Forages With the Most Root Mass

Bowman

Active Member
Will be going on a forced march next year to increase soil organic matter. Looking for suggestions for forages with the greatest root mass. I am on sandy ground in Northern Michigan. Thanks.
 
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Will be going on a forced march next year to increase soil organic matter. Looking for suggestions for forages with the greatest root mass. I am on sandy ground in Northern Michigan. Thanks.
Big high carbon plants: Rye, sorghum, sudan, millets, corn. Mix them together and they do even better:

Big coarse roots like rye/sorghum
Shallow fine roots like clover
Tap roots like chicory, plantain, brassicas

Use the entire root zone.
 
Will be going on a forced march next year to increase soil organic matter. Looking for suggestions for forages with the greatest root mass. I am on sandy ground in Northern Michigan. Thanks.
Are you going no-till as part of this effort?
 
I do not have a drill. I will not be spraying herbicides. I will be spraying compost teas. Will seed with a broadcast spreader. Plan to mow sudangrass as that is supposed to increase root growth. I may light scuff up the plots for better soil to seed contact and may roll crops with a cultipacker.
 
Thanks for the replies. Has anyone grown mangel beets?
I haven't, but I read that beets are picky about soil fertility. I wouldn't consider them as a monoculture. @MarkDarvin's post is pretty insightful. I like listening to the GreenCover Youtube channel, as they offer insight into different species and their value.
 
Thanks for the replies. Has anyone grown mangel beets?
I have grown Mangels near Alpena, in bottom land, clay soil. Being a brassica type plant, they respond well to added fertilizer and result in very large, (a foot long and 6 inches in diameter), 5 pound tubers that deer love. They require some care to get started, then it's off to the races. With the drought conditions we have had here in Michigan, I would expect that Rye would be good for "set it and forget it... Buckwheat is also fantastic for soil building and I have grown that in sand, and then level it in fall to plant a brassica/wheat food plot.. Good luck... Enjoy...
 
My forage with the greatest root mass has roots that go 14 feet deep. I'm talking about NWSGs. But you say, "deer don't eat grass," I beg to differ. When I mow shooting lanes in September, there is enough warm weather left for tender, young grass (and a few forb rosettes) to come back out in the lanes by hunting season. I watch deer graze on it like cattle - sometimes for hours. It's amazing what you can learn that goes against convention wisdom just by being observant.
 
I have grown Mangels near Alpena, in bottom land, clay soil. Being a brassica type plant, they respond well to added fertilizer and result in very large, (a foot long and 6 inches in diameter), 5 pound tubers that deer love. They require some care to get started, then it's off to the races. With the drought conditions we have had here in Michigan, I would expect that Rye would be good for "set it and forget it... Buckwheat is also fantastic for soil building and I have grown that in sand, and then level it in fall to plant a brassica/wheat food plot.. Good luck... Enjoy...
Can you tell me when and how you planted the mangels? i would prefer not to plant as a monoculture. What were yur seeding rates?
 
Can you tell me when and how you planted the mangels? i would prefer not to plant as a monoculture. What were yur seeding rates?
Mangels were planted in garden rows, around June 1 about 1/4 inch deep and very close to one another, then thinned for better growth and used as bait after maturity. Never tried random field plantings.
 
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