What girls in sand soil?
- Thread starter Geoff 23
- Start date
yoderjac
Well-Known Member
Sandy soil can be a real challenge. The first order of business is to do no harm, which means don't till at all. Nutrients move very quickly through sand and so does lime. Your objective should be to improve OM. You can provide good deer food while building OM. You want to select crops that have low fertility requirements and a mix of legumes and grasses/small grain. Together, these form the building blocks of creating OM.
So, I'd start by doing a soil test to figure out how much lime you need. I'd top dress the lime. I know some folks who have soil that is so sandy that they have to add lime at every planting to keep the pH reasonable. If you are starting in the spring a mix of buckwheat and sunn hemp is a good starting point. In the fall, my primary crop would be winter rye. It handles poor fertility and low pH well. I'd add an annual clover that does well in your area. Others who live in your region can probably recommend a good clover. You might want to consider Berseem.
I would T&M this rotation for a few years. You can then begin adding other crops that T&M well to your mix.
So, I'd start by doing a soil test to figure out how much lime you need. I'd top dress the lime. I know some folks who have soil that is so sandy that they have to add lime at every planting to keep the pH reasonable. If you are starting in the spring a mix of buckwheat and sunn hemp is a good starting point. In the fall, my primary crop would be winter rye. It handles poor fertility and low pH well. I'd add an annual clover that does well in your area. Others who live in your region can probably recommend a good clover. You might want to consider Berseem.
I would T&M this rotation for a few years. You can then begin adding other crops that T&M well to your mix.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
T-Max
Well-Known Member
If sandy soil can grow that, I’m hauling in a few truckloads tomorrow!
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Drycreek
Well-Known Member
OK, serious post now. I used to hunt where the sand was deep and I grew food plots. I had trouble getting a good stand of wheat but we had lots of mouths, so take that into consideration. In the spring IC peas did well until the deer discovered the “ice cream”. Sunn Hemp did pretty well too. I would take yoder’s advice on trying to build OM. Keep in mind that OM can come from anything that grows well. When I started my plot was literally head high in weeds. Thick weeds ! I began by burning it down and then mowing it, then I turned that under with as little discing as possible because I don’t have a drill and throw and mow is impossible here with 10,000 hogs surrounding your plot. By the time I planted three years in a row I was getting a pretty good wheat crop and although the deer still kept it lip high it was still enough for attraction. Each year I could see the soil turning darker so I knew it was working. Soil building is a slow process but worthwhile. The pic shows ten bucks in this plot my last year to hunt this place. 
catscratch
Well-Known Member
I read the title and knew instantly what needed to be posted. Day drinking not needed on this one (not saying it doesn't help).Cat, you can’t drink all day if you don’t start early !
OTOH, looking at your post time, maybe you did !
