in..........My OG is generally <1% which is why I will be rolling down rye and broadcasting all my fall plots into the straw thanks mainly to all your posts in the Lickcreek thread. Thanks Dipper!

 

[j-bird]

I will be honest.......I have NO idea. My plot soils are former ag fields. My soils in these areas are silt loam soils so they are fertile rated at between 100 and 132 bu of non-irrigated corn. I would have to do some digging into previous soil tests and see what I can find. The one thing that happens is that since the deer don't eat my turnips and radishes is that I know those are adding OM to the soil. I am not sure if the wheat and rye that will get tilled under adds much or not or if the corn stalks and bean stubble add much or not either. I never intentionally thought about it much. I basically look at Ph and add my ballpark figures in fertilizer and go on my merry way.

As I understand it my area in general is about where the glaciers ended and as they melted then left the topsoil deposits behind - thank you very much. You can see a very defined area in IN where the rougher hills closer to the river start - they ain't all from the river, it's that the glacier didn't turn everything into a parking lot. From about Columbus and north the glacier flattened everything and then left deposits as it receded. This is also why every inch is farmed and we have little in the means of large forested areas in north and central parts of the state.

I see lots of irrigation systems going in in nearby counties and always wondered how those where regulated. They are very common in the county eat of me along the river to support seed corn operations.

 

[Terrific_tom]

Mine are 3.8 and 3.6. Both numbers are up from when I bought land. Must be doing something right. :D

 

[j-bird]

a website you might enjoy - all about soils

http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/

 

[dipper]

I'm in..........My OG is generally <1% which is why I will be rolling down rye and broadcasting all my fall plots into the straw thanks mainly to all your posts in the Lickcreek thread. Thanks Dipper!

Just the fact you are planting rye and not harvesting it is adding OM. Do you know the history why it is so low? Glaciers like j bird and I? Erosion?

I will be honest.......I have NO idea. My plot soils are former ag fields. My soils in these areas are silt loam soils so they are fertile rated at between 100 and 132 bu of non-irrigated corn. I would have to do some digging into previous soil tests and see what I can find. The one thing that happens is that since the deer don't eat my turnips and radishes is that I know those are adding OM to the soil. I am not sure if the wheat and rye that will get tilled under adds much or not or if the corn stalks and bean stubble add much or not either. I never intentionally thought about it much. I basically look at Ph and add my ballpark figures in fertilizer and go on my merry way.

As I understand it my area in general is about where the glaciers ended and as they melted then left the topsoil deposits behind - thank you very much. You can see a very defined area in IN where the rougher hills closer to the river start - they ain't all from the river, it's that the glacier didn't turn everything into a parking lot. From about Columbus and north the glacier flattened everything and then left deposits as it receded. This is also why every inch is farmed and we have little in the means of large forested areas in north and central parts of the state.

I see lots of irrigation systems going in in nearby counties and always wondered how those where regulated. They are very common in the county eat of me along the river to support seed corn operations.

I strongly suggest you educate yourself j. In simple terms, om reduces some of the need for expensive fertilizer. Om is really really good at holding water. You can think of it as kind of a sponge for water and nutrients.

 

[j-bird]

Just the fact you are planting rye and not harvesting it is adding OM. Do you know the history why it is so low? Glaciers like j bird and I? Erosion?

I strongly suggest you educate yourself j. In simple terms, om reduces some of the need for expensive fertilizer. Om is really really good at holding water. You can think of it as kind of a sponge for water and nutrients.

I'll do some digging. Like I said I never really thought about it. I assume it would be listed on a standard soil test report?

 

[Satchmo]

Two of my plots were cleared with a dozer to get rid of stumps, one I sprayed the fescue and disked, and the 4th one I brush hogged and popped out the old pine stumps with a skid steer.

The two dozed plots lost top soil with the stumps, the grass plot is an old field, and the brush plot has by far the most OG. All soil is fine sand. Mostly glacial deposit I suspect. Been discing my rye straw back in to these plots for 3 years now. Thinking now I should have let it collect on top to preserve moisture.

 

[Fall guy]

we have to stop Pickering like wash women and talk about fun stuff. What's your organic matter in your plots? What are you doing to improve it?
For the most part the soils in central wi are very young due to the glaciers of the last ice age wiping out the rich soil. This means our soil is generally low in organic matter. Mine is about 2%.
The scarey thing is money drives business and farming is a business. Farmers in central wi have only one choice, to make $, that means they compensate with another natural resource, ground water. During the 2012 drought my neighboring county used billions of gallons of water to irrigate it's crops. Irrigation is becoming a necessity of farming, and we are loosing surface and ground water. there is no current regulation to preserve one of our most valuable resource.
Are you doing anything to improve your organic matter? Do you care? Have you ever thought about improving your soil? Do you view your soil as a resource, even if it is only a half acre food plot? What kind of soil is it? Do you know the history of your soil?

