Tips on growing your own Nitrogen and adding inexpensive supplements

[Tom_in_TN]

Here is an idea on how to 1) condition your soil 2) grow your own nitrogen 3) add potash and 4) sweeten the dirt with agricultural lime.
In the fall, September to November, scatter wood ash and till the soil in the area to be improved and planted next year. Scatter Crimson Clover seed and AG lime on top of the soil (no need to rake it into the soil). Water it in or let the rain do that job.
Here are a couple of pics to demonstrate just how beneficial this can be to improve the soil, 1st image shows Crimson Clover grown in a burned over area last fall and the 2nd image is next to the burned area that was not burned and no AG lime was applied:

 

[johnlee1933]

Very impressive ! How long does your red clover have to grow before killing frost. Up here I doubt it would grow enough to help much.

Do you plow it under the following spring?

John

 

[Tom_in_TN]

Crimson Clover will withstand temps down to -10 F but I've had it withstand temps a bit lower than that. The plot above was seeded the last week of October and survived the entire winter as tiny little seedlings before starting to really grow in February/March. For your area plant in early spring or late summer. But, you may be pleasantly surprised and have it survive a mild winter, like this past season. Check your local co-ops to see if they have AU Crimson or the varieties they sell for your locale. I've forgotten which variety I have since I allow it to re-seed in certain areas every year and if I need to collect seed it can be combined with my chipper-shredder.

When planting the seed you could use an inoculate with an R-type (crimson clover-berseem) inoculant to increase the N potential. Blossoms normally grow to be 1/2" to 1"+ long, but in the areas where I let it re-seed every year I have noticed the blossoms getting up to 3" or 4". Plus, there I did see an all white blossom this year.


I will till it into the soil, lightly, for an added boost of N about 2 weeks prior to planting my tobacco crop. Crimson Clover will also work well as a companion with grain and other grasses. Here is some intermixed with Hard Red Winter Wheat. Also have some mixed with Barley.

 

[johnlee1933]

OK From your pics this is different stuff from the red clover we have here. The red clover grows as a weed and the blossom is about1/2" mostly round. I'll see if I can get some crimson and give it a try. Do you ever use buckwheat or soy bean as a rotation crop?

John

 

[SmokesAhoy]

I heard the old timers would put all their brush and leaves over the garden in fall and burn it. Would kill weed seed and bugs and freshen the soil.

 

[deluxestogie]

Your discussion is an important aspect of tobacco growing that is often overlooked by home growers. Below are some excerpts from several university guides.

County Agents estimate that practically all tobacco received rotation in 2009 (40% follow soybeans while 40% follow corn and 15% follow cotton).

The benefits of using winter cover crops are well documented. Winter cover crops protect the soil from erosion losses, scavenge left over nutrients from the soil, and add organic matter to soil when they are plowed under or killed in the spring. Winter cereal grains such as wheat and rye are the most commonly used cover crops in tobacco production. These grains, when planted in September or October, make good growth by early winter to help reduce soil erosion, and grow very rapidly in spring as the weather warms. Winter grains should be plowed under or killed in early spring no later than when they are heading. Waiting too long can result in nutrients being tied up by the cover crop, significant reductions in soil moisture during dry springs, and, in some cases, organic matter toxicity to the tobacco crop. Organic matter toxicity can occur when a heavy cover crop is plowed under just before transplanting. The breakdown of the cover crops reduces oxygen in the root zone and may result in the production of organic compounds that are toxic to roots. Affected tobacco plants are yellowed and stunted, but usually recover in two to three weeks.

Winter legumes such as vetch or crimson clover may also be used as cover crops either alone or in combination with a winter cereal. They do not produce as much growth in the fall but have the potential to supply additional nitrogen. In practice the amount of nitrogen contributed by legume cover crops has been found to be relatively small due to the fact that they typically scavenge remaining N from the tobacco crop rather than fixing N from the atmosphere.

The benefit of crop rotation for reducing certain diseases is well known (see Pest Management section), however rotation also has significant agronomic benefits. The ideal rotation for tobacco in Kentucky and Tennessee would be one in which tobacco is grown on a specific site for no more than two years in a row, after which a sod or sod/legume crop is planted and maintained for at least four years before returning to tobacco production. The advantage of this rotation is that the sod crop helps to restore the organic matter and soil structure lost during tobacco production. Unfortunately, many tobacco growers do not have sufficient land resources to maintain a rotation of this length. Shorter rotations away from tobacco are very beneficial from a disease standpoint and at least slow the degradation of soil structure compared to continuous tobacco production. Some rotation even if it is short is better than no rotation.

Rotation to other row crops such as corn or soybean can also be beneficial to tobacco, but less so than a rotation which includes sod crops.

