Rocky Soil Germination
Contributors to this thread:New York
From: CreedXS
08-Jun-22
I have been planting for two years now in the Glen Aubrey area. My frustration is with the shale soil. I have done all my soil test have 6.5-6.8 PH and high Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium, but yet in any of my fields that are filled with shale I struggle to A turn the ground but B get anything to germinate. This year I have a few acres of Hancock Buck Bean started and some whitetail institute clover plots. In my less rocky soil I am getting significantly better results. Anyone have any ideas what I can do about the rocky soil for better germination? I never had these issues back in Bradford Pa which had similar soils.
From: SaddleReaper
09-Jun-22
Just spitballing here... since the soil is really stony, have you noticed if it's also very quick to drain/dry? I wonder if it just doesn't retain enough moisture for the plants before the suns heating all that stone and cooks it off.
From: Teeton
09-Jun-22
30 years of food plotting and I was going to say the same as SaddleReaper.
From: CreedXS
10-Jun-22
That is an interesting thought. The soil is very loamy so potentially that is part of the issue. Do you think if I start drilling beans it would work better?
From: Pat Lefemine
11-Jun-22
Does anything come up? If so, does it look unhealthy? An overlooked service provided by states is you can send in an actual plant for tissue analysis. Sometimes it’s a nutrient deficiency but it can also be a toxicity in your field, or a nutrient overload. Might be worth a try.
From: CreedXS
11-Jun-22
So yea I get germination in some but never the same percentage, most likely 50% compared to 85-95% the plants do look healthy but never seem to take off. I will look into having the plant sent off. I didn’t think about something toxic being in the field that I wouldn’t have show up in a soil sample.
