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| The best thing for next year is to work on a plan on how to get more organic matter built up in the soil to hold what moisture you do get on the field. There is almost no residue on the field to block the sun from heating up the ground so what is in the top layer is evaporating. With residue there can be a 30-40 degree difference in soil temperature which reduces evaporation.
Along with the residue, microbes are needed, especially aerobic ones. They are what do all the work to provide nutrients in a form your plants can use, and provide some disease resistance, etc. They may need to get re-established. They can be re-added from a compost wash, made from aerobic compost or worm castings, which is actually fairly easy and cheap.
There isn't a quick fix, it is a lot of extra work or different work then is normally done, but long term, there will be fewer issues and most likely lower input costs. Everyone has to find their own solutions within the parameter of what they have to work with.
Virginia has a cover crop subsidy program that compensates some of the cost of planting cover crops. I would highly recommend looking at it.
Most of the east coast especially east of the mountains has been farmed for so long, the soil is considered depleted. It isn't anything you have done wrong, it is about what can be done to help make it better. | |
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Two Years in a Row
