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Old 03-16-2008 | 01:28 PM
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Remnard
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Default RE: having trouble figuring out what to plant....

Go to your local ag extension service, they charge 5.00 for a soil test. The reason they are asking what you are planting is so they can advise you what you need to amend the soil with before you plant. You can do 2 things here. Get the test and see what is necessary for what you want to plant, and amend the soil and wait. Or you can figure out what you want to plant and amend the soil accordingly and plant a green manure crop in the meantime. This is just a temporary crop that you can grow while you are waiting for the lime to hit your soil and work in to the soil chemistry. Just buy some cheap fast growing crop that will grow in whatever ph your soil has at the time of the test. It might not grow great but it will keep the soil intact while you wait for all the tilled in nutrients to kick in. If you dont care about the temporary arrangement just put your lime, etc down and let the natural weeds grow, as long as there is nothing crazy invasive in there.

When the time comes to plant, figure 120 days or so for the lime to settle in, just till again and everything that was growing in there will be tilled in to the soil column. As it decomposes it will release anything it took from the soil back in and actually improve the soil structure by adding organic matter. This will help retain moisture during droughty times.
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