Checks out… They are all a bunch of morons in Appalachia.
What to do after soil is disturbed:
1: Organic matter based fertilizers like compost or manure are the first thing you add. Do a full variable soil sampling procedure to determine the needs of the soil. Sample at 1m, 0.5m snd 0.25m. Apply micros based upon the test results.
2: Apply gypsum or lime to stabilize the pH.
- Plant cover crops with deep root systems to stabilize the soil like triticale or cereal rye. Blend in a legume like and annual clover to build up nitrogen levels.
4: After terminating the first cover crop, seed in another cover crop with high C-N ratio like sorghum/sudan.
Repeat steps 1-4 until soil samples indicate nutrient levels are stabllized and rebuilt.
Finish by seeding a biogumigant oriental mustard or arugula cover crop with high glucosinolates.
Then plant your crop be sure to add in some humic acids. Be prepared for bumper crops for 3-4 years.
What this process does:
Manure + compost = triggers a burst of microbial activity in the soil plus adds nutrients.
Micronutrients= you are always going to be missing something using compost and manure. adding in some micros based upon testing will help spike the plant growth and microbial growth as well.
Gypsum or lime = makes the nutrients available by balancing the pH.
Deep rooted cover crop- creates pores in the soil for water and air to move. Feeds the microbial community.
Legume - in nature these are early establishers after a fire or flood etc. They produce the most N when in stressful nutrient deficient conditions. They also tend to have fibrous small roots ideal for pore formation.
High C:N ratio cover crop. These build the holding capacity of the soil for nutrients. Prevents leaching of N and P between rotations.
Biofumigation: One of the side effects of dumping organic matter in to the soil is the build up of some pathogenic species (pythium, phytophera, etc). Knocking them down with biofumigation will give the new planting a chance to establish.
Humic acids- holds nutrients in an available state in the soil.
Thank you. I had no idea the state of the art is so advanced.
Did you read the article? What if the soil is just gone, or replaced by sand?
Dumping manure on loam or sand isn’t going to do shit, and there’s definitely no single solution for all affected (and everyone who does it differently isn’t “a bunch of morons”) like you make it sound.Yes I read the article which is why I am referring to the extension agents who don’t understand farming disturbed soils as morons. It’s only one of the most research subjects around.
"None of us had ever seen anything like this before or responded to an emergency like that,” said Stephanie Kulesza, a nutrient and soil scientist at North Carolina State University. “And so we weren’t really prepared for recommendations to provide to producers.”
Floods happen around the world all the time. They are getting more severe as time goes on. The methods of how repair to disturbed soils are well established: Add in organic matter, balance out the nutrition/pH, and encourage microbial activity. The extension agent needs to read a a few papers.
FYI all that adding in manure and compost does is speed up the recovery process by 10-20 years. You know little things.