Legumes
Three legumes are available for winter cover cropping. Hairy vetch has a viney growth habit and a high nitrogen content, and it grows slow during the winter. The Austrian winter pea also has a viney growth habit and a high nitrogen content, and it grows slow during the winter, but it can frost-heave. Crimson clover has an upright growing habit and grows slow during winter, and it has a moderate nitrogen content. All these legume winter cover crops need to be planted by late September or early October. Frost heaving can cause the seedlings to dry out during the winter; plants are susceptible to heaving when they are very small and their roots are not established. All legume seed costs will be double or triple what the cost per acre would be for small grains, but legumes will supply nitrogen in greater quantity to the soil than small grain if left until late April or early May before plowdown.

Mixing Grass and Legumes
Combining grass and legumes may prove better than planting either alone. Grasses protect soil during the winter and also produce great forage or plowdown organic matter. Legumes do not grow well during the winter, but they grow abundantly in late spring and produce high protein forage and lots of nitrogen as plowdown for the following crop. Crimson clover is the best legume to grow with a grass. Crimson’s height matches well with barley, wheat, and oats, but it may be shaded by rye, resulting in less growth than desired.

I usually seed lentils (from the grocery store) over my tobacco beds before the last of the leaf is primed. This is tilled under in early spring.

Bob

 

[Tom_in_TN]

OK From your pics this is different stuff from the red clover we have here. The red clover grows as a weed and the blossom is about1/2" mostly round. I'll see if I can get some crimson and give it a try. Do you ever use buckwheat or soy bean as a rotation crop?

John

Every year....great stuff. The buckwheat and soybeans (with inoculant applied for increased nitrogen) also feed honeybees during the hot summer. They are one of the few plants with blossoms and are good nectar sources when everything else is finished blooming.

 

[Tom_in_TN]

Your discussion is an important aspect of tobacco growing that is often overlooked by home growers. Below are some excerpts from several university guides.

"Organic matter toxicity can occur when a heavy cover crop is plowed under just before transplanting. The breakdown of the cover crops reduces oxygen in the root zone and may result in the production of organic compounds that are toxic to roots. Affected tobacco plants are yellowed and stunted, but usually recover in two to three weeks."

I usually seed lentils (from the grocery store) over my tobacco beds before the last of the leaf is primed. This is tilled under in early spring.

Bob

Wow, thanks for posting that info, Bob. Appears to be very helpful to NOT till in the cover crop just before transplanting tobacco. Or, keep it out of the root zone. Perhaps I should use the chipper-shredder hooked-up to the lawn tractor (holds about 60 cubic feet) when I chop it, and then separately compost the clover.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

The reduction of oxygen in the root zone (from plowing in organic mater) is also the reason you should not till your garden right before you plant. I've often read you should wait at least 1 week after tilling to plant but I haven't seen any science behind that time frame. Also, one of those articles Bob posted listed Hairy Vetch as a cover crop. I would suggest not using that. I planted that as a cover crop about 10 years ago and it covered everything so well that I'm still fighting it as a weed!

Randy B

 

[Chicken]

i believe it is totally benificial to do a cover crop planting,, to fortify the soil for next year,,,

allthough i like my soil to be weed free,,,,,and planting anything in my plot, will produce weeds, which im totally against,,,

a weed in my garden has a automatic death sentance<

 

[DrBob]

my dad grew green beans for years for the cannery. Every year just after harvest we would disk the fields and plant winter rye as a cover crop, he called it green manure. In the spring , a couple of weeks before planting time we would plow in the rye which was about 12-14" tall, and get the fields ready for the next planting of green beans. The results were amazing, he grew the best beans with little fertilizer used. His soil was a little sandy and the plowed under plant matter helped with water retention and improved the soil quality.

 

[Tom_in_TN]

The results were amazing, he grew the best beans with little fertilizer used. His soil was a little sandy and the plowed under plant matter helped with water retention and improved the soil quality.

Your dad was onto a very important piece of the puzzle with regard to how soil becomes fertile. Soil has biological life in it. The population quickly grows when it is has organic matter to feed on. This flush of bacterial life produces fertilizer. Worms eat decayed vegetation and their castings feed plants. This type of fertilizer is very accessible to plants. What I did not realize was the information Bob supplied regarding transplanting tobacco into soil that has a lot of decaying organic matter. Bacteria such as Pythium and Rhizoctonia also attack the roots of seedlings and tobacco seedlings are particulaly susceptible to being damaged. The solution is to till the cover crop into the soil about 4 weeks ahead of transplanting in order to allow the biological life to stabilize. Or in the alternative, clear the rows of vegetation before tilling. One thing I hope does not happen is the tobacco plants growing too tall. Last year I had corn that grew 9' to 11' tall and in order to reach the top ears of corn I had to pull the plants over.

 

[Tom_in_TN]

How long does your red clover have to grow before killing frost. Up here I doubt it would grow enough to help much.
John

Hey, just took a peek at the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone for your area and Crimson Clover should overwinter OK. It sprouts very quickly, so plant a couple of weeks before the 1st frost.

 

[johnlee1933]

Thanks. WILCO

John

 

[SmokesAhoy]

as to growing too tall, just be sure to top them. Fewer larger, higher quality, leaves that way.