[Farmall] O/T...."what can I grow"?

[Matthew Gray]

developing organic matter in soil is somthing you just can't add in over 
night

sure you can put all the right stuff on that goes towards making organic 
matter, organic matter breaks down at the same rate, bacteria don't run 
faster, but they do multiply fast to suit the surrounding enviroment, and 
wormie things......% or organic matter in soil takes years to influence

sometimes something like a italian ryegrass (or other grass) with high 
growth rates, but short field life works well to develop clay soils, once 
clay is on top, takes a while to get rid of it (well develop a black/brown 
topsoil over top), .......mulching in cuts (early/late), harvesting others 
(provide income), ........even alfalfa which has a tap root (grows straight 
down and deep) is a good option, it has a symbiotic relationship with 
ryzobia, ryzobia is basically a bateria that lives on the plant root and 
makes nitrogen, the nitrogen can be built up in the soil, and 5 years later 
you can work in the alfalfa and you would have improved the soils fertility 
and structure for the next crop , I don't know your area, so i cannot 
comment on cost effectiveness (my father in the north island of NZ cuts his 
7 times, here in the south island we cut the same crop 3 times......yeilds 
are lower)......cash return is lower

some organic farms round here grow a crop that looks like hemp, but shorter, 
bigger leaves, they grow it between crops work it in before the next crop to 
help organic matter build

cash crops (radish yadayada) may suit the areas which are more fertile, and 
ya soil test will tell you this, if they grid sample it will help you make 
judgement based on location in the field, ya need to look at if you have 
more useable land then unusable

farmers at home have told me it takes 6 years to get rid of clay in the top 
soil ........but that is a bit of a wives tale, if the spot of soil is bare 
nothing may grow for years yet

farmers also say it takes 7 years, from going from conventional cropping to 
no-tillage to get the same yeilds back per acre

soil fertility tells storys, found from soil tests

pH of soil is neutral at 6.2, lower the pH the more acidic, eg white clover 
requires a pH of 5.8 or better or it dies.......grasses can tell a similar 
story

nitrogen (N) / nitrate (N4+) in soil samples is the foundation for all life, 
but you can add it pretty easy with nitrogen based fertilisers

potassium (k).....is what legumes seem to like

phosphorus (p).......well might be better if i just copy and paste this



Most NZ soils are deficient in phosphorus and sulphur. Phosphorus (P) is 
essential for both cellular formation and energy transfers in both animals 
and plants (for root and leaf bud development). It is essential for good 
legume production. It is therefore important that plant available soil P is 
maintained at optimum levels to ensure good production.

Sulphur (S) is important for protein development, with a deficiency 
sometimes resulting in yellow stunted growth. It is important to apply 
sulphur fertilisers, especially in the lower half of the North Island 
(except Taranaki) and the South Island sedimentary soils as they are often 
lower in sulphur than North Island volcanic soils.

Potassium (K) affects the water balance and rate of photosynthesis in 
plants. It is less important than phosphorus and sulphur for grass 
production, but is important to stimulate clover growth. Potassium 
application is more important on dairy and cattle properties due to the less 
efficient way it is recycled by the grazing animal.  With the removal of hay 
and silage crops some reserves of Potassium may be diminished requiring the 
addition of potash fertiliser.

Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) are the other major nutrients 
required by either plants, animals or both. Calcium is important for the 
proper functioning of growing points of plants, particularly root tips, and 
it also has an important role in nitrogen metabolism. It is required by both 
plants and animals. Magnesium is important for plant photosynthesis and for 
animal health. Sodium is essential to the functioning of nerves and muscles 
and bone development in animals. It is not required by plants.

Nitrogen (N) is required by plants and animals for protein production and it 
is also found in chlorophyll which is important to photosynthesis. Nitrogen 
is supplied to the soil through biological fixation from the atmosphere by 
microorganisms living in the clover root nodules. It is important that 
clover production is encouraged as this increases pasture production and 
provides a high quality feed. Application of N fertiliser may still be 
necessary to overcome feed shortages.

Lime is also an important input into the soil system.  Lime is applied to 
increase the soil pH, by reducing soil acidity, to the optimum level for 
pasture production.




hahaha........easier then telling you what i learnt for 4 years at 
university

above elements, help for good plant growth and flow on to animals ( eg 
selinium helps fertility in sheeps)

back to the task at hand

doing something with your chunk of planet earth depends on, soil test, what 
the neighbours do with theres, or what ya local extention office thinks will 
work, also read local fertiliser sites, coop sites and see what they do, 
then look at capital investment, and markets (budgeting if required)

like this one

http://www.ravensdown.co.nz

because every area/country is different, localised info is best,

i have a friend who is a agronomist in kentucky, he owns 30 acres, and 
actually grows soybeans (easy for him, probably free seed, free fert and 
free loan of a combine harvester)........

good luck

still reckon 25 acres of farmalls would be a nice site!!

matthew