Building Organic Matter

[yoderjac]

Dry creek did you use a specific summer release from green cover. FYI. You might want to look into albert lea seeds and find a dealer near you. Bet you will be saving over 50 percent on 50 pounds. I tried cc6 summer release will check on it tomorrow and upload pictures

My field is just a mix of buckwheat an sunn hemp planted this spring. I mix my own.

 

[Drycreek]

That’s probably what I’ll be doing from now on. This plot is sunn hemp, and IC peas. I also planted sunflowers but none germinated. They were bird food I picked up on the cheap at TSC so I said what the hell. Next spring, sunn hemp, peas, buckwheat, and REAL sunflowers. For this fall, it will be WR, crimson clover, and something else that I haven’t settled on yet.

 

[victory]

From last year i planted 200 pounds of rye and crimped it in July after broadcasing summer blend. The summer blend never made it above 6 inches in 8 weeks because of no rain. Last week i broadcasted 300 pounds of rye into my fields and mowed them at 4 inches. My OM is .9 and I need carbon badly. I am wondering about adding another 200 pounds of wheat in two weeks. This is a picture from last week.

 

[MarkDarvin]

From last year i planted 200 pounds of rye and crimped it in July after broadcasing summer blend. The summer blend never made it above 6 inches in 8 weeks because of no rain. Last week i broadcasted 300 pounds of rye into my fields and mowed them at 4 inches. My OM is .9 and I need carbon badly. I am wondering about adding another 200 pounds of wheat in two weeks. This is a picture from last week.

Did you plant anything else with your rye?

 

[victory]

Actually no I did not. There was a lot clover growing from last year in the field. The local elevator wanted $9 per pound for ladino and I said no at that price.

 

[George]

Rotate weeds and radish to build om.

G

 

[yoderjac]

From last year i planted 200 pounds of rye and crimped it in July after broadcasing summer blend. The summer blend never made it above 6 inches in 8 weeks because of no rain. Last week i broadcasted 300 pounds of rye into my fields and mowed them at 4 inches. My OM is .9 and I need carbon badly. I am wondering about adding another 200 pounds of wheat in two weeks. This is a picture from last week.

Grasses add carbon. WR is probably the best for cool season, but I'd consider a spring plant that includes grasses. Sunn Hemp and Sorghum are a tall mix that add both Nitrogen and Carbon to the soil. If you need more C go heavier on the sorghum. There are lots of other options.

 

[victory]

Yoder how early can you plant sorghum and sun hemp. I tried both this year and planted on July 4th and they barely made it up 6 inches. Very dry though

 

[yoderjac]

Yoder how early can you plant sorghum and sun hemp. I tried both this year and planted on July 4th and they barely made it up 6 inches. Very dry though

I'm not sure where you are at. I'm in VA zone 7a. I like to see soil temps (not air temps) at at least 65 degrees.

 

[victory]

Yoder I'm in west michigan Lower pennisal

 

[yoderjac]

Yoder I'm in west michigan Lower pennisal

I'd go by soil temp. If it is not posted for you local area, and even if it is, I'd buy a soil thermometer and measure it. You take it between 0800 and 0900 in the morning.

One more thought, just one more thought. Deer don't touch sorghum until the heads ripen, so lack of water may have been your issue, but they can decimate sunn hemp. An exclusion cage is always a good idea to help know what is really going on with plants.

 

[victory]

If rye is planted this fall and left to stand until next labor day weekend and then it was crimped would the seed be able to germinate then. Also if the rye was crimped next labor day weekend and then it was sprayed with gly would the eye still germinate after the gly spraying.

 

[yoderjac]

If rye is planted this fall and left to stand until next labor day weekend and then it was crimped would the seed be able to germinate then. Also if the rye was crimped next labor day weekend and then it was sprayed with gly would the eye still germinate after the gly spraying.

Yes, but there would be no need to crimp it that late as it would already be dead. Crimping is done in the dough stage. You could just cultipack and spray with gly.