So I recently bought 40 acres, while learning on the net I came across some information about soil prep for orchards, clay pan etc. Evidently it is common for midwestern states to have a clay layer down 1-2ft, supposedly left over from the last ice age. Well sure enough, I dug 4 holes in various locations on my land and every hole struck solid clay down about 14", this is virgin prairie that had never been worked in any way.
From what Ive read, its not uncommon for trees to hit this solid clay layer and have roots grow horizontal, not penetrating well. Trees seem to do great for several years then suffer/die during an extended dry period because they cannot access deeper/moist soil below the clay. Anyway I figured it wouldnt hurt to try to break up this layer before I plant trees. Bought a RS15 ripper from land pride, and rented a little 45hp tractor. It was a bit more than the little tractor was designed for, took me 2 passes to get down full depth. I ripped directly under where my trees will be planted next spring.
Just looking for opinions on this, is it necessary/helpful or did I waste my time/money? Also I will be planting a few rows of grapes, sounds like grape roots can penetrate up to 6ft down, but also struggle with clay.
The clay layer normally forms as the soil develops, ie as it ages with time. Rainwater penetrating the soil carries clay down into the soil. This happens even in uniform parent material such as loess.
In many soils the clay layer isn’t dense enough to impede root penetration. If the soil drains well enough the roots will penetrate.
In some places like certain areas of CA there is a hardpan that so dense and hard that root penetration is severely limited. The hardpan can be several feet thick. It needs to be shattered to aid root development.
The ripping that you did with that little chisel probably isn’t going to change much. A backhoe is much more effective. Dig out each planting spot to 4-6ft deep.
We had a dense clay layer in the soil I worked with at Texas A&M near Amarillo. We chiseled it regularly with large tractors. But it didn’t really make much difference in root development, water storage, water extraction by plants, or crop yield. Mixing the soil to 4-6ft with a backhoe or large trencher made a lasting and permanent improvement in rooting and yield. But it was too expensive for field crops.
I can’t tell if you might have helped anything. But wish I could see your soil and feel the texture. Can you see root channels running thru the clay layer?
i didn’t dig through it with a shovel. farmer friend of mine brought over a tool you push into the dirt and has a resistance meter on it. i think it was called a penetrometer or something like that. it showed that the clay layer was about 2-3 inches thick.
In my area the suggestion is to rip the land where the rows will go then rip again at a right angle .
I like to till the rows where the trees will go after the ripping and plant some type of cover crop. I have had good luck with tillage radishes and also rye. The tillage radishes really penetrate the soil and the rye provides excellent weed suppression in future years.
I discovered through trial and error that my apple trees that were planted after good soil prep, cover crop and lime did a lot better than the ones I planted in a hurry without proper soil prep.
In some cases it takes 2 years to get an order filled for popular trees on many rootstocks which would give you lots of time to get the soil in perfect condition before planting the trees.
I assume that if you are talking to you farmer friend that ripping is something they commonly do? And if so, the question to ask them or the local NRCS office is if they are doing it to alleviate compaction issues due to tillage and equipment on the land or to break a natural hardpan or clay layer.
If it is virgin prairie it stands to reason that there should still be good structure through the clay horizon as those plants grow deep roots when not limited by a high water table.
I need to build an approach and Im thinking about using my dirt instead of hauling dirt in. This will give me a chance to maybe make a small pond also… Then Ill also get a better look at what my soil structure looks like down a bit deeper. I looked up some well drilling data and my water table is at least 20ft down in the area Im at.
Just saw that you are putting in a couple thousand fruit trees in another thread. Wow! What kind of trees are you putting in? Not trying to be nosy, but it sounds interesting (and this is a fruit forum )
Re: Ripping the hardpan. I’m not familiar with soil in your area but I’ve always read tilling the soil before planting helps establishment. Like Blueberry, that’s been my experience as well. New trees establish and grow faster if the soil doesn’t have any resistance to the roots.
Of course that’s a little different than what you are talking about (i.e. breaking the hardpan) but I’d think you’d get some overall loosening of the soil too. I think you are on the right path worrying about soil prep before you plant.
You may have already done a soil test. I’ll mention, if the soil is low in P (like mine was), you’ll want to get that on as soon as possible. P is very slow to move through the soil.
Im low on N, P and high K. Also low boron and sulfur and chloride… I planted a bunch of plants I had in pots this fall, mostly honeyberry but also some cherries and juneberries and grapes and currents. I made a mixture of 2 parts bone meal, 1 part holly tone, 1/2 part calcium chloride and 1/3 part boron supplement (10% boron) and added 1/3 cup to the surface of the soil around each plant I planted, in a circle about 1ft away from the plant and I raked that in. Should help some with the deficiencies I have, hopefully. Pretty much all the trees Im planting next spring are shelter belts, ponderosa and oaks and some maples. I will plant some black walnut from seed also probably, if they germinate ok.
I suppose that’s why you added calcium chloride. At least my impression is that the high plains have a lot of Ca, like here? I’ve never had to add chloride here, but stonefruits (what I mostly grow) are pretty sensitive to it (as are grapes) so the problem for them is generally the other way (toxicity).
Are shelter belts required up there to grow fruit trees, or are you just planting the shelter belts for aesthetics?
That’s a lot of work planting 2000 trees. I’m sure as you expect, that will take a while, even with a tractor auger, but it sounds like some of the will be small enough you won’t need an auger.
we have soil conservation do it. there’s a local program that subsidizes planting, they pay 60% of the cost to plant and for the trees and fabric they put down. currently there are no trees on the land and we get winds over 50mph pretty much every summer. will blow a lot of fruit off trees if it’s close 2 ripe without protection.
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