Ashburn, GA, (very close to Heaven!) | What makes it so attractive on the sandy soils? Less runoff of nutrients and chemicals, less compaction as our sandy soils compact easily, improved water retention, less fuel required to get a crop in, cover crop makes it easier to get back into the fields after rain, easier to get a stand in marginal moisture conditions, less labor, less wear and tear on equipment I wanted to use it on my sandy soils to get the fertilizer all placed in the seed zone, but everyone said you'd get way too much salt concentration and burn by putting all my fertilizer in a narrow band. Salt is a non-factor down here, not even on the list. I broadcast all my fertilizer within a week of planting to avoid excessive leaching. Any ideas? Thanks. Eddie Well, while our top 14 - 24 inches is sandy, we do have decent clay subsoil. That clay subsoil stops the fertilizer and water from going to China. We rip about 17 inches, usually scratching the hard pan or breaking through it a little. There is no such thing as Fall or Winter applied Nitrogen. Our sands leach N FAST, but only the DEEPER sands, coarser soils tend to give the potassium so fast. We sidedress N on corn and cotton, sometimes twice, and/or sometimes fertigate some N through the pivots. Sand, yeah, a lot of people laugh at our low CEC soils, averaging around 5.0, but on the other hand, these soils are very responsive to applied ferilizer and lime, you can do a little something with them. With a pivot there and a charged up acquifer, we tend to make a crop. As for vegetables, these sands add a rich, pungent taste to them that make them popular with brokers nationwide, as in Vidalia Onions. |
no-till vs. conventional
