wellingtonfarmer
Member
- Location
- Herefordshire
Looking round crops few days after first year with mzuri, I have a few areas where I think the soil is quite "tight". What do people recommend?
Tight ground.
- Thread starter wellingtonfarmer
- Start date
Tractor Boy
Member
- Location
- Suffolk
Isn’t the point of a Mzuri to lift tight soil.
To stop looking ! ?
Try using the loosening legs less
Less is more if you want soil to structure itself
To stop looking ! ?
Try using the loosening legs less
Less is more if you want soil to structure itself
You still need a good crop to help the soil... a bit chicken & egg!
Nick - you'll get this "tight" ground to start with. You've created the root channel with the legs so the crop will deal with it by putting its roots through the walls as the ground gets wet & dry. Have a dig with a spade & you'll see the roots doing their work, unless you smeared the seed in wet to start with. Underneath, the soil will be in good condition as it starts to adapt to the new management system & starts to become self sustaining.
A ploughed soil will always seem looser but it will slump down & require loosening again. Cultivation begets cultivation. The real softness in the soil comes with time and a lot of surface soil organic matter.
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
Loose soil is worse for takall and slugs
Once the worms get going the honeycomb of holes give soil more drainage but it is tight when dry
It is very important to get drainage right
Moleing on drained heavy land that takes a mole the subsoil where the mole is on clays with some silt and low sand content
On deeper light land tight layers need to be avoided
Controlled traffick can help reduce the area that needs deeper work before the worms and organic debris builds up
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Tight soil is only a problem if it prevents infiltration and drainage through the winter. In which case we would subsoil those patches post harvest/ in the autumn. The system needs a helping hand to get going here.
Organic matter incorporated into the surface also helps.
Some land needs no help. But some does otherwise we get bigger and bigger ponds over successive winters.
Organic matter incorporated into the surface also helps.
Some land needs no help. But some does otherwise we get bigger and bigger ponds over successive winters.
wellingtonfarmer
Member
- Location
- Herefordshire
, it's a headland where we fenced early spring so had a fair bit of traffic on it.
Just wondering what people generally do?
Going forward trying to work out what to do with areas muck is tipped- not that anything grows where chicken muck has been sat for a couple of months
SilliamWhale
Member
Possibly GLS it. Otherwise do nothing
If the crop is failing on the headland beacuse of compacted layers in a utopian world some sunflowers, radishes things like that will do you more good than running a subsoiler through . That's what we have done on crappy headlands before, plus it help keeps bees and other beneficals about.
- Location
- Somerset
When i first went down the strip-till route my soils did the same,or so i thought.One field i thought needed the subsoiler,i achieved north of 10 km/hr ,so packed up as i realised i was wasting time and money ,put a marker stick up and saw no difference in crop or rooting.Soon after went and bought a penetrometer and my special spade which both live in the pickup.Worms ,root mass and surface residue will be your best allies as time goes on.Look at cover crops,i feel they really help no-till work.Don"t worry if you do a bit of subsoiling,i tried to be a purest from day 1 and i daren"t think what that cost me.