Jacob from OHIO asks,
Hi Bill, Hope all is well with you in this new chapter you have taken in life. My question is about rebuilding soil health. Last year the power company brought in a crane and heavy equipment to replace some poles. They really messed up my food plots digging up the clay base. This spring I planted an upland game bird mix which did well on one side of the field and terrible on the side the power company tour up. I am thinking about over seeding it with something to try to help the soil improve for next year or the year after. What do you suggest I plant there? Good luck this fall.
Bill responds,
Topic: How to Build Soil:
Some seed blends will help build soil in areas that have been disturbed or otherwise are poor in quality. In general, they all have a common trait, they pull nutrients to the surface and they provide tons of organic matter on the surface of the ground to quickly build topsoil depth and quality. Planting the seeds with a no-till approach is critical to maintaining topsoil integrity.
Jake,
That is too bad. I hate it when you have setbacks that can take years to fix.
I am not an expert on this my any means. I think Dr. Grant Woods has done a number of videos about this and there are others who have researched it extensively. I know that the key is to use certain plantings with extensive root systems to bring minerals to the surface and to provide organic matter to start the process of creating new topsoil.
I understand that forage radishes are good at this. Also, I think Grant prefers blends that include a fair amount of buckwheat, but you had better check his stuff out to be sure. The key is to plant stuff that deer will eat but will not wipe out and that will create a lot of organic matter at or near the surface of the ground. Then you have to cycle between two such plantings until you have reestablished good quality topsoil.
I am sure it will take a few years, but that is part of the stewardship process. If you don’t start things going on the right course, nature will eventually do it, but it will just take lot longer. Good luck. (7/11/22)
Do some research on winter rye, if you’ve never used it before. It is a wonderful soil builder and as a friend of mine used to say, it will grow on a brick!
James, Thanks I will look into it. I have planted it some over the years, mixed with my brassicas, but it seemed that the deer ate it to the ground each fall/winter. A friend of mine is a big fan of using forage radishes to increase fertility and organic matter in the topsoil. He says the deep roots “mine” minerals to the top and the big bulbs rot down to aerate the soil and provide lots of organic matter. I have not tried them, but that makes sense too. Thanks for the input.