We have land in NW Wisconsin around the Danbury area that has some pretty sandy soil. Has anyone else had experience or would be able to give some insight/recommendations on what would grow in this soil?
I have heard clover and possible radish but thought I would ask the question.
Some clovers are drought resistant, but to a point. To be honest though come August nothing is that drought tolerant and your clover will go dormant. Best bet with sandy soil in my opinion is plant winter rye back to back for a couple years to get some organic matter in that sandy soil. Then you can try with some white clover like Ladino or Dutch.
If the soil does hold “some” moisture you could sew clover seed in with the rye in the middle of August and see if the clover comes up well in the spring. Then just mow off the rye next July and you will have a nice clover plot.
The key is how sandy is your soil really? “Sandy” is a scale from X percentage of sand to 100% sand. Have you had a soil sample done?
As Sticker says, if you have enough other soil components to hold some water, you may have good options. If you have almost “beach sand” soil, you’re going to have very few options.
I would agree with trying to use rye to build up the organic matter. I would also look at using a mow-n-throw technique to keep the thatch on top and preserve moisture.
Also, I would suggest trying to late summer plant clover or an alfalfa mix and then use a nurse crop of rye or oats to provide shade. Timing is going to be critical, you obviously only want to late summer plant if you are getting regular rain. If it’s a drought or dry, don’t plant.
Without a soil sample rating the % of sand, it’s tough. There are a lot of things you “could” try, but it’s shooting in the dark at this point without knowing how much sand is in your “sandy” soil.
Grouse
Thank you! I will get the soil checked and see what I will have for options hopefully we can get something to hold.
how large of an area and how accessible is it? My cousin’s place near Necedah is just one massive sand box. BUT a neighboring farmer is in need of a place to spread manure, and that worked awesome for him. He bought a crap load of straw and mulched it, then been dumping manure on it for the last couple years. I was impressed on going from a desert to growing a couple very nice plots. He’s still kind of limited in what he can grow. But what will grow does very well
It’s just shy of 10 acres with private on two sides and state on the other. We have a trail we can drive trucks down that goes right back to the spot which is where we keep our bear dogs so it is pretty accessible. Ill have to check around we don’t have too many farms near by up there.
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