How to tell when aSubsoiler is needed???

And, when is the best time to Subsoil a field??

What tips can anybody offer on SubSoiling.

Thanks.

Sorry my e-mail is not working.

I use a subsoiler every other year on my bottomland pasture and garden, and it makes the land much more productive and allows me to plant several weeks earlier.

In my case, I subsoil usually in fall, forming a fan-shape, with the narrow part going into a drainage culvert. Soil shouldn't be wet, but I don't like it dry either. The idea is to cut drainage paths through the clay, and semi-moist soil seems to work best for this. I've read and believe that the small share at the bottom of the subsoiler actually forms a small pipe-shaped "hole" in the clay that helps funnel water away. At any rate, doing it damp works well for me. After subsoiling, I'll disk or prepare the soil as normal but the effect on the drainage remains.

good luck,
Tom

I can't find my magazine right now but I have and article here somewhere that Iowa state did many moons ago.

They built a subsoiling bullet and pulled it thru at about 2' depth.

It lasted up to 6 and 8 years in heavy clay and performed as well as tiling the same fields for drainage.

It's needed on soils that compact - too wet, clay, heavy traffic.

A subsoiler shatters that hardpan layer into lumps, so it needs to be dry, & it is better if you are driving kinda fast. Subsoiling very wet ground is self-defeating, often just making deep bands of hardpan! Sandy or light soils don't need it. You want too much hp, so you do a good job. Having too small a tractor on a big subsoiler, & a person goes too shallow and you've done nothing but waste some fuel.

Use a backhoe or shovel, dig down 2 feet, see if there is a layer of hard compressed dirt just below the normal plowing depth, about 2-3" thick. Your subsoiler needs to go deeper than that, & busts up that layer like busting up a piecrust on a pie.

This is general info, some local conditions are very different, so don't yell if this does not apply to you! I know some areas of California they subsoil 4 feet deep, etc...

--->Paul

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