Improving orchard soil

Hello,

I have a small orchard at our farm that has 21 trees and I am looking to improve the soil.  The farm is land locked with only an easement road so supplies are limited.  
I am thinking of acquiring some horse manure from my neighbor and putting it down first.  We have a couple of bales of 2-3 year old alfalfa hay that I am thinking of tearing down and using that to cover the manure with.  I would then like to establish clover in the main rows to minimize mowing and attract insects.  Once it warms up I will then plant some perennials in the mulch rows to attract beneficials.  

Is this enough to really improve the soil?  Is there anything I am missing?

I appreciate any feedback or advice.

Thanks.

Without knowing what sort of soil you have, whether it is abundant or lacking in particular minerals, I couldn't say whether the treatment you are planning will be enough.  
Do your orchard trees show signs of deficiencies, like diseases or lack of quality fruit?  

The Horse manure, if it is from your area, will probably provide the same sorts of minerals that are in your soil already...
If you are seeing signs of some deficiency that is a mineral not prevalent in your soil, the horse manure might not help with that.
Though of course, the manure will be providing nitrogen and other food-value for the trees.  

I live in a climate where the winter rains wash out a lot of the minerals from the soil, leaving it rather acidic generally.
However, I do very little feeding of my orchard - aside from chop and drop mulching.  
I get a lot of fruit, though I'll bet I could maximize production with getting them all of the trace minerals they crave.
I have spread minor amounts of Azomite mineral dust a couple of times, but not as a regular practice.

I think your plan sounds good, but if you see signs of deficiencies - perhaps more amendments are in order.

I have been using ideas from Dr.Redhawk.  Clover, Turnip, Tillage Radish. I also add mustard since it grows so well here in the spring and fall.

Companion planting with non-grass species (chop/drop, herbal leys, berries and other perennial food crops) is a time-tested orchard management method and adds to the yields you get from the space. Depending on how the trees are laid out in terms of spacing, you can look at the techniques of syntropic agroforestry...there are some good threads on here discussing the topic.

And for simplicity, you can't go wrong with wood chip mulch. If you make or have access to biochar, that's another thing that will give long-term benefits. I like to top-dress around my trees with biochar and put a layer of mulch over that, then let the worms and fungi do all the work.

Link to Dr Redawk's soil series HERE.

Any organic matter that you can add as mulch will break down and improve the soil.

Collect bagged leaf from curbs in town in the fall.

Small twigs and tree limps from trimming tress and other plants.

Cosider growing mushrooms.

Wood ash is often recommended for fruit trees, I have used some, but not systematically enough personally to be able to give any specific insights. Hasn't done any harm anyway, and I assume ash contains minerals trees want - but climate, soil type and tree species are sure to be huge variables that make random anecdotes from all over the world nearly useless..

With your previously explained limitations when it comes to the plot, I believe you have a decent plan to start improving the soil with what you have set out. I do cation you that if the horse manure is not hot composted that you may have some unintended seeds germinate that may have traveled through the horse's digestive system intact. This being a orchard, it probably is not as big of a deal compared to something like a veggie plot. Adding organic matter, to me, is a broad cure-all when it comes to soil issues.

Do you have any issues with your orchard trees currently or are they fairing well?

If I may ask, where are you located? I have tried to establish clovers where I live in Upstate NY and have found they are good for a few years before something tries to succeed them. This doesn't mean you won't have success but something to anticipate may happen.

I appreciate all of the feedback and tips so far!

To add some context and answer a few questions,  the site is in west central Illinois, the area is a CRP pasture, below is the soil test from last year.  The only issues I have had so far is woody apple aphid but those seem to be under control now.  This will be the 4th season for the trees and only a couple started producing last year.  

PH 5.5
Phosphorus 41.0 lbs/A  Low
Potassium 270lbs/A   High
Calcium  2736 lbs/A  Low
Magnesium  341 lbs/A  High

Organic Matter 2.4%
Cation Exch  11.1 meq/100g

Your calcium to magnesium ratio is about 8 to 1, the standard ideal is about 6 to 1 (Albrecht Method), so I would not consider magnesium high. Certain soils do not test accurately with some testing methods I have found. Might be long standing soil labs with good credentials but my higher pH soil did not test at all accurately, so I switched soil labs. Plant tissue tests are far more valuable in finding out what your soil has to offer or does not. Every renowned soil consultant says to test plant tissue to find out what is in the plant and available from your soil. We have a Sweet 16 apple tree here that I feel got some chemical drift a few years ago. It had regular leaves and some smaller leaves and not many blossoms or apples. I have been giving it plenty of water in dry years so I think I can rule water out. What I did was a balanced fertilization including chicken pellets, gypsum, a mix of what I call soil life starter fertilizer and Soil Biological. This past summer the Sweet 16 had a very nice crop of large apples, enough for friends, family and the local food pantry. My TLC appears to have brought the tree back to a productive state, I think. No more chemicals on this farm so these mysterious tree maladies are over, I hope.

Not a soil expert but your Ca to Mg ratio might suggest some dolomite limestone to raise somewhat your soil pH and bring the ratio closer to the ideal.

If even one micro-nutrient is lacking things can be off even if everything else seems perfect. Unless I know I'm not lacking minerals I will do a dusting of a tested, paramagnetic rock dust of basalt or granite or both along with some biochar. Much less than whatever is recommended but enough to at least know there is some of everything needed in the soil. If I think it's dead dirt from chem-ferts or cides , I will add life back to it and nurture that life with chop and drop and no more chemag products. Then wait and watch and let nature rule.