[RealDcoy]

Ok. Buckwheat was flowering so I cut it under and am tilling it under today.

I am also going to add a bunch of compost and rich soil I obtained from a local farmer.

What should be my fall planting and when to put it in? I am thinking maybe just field rye for this year, and putting it in at the end of Aug. Then I will plant buckwheat again next spring to use as a green manure again. Then Maybe the soil will be improved enough for some clover. ( It is very sandy soil.)

Any other ideas?

 

[marty]

Real you might want to throw in some winter wheat also. If you have real sandy soil you might want to pull a soil survey. I had to added 3 ton of lime to mine along with 250 lbs of pot ash. Good idea to wait to plant as normally july-aug is a drier time to plant.. Also my farmwe bud said it take about 6 months for lime and fertilzer to really work but throw the stuff in anyhow. The deer here in northeast michigan really go for rape also just a though. Happy planting......marty

 

[RealDcoy]

Thanks for the advice Marty.

I did have soil samples done at the begining of the year. Thats how the "green manure" idea of the buckwheat came into the picture.

My pH was 6.9, but Potash was heavily needed. I was told that my largest problem was retention of water. I am on a long-term soil improvement idea.

I thought of just letting the buckwheat re-seed itself, but was told that it takes too much out of the soil, and that I could wind up with poorer soil than I started with if I didn't cut it under.

Also, the post about the selenium was a bonus for me. I put 4 holes around the area, 2 with water, 2 without, 2 covered, 2 not.
3 of the 1ftx1ft holes are now 3ftx3ft and 1ft deep!!

 

[Steve in MI]

Well,....

Since you are looking long term you might want to look at Whitetails inst. they have a product that has a small amount of clover and is mostly Alfa Rack. It is made for fast draining soil (sand) I planted some and have good plant growth so far . It was plantedin the spring . You might want to give them a call. 1-800-688-3030. The staff there can give you a product that will work the best, they are very nice , your soil sample numbers will be hevery helpfull to them so be sure to have them ready when you call. Good luck