Are cracks in the soil a replacement for sub-soiling?

[Rob Holmes]

Two years ago i stuck a tape measure down the cracks in the ground, it went down 27 inches! The fissure's must have gone down at least the same again

...you'd never get a subsoiler to go that deep and it was all for free!!!!

 

[spikeislander]

Why wont they match up anymore than natural cracks

Because if you think of it as a weld breaking or anything that is pulled until it snaps of you then push it back together they will go back into the same high and low spots they broke at but if you turn one piece sideways you will find gaps and very difficult to put back tight. Leaving gaps

 

[Badshot]

A couple of pictures that show very little I'm afraid. It's that hard now I broke my spade doing that little hole. Think I'll just forget I found a bit of a pan the other Day as it is just the same here with no effect on the crop. So I think the orache has had more effect than the minor pan.

 

[smbflame]

have a pint on me , in the picture, soil profile does show cracking or do i need specsavers

 

[Badshot]

have a pint on me , in the picture, soil profile does show cracking or do i need specsavers

There is vertical cracking for sure, the issue is that the soil tends to come apart in huge blocks from 4-6 inches down with no vertical cracking through them but huge worm holes. I'm not pulling a subsoiler through if it's as hard as that anyway, it'll bring up car sized lumps to deal with

Mine's a strongbow for now ta, nice and refereshing

 

[farmerfred86]

Interesting old thread.
We intend to do a reasonable amount of subsoiling this autumn due to the serious impact of sugar beet harvesting. The cracks are growing ever wider and probably near subsoiler depth already. Not sure if it will be time wasted.

 

[Lincsman]

Interesting old thread.
We intend to do a reasonable amount of subsoiling this autumn due to the serious impact of sugar beet harvesting. The cracks are growing ever wider and probably near subsoiler depth already. Not sure if it will be time wasted.

On clay the soil swells up tighter when wet than it was before it cracked, setaside stubble will flood without some movement, if its quite loose and uncompacted it wont crack much and is then ok to shallow cultivate.
Ever noticed the tramline has a massive crack from one end of the field to the other?

 

[teslacoils]

Can say that no, they are not a substitute for subsoiler.

 

[nick...]

I reckon where I’ve subsoiled in the last couple of years that the gaps left after I’ve been through tend to hold the water and makes the soil wetter.anyone agree with this
nick...

 

[Two Tone]

I reckon where I’ve subsoiled in the last couple of years that the gaps left after I’ve been through tend to hold the water and makes the soil wetter.anyone agree with this
nick...

Yes

 

[yellow belly]

I reckon where I’ve subsoiled in the last couple of years that the gaps left after I’ve been through tend to hold the water and makes the soil wetter.anyone agree with this
nick...

yes

in the days when i ploughed one year we had the bright idea to subsoil the tramlines on heavy land
when we had a bit of rain it was impossible to plough the tramlines the unsubsoiled was no problem

clay land with under drains need regular mole draining when the sub soil is is moist enough

 

[yellow belly]

subsoiling will only pay if there is a had panned zone impeding water movement and roots

longer term notill has a network of worm channels and decaying root channels

run on soil when it is not dry enough is the biggest compactor controll trafick reducing the run on land to less than 20 %

 

[teslacoils]

I reckon where I’ve subsoiled in the last couple of years that the gaps left after I’ve been through tend to hold the water and makes the soil wetter.anyone agree with this
nick...

Yup. Subsoiled or ploughed feel wetter as the water runs to the "interface" between loose and tight soil. The difference is both gets water away from the seed quicker, and root better (long term DD blah blah blah).

So yes, it may feel a bit more like chocolate pudding, but at least no big puddles on the surface / rotten seed etc.

 

[l'ordinary bonville]

I've found that subsoiling or running a tine through any hard dry clay soil just brings up breeze block sized lumps that then take a lot more diesel to break down again

If the ground is cracked any time from May to August i wouldn't bother subsoiling unless it serves some other purpose like levelling ruts

 

[Case290]

I’m working on not subsoiling if it’s cracked and not subsoiling if it not cracked

 

[bobk]

I've found that subsoiling or running a tine through any hard dry clay soil just brings up breeze block sized lumps that then take a lot more diesel to break down again

If the ground is cracked any time from May to August i wouldn't bother subsoiling unless it serves some other purpose like levelling ruts

We find the best method is to lift the whole profle , therefore creating horizontal fissures .

 

[Lincsman]

I reckon where I’ve subsoiled in the last couple of years that the gaps left after I’ve been through tend to hold the water and makes the soil wetter.anyone agree with this
nick...

Correct, its away from the surface where it would drown the wheat plant, water sat on the surface or running off to a ditch is not a good idea, it needs to be below the surface getting into a land drain.

 

[warksfarmer]

Speaking to a soil expert not so long ago he opined that the following claim is a myth: When soil cracks due to dry weather Nature has sub-soiled for you.

IIRC his reasoning was that between the cracks the same structural problems continue to exist and are almost worsened by the cracking because the soil shrinks compounding the problem of tight soil. So, if you had a tight structureless soil with a plough pan which needed restructuring, have those cracks not really solved the problem?

So what’s he saying when you’ve cracks every 8 inches?

Edit: just seen original post was 8 years ago.

 

[Brisel]

I’m going to have to sweat a bit to have a dig with a spade later on. It will rain eventually to soften it up. If it doesn’t then the subsoiler stays in the shed because the thought of making boulders I can’t work down and spend the fuel and time and steel for vanity does not bear thinking about.

 

[ajd132]

majority of the times I have subsoiled so far in my farming career it’s been a complete waste of time. It has to be really really good reason to do it with good conditions, and preferably a cover crop drilled straight after to knit things back together.