Soil test results...now what ??

[oldnslow]

Hi !

I'm a box of rocks so any help will be sincerely appreciated.

A little background. Location just outside of Houston Tx. Zone 9

Hot and humid summers and as most folks knows very dry the past few years.

I have a chance to run a half dozen or so cows the first part of next year.

The pasture is in bad shape, hard pack sand and clay, mostly nut grass (nut sedge) a little Bermuda grass and st Augustine grass oh and bare ground.

I'm going to attach my soil test and hope to get some of y'alls input.

I don't need lime but i do need nitrogen. What can I broadcast that will help build it up? clover , cow peas?

Should I till up or plant something to breakup the soil?

Thanks

[Miss Kay]

Actually I think it looks pretty good. We are in south Texas and with the heat here, the nitrogen doesn't last long so that always comes back low. It really depends on how you want to deal with it. We wanted to go about it slowly and a more organic way so we didn't use commercial fertilizer. We have Bermuda grass and it does great for us but it loves nitrogen. If you want something natural, blood meal is great but expensive. Here's what we did. We mowed it to get rid of any weeds and brush. Then added cows and horses grazing with loose minerals and a sulfur block. During the winter we fed hay and all the feed we gave them eventually ended up on the soil. The more feed you bring in on the property, the more organic matter you add to the soil. Over time, we noticed clover started growing all on its own. We mow a couple times a year and that helps build organic matter (roots die and regrow). Our pasture has improved yearly and we never bought commercial fertilizer. If you want to speed this up, rotate grazing.

[oldnslow]

Thanks

Should I spray roundup on the nut grass or just mow it down?

Should I disc up the ground or just leave it as is?

Maybe in Sept or so broadcast ryegrass and red clover?

[bigearl42]

I would kill the St. Augustine with round up or the generic and then mow the nut grass. plant the rye grass and clover in the late summer.

[oldnslow]

I was told my "clover" may take awhile to produce any nitrogen.

I may be able to get some chicken litter for a decent price.

How many tons do y'all think I may need?

[bigearl42]

the ratio is about 1:5:1 so be careful with the phosphorus so a ton to the acre is 20 lbs of actual nitrogen 100lbs of phosphorus and 20 lbs of potassium

[G. Seddon]

If you have an agricultural extension service in your area, take the report to them and they will advise you on what to apply and how much to apply.