best cover crops to amend my soil for one year???

Bonkleesha

Bonkleesha

Active Member
i used the usda web soil survey site to look up my place... heres a teenie piece of the info:

Properties and qualities

  • Slope: 0 to 3 percent
  • Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
  • Drainage class: Poorly drained
  • Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Moderately low to moderately high (0.06 to 0.20 in/hr)
  • Depth to water table: About 0 to 6 inches
  • Frequency of flooding: None
  • Frequency of ponding: Frequent
  • Available water capacity: High (about 11.4 inches)


Typical profile

  • 0 to 15 inches: Silt loam
  • 15 to 29 inches: Silty clay
  • 29 to 60 inches: Silt loam




so i have shit clay that locks up at about 2 feet and stays crusty for another 2 feet. im going to take a year from gardening and plant cover crops... i was thinking mainly legumes, but i was wondering what experience others have had. i want to hot compost all summer, also and throw that in.

im too poor for a soil test, so this is all the info i have.

help or thoughts appreciated.
 
A

Azoned

Well-Known Member
Bonkleesha said:
i used the usda web soil survey site to look up my place... heres a teenie piece of the info:

Properties and qualities

  • Slope: 0 to 3 percent
  • Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
  • Drainage class: Poorly drained
  • Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Moderately low to moderately high (0.06 to 0.20 in/hr)
  • Depth to water table: About 0 to 6 inches
  • Frequency of flooding: None
  • Frequency of ponding: Frequent
  • Available water capacity: High (about 11.4 inches)


Typical profile

  • 0 to 15 inches: Silt loam
  • 15 to 29 inches: Silty clay
  • 29 to 60 inches: Silt loam




so i have shit clay that locks up at about 2 feet and stays crusty for another 2 feet. im going to take a year from gardening and plant cover crops... i was thinking mainly legumes, but i was wondering what experience others have had. i want to hot compost all summer, also and throw that in.

im too poor for a soil test, so this is all the info i have.

help or thoughts appreciated.
Click to expand...
more time than $

you're lucky you have that much to work with. I've got 6in of topsoil, then a layer of rocks, then clay, then hardpan...and now you're all of 18in deep. I've been using a pic and digging bar....maybe $50 to get the guy with the backhoe isn't so expensive.
 
$waGgEr

$waGgEr

Active Member
Azoned said:
alfalfa. Great as "green manure"
Click to expand...
i would do that up fo sho..also feed yards usually are willing to give cow shit away if you will haul it. clay is poor soil to work with...have you considered jus growing in ten gallon bags and buying an organic soil to put in them?.. somthin like this http://www.hydrowholesale.com/Nursery-Pots-and-Self-Watering-Planters/Viagrow-10-gallon-Breathable-Fabric-Aeration-Pot-With-Handles-5-pack.asp farmers in nor-cal and oregon that grow outdoors use these..the better dirt brings in a better crop. Its a bigger expence up front but the LB per plant pay off could be huge.

google gave this as first link offered good stuff http://organicgardening.about.com/od/soil/a/improveclaysoil.htm
 
dannyboy602

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
With a 6" water table I would strongly suggest raised beds retained by R/R ties. Get a few yards of good leaf compost or mushroom soil. Not top soil. That's for regrading and ultimately turf grass. A few bales of peat moss will give the mix some fluff and some garden lime will sweeten it up a bit. If you build up a good 8" it may even survive standing water for a short time.
 
Dameon

Dameon

Well-Known Member
Good cover crops that have similar life cycles, nutritional needs and grow side by side with Ganja include: Soybeans, Corn, Tomatoes and Sunflowers.

Clay SUCKS! You need to have a few yards of some type of dark, sterilized compost dropped off by a truck. 4-10 yards should be plenty. Take a tarp/piece of opaque plastic the size of the area you intend to plant in. Before you put the tarp down you can work in some hydrated lime, but you don't have to. Hold down the edges of the tarp with bricks. Wait a few weeks until all plant life dies under the tarp and the soil is ready to work in the yards of compost.

Hope this helps!
 
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