Chippewa County 1.2 last year .8 in 2000
Trempealeau County 2.6 2013 first time planted grows anything great.

I do nothing speacial till in corn or pasture mix rotation clovers chicory alfalfa turnips. Rotate between four areas so clover usually on 2 to 3 years.

I would say at 2.0 you are doing good as most I check east Eau Claire are any wher fr .4 to 1.7 last year 12 different areas, mainly lake country and sand rocks.

 

[Buckly]

Most of my place is 4%, except in the palm muck. That's 85%.

 

[SD51555]

You wouldn't believe me if I didn't show you...

It only goes about 8 inches deep. Then from there it's a mystery. I've poked tree holes 12-16" deep all around my plot. Some holes I get into very fine sand, other holes I get into clay so pure I have to scrape it off the shovel with my heel.

 

[dipper]

You wouldn't believe me if I didn't show you...
View attachment 4313
It only goes about 8 inches deep. Then from there it's a mystery. I've poked tree holes 12-16" deep all around my plot. Some holes I get into very fine sand, other holes I get into clay so pure I have to scrape it off the shovel with my heel.

Wow, Thats gonna be hard to beat. How much tillable do you have? Do you know how it got there? Alluvial soil? Praire soil? You know that some of the richest soil in the world!
Some believe we only have about 60 more years of sustainable soil. The direct link is OM and how we are loosing it so rapidly....

 

[SD51555]

Zero tillable. Ours is purely a hunting woods. We don't have any tillage equipment and probably never will. I'm not up on how ours got to where it is. But i'll take it. The high buffer is a nice blessing given we're not tilling. I can spread all my lime with two bare hands in ten minutes for about $12. Of course, we also don't have acres of plots either. I'm hoping we can get up to 2/3 of one acre this year. We've really got to get high output out of what plots we've got, or they're going to be gone in a matter of days once the deer turn it on.

 

[dipper]

Zero tillable. Ours is purely a hunting woods. We don't have any tillage equipment and probably never will. I'm not up on how ours got to where it is. But i'll take it. The high buffer is a nice blessing given we're not tilling. I can spread all my lime with two bare hands in ten minutes for about $12. Of course, we also don't have acres of plots either. I'm hoping we can get up to 2/3 of one acre this year. We've really got to get high output out of what plots we've got, or they're going to be gone in a matter of days once the deer turn it on.

I'm surprised that woods hasn't been cleared yet, om is worth big $.

 

[kabic]

I had a Biologic soil test done, they dont list organic matter :(

I think I need to take it to the county ag extension. How does that compare in price? :confused:

 

[dipper]

I had a Biologic soil test done, they dont list organic matter :(

I think I need to take it to the county ag extension. How does that compare in price? :confused:

Rip off! OM is the foundation of your soil. This type of soil. Test is nothing more than an income generator

 

[PRK]

My OG is 2.8 % average in my 4 plots. Here's a question for you guys. I cleared a new plot in the woods this winter. Mostly small aspen. I didn't want to disturb the topsoil so I had the whole thing mulched leaving a layer of wood chips that I plan to incorporate into the soil to add OG. From what I've read the breakdown of the wood chips in the soil will deplete the soil of nitrogen so I have to plant a nitrogen producing crop or supplement with urea. Any thoughts. Am I missing something here?

 

[chummer]

I tested 5 different spots last year it was between 10-12% in every spot. I am not sure what that really gets me. My ph was 5.2-6.2 in those spots, and all got limed last year. What does this fabulous OM and improving ph get me? I know very little about soil. Do to rocks and roots nothing gets tilled except one spot and that is very shallow. My planting method is spray, seed, and roll. Can I start skipping fertilizer.

 

[Fall guy]

Here is link UW Extension with more info then you may need. Page 15 will get you to Organic Info.

http://www.soils.wisc.edu/extension/pubs/A3588.pdf

 

[Satchmo]

I tested 5 different spots last year it was between 10-12% in every spot. I am not sure what that really gets me. My ph was 5.2-6.2 in those spots, and all got limed last year. What does this fabulous OM and improving ph get me? I know very little about soil. Do to rocks and roots nothing gets tilled except one spot and that is very shallow. My planting method is spray, seed, and roll. Can I start skipping fertilizer.

I think Dipper explained it best above when he said: "In simple terms, om reduces some of the need for expensive fertilizer. Om is really, really good at holding water. You can think of it as kind of a sponge for water and nutrients."