Our weather is finally reflecting the season we are in- fall. The final harvest of crops is soon to be over. What are you doing about your soil and the biology that was working hard feeding those crops? Have you given a thought as to how to protect, replenish and nourish it for next year’s crop? There are several ways to protect and feed the soil ecosystem over the next six months.
Don’t leave it bare. When soil is left bare, it is exposed to the sun and wind, which dry it out. A bare soil surface is subject to drastic temperature changes, which is not a place biology like to live. Bare soil is also very vulnerable to erosion from rain drop splash. This is the first step in the process of erosion. If the rain or precipitation hits something besides soil, it can dissipate it’s energy, or slow down and not be as destructive to the soil. The easiest way to protect soil from erosion is to leave plant materials on the surface to allow the biology to decompose the organic matter. The dead plant material also protects the soil surface from wind erosion.
Provide living roots. The next best thing to protect your soil this fall and winter is to plant a cover crop. It will not only provide soil surface protection, but also feeds the living organisms and biology in the soil. When plants grow they take in the sun’s energy. The plant converts that energy into a kind of sugar. The plant’s roots leak about 30% of the sugar they make, which feeds the biology. The biology eats the sugar and returns to the plants with necessary nutrients for growth. When soil is left bare there are no roots to feed the biology that converts and provides nutrients to plants, the biology withers or dies. At this late point in the growing season- late September and October- it is recommended to plant cereal rye, as most others won’t get much of a chance to establish themselves before winter sets in.
Why Rye? It’s a hard-working cover crop. It can germinate at the lowest temperature of the most popular covers used. A seed of cereal rye can start growing at 34 degrees. It is expected to come back in the spring. Cereal rye has very good drought and flood tolerance. This is good to keep in mind with our recent lack of rain in the area. Rye also makes a great forage option for livestock farmers in the spring. Many farmers are turning to rye for the allelopathic (natural herbicide) effect it has on small weed seeds in the spring, like waterhemp. It also provides good opportunities to try to plant the next commodity crop into this living cover before terminating it.
By now, hopefully you’ve thought a little more about how you’re going to protect and nourish your soil for next year’s crop. Soil is more than a medium for growing plants. It is an ecosystem worth protecting. All living things rely on the soil.
If you have questions or want more information about soil or cover crops, please contact Tonya Gratz with the Green County Land and Water Conservation Department at 608-325-4195 extension 121 or by email Tonya.Gratz@wi.nacdnet.net
