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Grittyville, WA

For a long time I thought that the issue with stepping on the soil was that it caused it to become too dense and impedes roots physically... Now after many years I think its more about oxygen levels in the rootzone...

I think its more commonly the case that roots are "chemically" impeded ...by zones in the soil that have no oxygen because tillage stirs up the microbes and (if there are lots of organics added) then they can consume all of the available oxygen... What do you think?

Its not necessary to understand any of this, except that when your soil's oxygen levels are normal, it might be ok to put away the walking boards...

Also, I think the advice about 3-5% organic matter being optimal... has to do with oxygen levels... If oxygen isnt a problem, then much higher levels of organic matter should be ok, possibly even beneficial.

I'll leave it to everyone to figure out their own soil... the general concepts here were not a gentle learning curve for me. They were more of a "Hillary step" for me, so I thought I'd share...

I'll leave the myco part for another day.

[Last edit: 06/10/24 12:50:14 PM]

6/10/2024 12:48:39 PM

Kutztown, PA

GrittyHeinz,

I think drainage plays a big factor. I know my soil goes from aerobic to anaerobic every rain event as does most peoples soil. How quickly you can get back to aerobic is also a factor. I was thinking of using a broad fork out in front of my vines this year but I'm afraid of doing more damage than good.

6/10/2024 2:30:12 PM

Grittyville, WA

Right, Garwolf, because that clay crust that forms after tilling can be too impermeable to air.

You can lightly scrape/hoe the surface and this will have positive effect breaking the crust, and be less work too.

If I had to choose extra oxygen for the roots vs extra co2 for the leaves, I think I might go with the oxygen in the roots.

I am actually doing no-till but I can still overmulch the surface to the point that the oxygen in the soil is no longer optimal.

6/11/2024 2:02:54 PM

Kutztown, PA

I did a till May 1 this year, but with my soil it begins compacting again quickly. I've kind of given up on trying to keep it loose, but I think your on to something with scraping the top layer. What are you using to mulch with?

6/12/2024 9:13:17 AM

Grittyville, WA

I put spread an entire round bale of hay on last years patch (about 800 sq ft) so that was a thick layer about 3" or so but after 6 months now the soil is either bare again or less than 1/2 inch of it remains. If you keep a thin layer of mulch (or something to feed the soil) on it at all times, then as it decomposes it will develop into a layer of humus and you wont have to scrape the crust off your soil. It wont add a huge amount of nutrients but I think it adds the kind of nutrients that hold pumpkins together. Look at Dave Stelts with all his leaf compost and then he gets 5/5 pumpkins to the finish line or whatever. Just one anecdote though.

6/12/2024 11:19:05 AM