- Location
- Ceredigion
There must be a thinking behind that, but cant for the life of me think what it is .
Never Plough Snow Under
- Thread starter Derrick Hughes
- Start date
Lazy Sod
Member
- Location
- Warminster Wiltshire
The thinking is that it keeps soil temperature lower than it would be otherwise.
- Location
- N.Lincs
Ploughed loads in over the years. Can't say I've ever noticed any difference
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
What loonatics are ploughing today
- Location
- Ceredigion
have a look on Facebook .theres loads out
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
No ta
I was ploughing yesterday, ploughingininch of snow....supposed to grow thistles!!
Too frozen today, too much weather related stock work today!
Too frozen today, too much weather related stock work today!
Really!?
Why has the snow a high bacterial loading, but a few degrees warmer and it comes down as rain then it's fine?
Grassman
Member
- Location
- Derbyshire
Interesting idea. Is there a reference to this anywhere?
I have just Googled '' bacteria in snow''. There are plenty of references, but I can't find any reference to the harmful effects of ploughing it down.
The bacteria which might otherwise be degraded on the surface during normal melting of the snow could, if ploughed down, have a harmful effect on soil fungal and other soil microorganisms.
Ploughing by man is a very new concept, and for millions of years soil was never subjected to it, let alone ploughing of snow-covered soil. It might even contribute to the creation of a plough pan.
Surely there's a soil scientist on here. It would provide a study for a research scientist, but it would rely on snow falling just as the study starts. Somebody get out there and plough a representative part of a field, and get in touch with your nearest Agricultural Institute for the mentally retarded to see if any staff or research student with a Diploma in Pratology wants to be involved.
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Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Think it's a old wives tale personally. I've ploughed in snow until tractor can't get grip. Then come back and finished on a dry spring day and no difference in crop
icanshootwell
Member
- Location
- Ross-on-wye
Min till, problem solved.
- Location
- Essex Coast
It is damage to the soil biology that is the problem. Very few soil creatures can survive being frozen solid, bacteria, fungi, protazoa or nematodes will all be wiped out. In a normal British winter the top layer may freeze, but everything living below that stays above 0 degrees C will soon re-colonise the top bit when it thaws out and warms up. By ploughing down snow, the whole plough depth could become frozen and so it will take much longer for the any surviving biology to grow back. Since the invention of chemical fertilisers, farmers are not reliant on the soil biology for the major components of nutrition and so this may be no worse than ploughing in the summer when all the biology gets dehydrated to death instead.
Our grandfathers would have been highly reliant on biological nutrient cycling to feed their crops, and so the effect of ploughing down snow would have been much more noticeable to them, hence this saying from the past.
Our grandfathers would have been highly reliant on biological nutrient cycling to feed their crops, and so the effect of ploughing down snow would have been much more noticeable to them, hence this saying from the past.
Pearls of wisdom # 2.
Don't eat yellow snow.
Don't eat yellow snow.
Ford used to have an advert showing its tractors ploughing in extremely wet boggy conditions, boasting that other tractors didn't have the necessary grip.
Lazy Sod
Member
- Location
- Warminster Wiltshire
I've never ploughed in snow because my (late) very wise father told me not to.