Food Plot Basics

[dennishoddy]

Got my soil samples back a week or so ago. Just need to add a little nitrogen and some Sulphur.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Got my soil samples back a week or so ago. Just need to add a little nitrogen and some Sulphur.

For your garden?

 

[dennishoddy]

Food plot. Lots of alky in the soil over there.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Food plot. Lots of alky in the soil over there.

So you are planting a summer plot? What are you planting?

 

[dennishoddy]

Nope. Have to add the Sulphur early. Its not an instant fix for the ph issue. Same as soil that needs limed. It might take two to three years to bring the ph back into normal levels at the farm.

I have an alkalinity issue as well at my garden and use Sulphur to fix it. Problem there is my well water is high alkalinity, so watering the garden over the summer brings the PH up.

Same treatment, two different issues.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Nope. Have to add the Sulphur early. Its not an instant fix for the ph issue. Same as soil that needs limed. It might take two to three years to bring the ph back into normal levels at the farm.

I have an alkalinity issue as well at my garden and use Sulphur to fix it. Problem there is my well water is high alkalinity, so watering the garden over the summer brings the PH up.

Same treatment, two different issues.

Does Urea also make soil more acidic?

 

[dennishoddy]

Fertilizers and Soil Acidity


Mosaic Fertilizer Technology Research Centre - April 2013

Source: Fertiliser Technology Resarch Centre, The University of Adelaide, Australia




Executive Summary

- Soil acidification is a natural process in high rainfall environments where leaching slowly acidifies soil over time.

- Intensive agriculture can speed up soil acidification through many processes – increasing leaching, addition of fertilizers, removal of produce and build-up of soil organic matter.

- Of all the major fertilizer nutrients, nitrogen is the main nutrient affecting soil pH, and soils can become more acidic or more alkaline depending on the type of nitrogen fertilizer used.

- Nitrate-based products are the least acidifying of the nitrogen fertilizers, while ammonium-based products have the greatest potential to acidify soil.

- Soil acidification due to use of phosphorus fertilizers is small compared to that attributed to nitrogen, due to the lower amounts of this nutrient used and the lower acidification per kg phosphorus. Phosphoric acid is the most acidifying phosphorus fertilizer.

- Potassium fertilizers have little or no effect on soil pH.
- See more at: http://www.cropnutrition.com/fertilizers-and-soil-acidity#sthash.FgDKo1Lg.dpuf

 

[Oklahomabassin]

That is what I was thinking. I plan on planting a soil building crop on one food plot for the summer. If we get the timely rains, I would like to plant another plot that will be high protein, high nutrient and supposed to be pretty drought tolerant. We'll see what happens.

 

[Okie4570]

Urea is only slightly acidic, it would take mega amounts and years to see a change. Sulfur is quicker, and smaller the granule the quicker the change, till taking 2 or more years to reap the full benefit. What was your ph there Dennis?

 

[dennishoddy]

I'm thinking about putting some soy beans on one plot just to see how well the soil takes the nitrogen by fall when I put in wheat for a food plot. Take another soil test, but its only $10. I can use the spring test vs the fall test to get an idea of how much that might help.

Its not for a summer plot, the neighbors put in my summer plots for me. lol