alkali soil

[Robertbarlage]

so we have lots of alkali spots around and I dug down to see what's up . I found that the to 5 inches of black dirt is as hard as a rock
and there is a darker clay under the black soil that is very tight as well about 10 inches thick. and below that the clay is soft. siw so was wondering if there is any way to get this area back growing ? could a guy RIP it deep like use a cat to 20 inches deep to loosen it up ? or should a guy plant some clover ?

[Robertbarlage]

not sure if there is anything a guy can do to help these spots but can't believe how hard the ground is . it won't let water through.

[furrowtickler]

not sure if there is anything a guy can do to help these spots but can't believe how hard the ground is . it won't let water through.

We have the same issue in a few areas

[fjlip]

It is either near a water body or saline seep from even miles away. Only remedy, if at all possible, is lower that water table. Rain will wash salts below root zone.

[farming101]

A tough one. Can easily spend a pile of money for no return.
Each location is unique.

Drainage and leaching are key to moving the minerals down into the soil profile enough for crops to grow
The trick is to know whether the soil is dry enough to accept leaching water or whether the soil is so soggy yet that you can't win.
If the soil has dried down lower then maybe loosing the top may allow rains to filter in. If it's still soggy below loosing the top may allow more soil moisture to rise to the surface and bring even more minerals with it.

Les Henry in his soil handbook says that the best way to handle saline soil might be to sell it in the winter...

We quit throwing fertilizer and 60 bucks an acre of canola seed on those places.

[FarmJunkie]

Tile it if u have an outlet to a waterway.

[Braveheart]

Tile drainage is the only way to solve it permanently. Bandaid solutions include heavy rates of elemental sulphur to tie up salts and alter ph or planting salt tolerant grasses and alfalfa for a salinity barrier. A salinity barrier would at least help stop the spread of the salinity.

[ajl]

I think you have solonetzic land which is an imbalance between the amount of sodium and calcium in the soil. It is common in this area and people here call it gumbo. That word has different meaning in different areas. Deep plowing and ripping have been tried with only small amounts of success. Some types of grasses will grow through these areas but not great. For the most part there is not much you can do but not dumping inputs into it would help.

[bluefargo]

The thing is in a saline area you have tonnes of various salts per acre. Somehow you have to flush them down below the root zone - not easy in waterlogged areas.

[sumdumguy]

We plant Canaryseed in the alkali spots.

[GDR]

High applications of manure have helped here, still tacky and pulls hard in spring but grows decent crop now and doesn't get so hard as it drys out.
I think big problem is lack of fibre in soil and doesnt let water penetrate. Problem gets compounded over years of little or no crop and no straw in those areas. As others have mentioned something with good roots to help break up compaction and add OM like Alfalfa

[Robertbarlage]

canary seed will actually grow in that shit?

[sumdumguy]

Not bad, canaryseed did ok.