OD & Adrian, Thanks for the replies!
OD:
Those nutrient values are the range of lbs/acre equivalents of what is actually in the soil at 8 survey points. Unfortunately the results did not include organic matter. Based on my handling of the soil, I would guess that it has somewhat poor structure and lower organic matter. The soils drys out quickly and so far I haven't seen a single earth worm while working with the soil, only mole crickets. The soil is loamy sand. To answer your other questions. The land has only been mowed, not hayed. We only have a mower, no tractor. A vegetable\herb\medicinal garden will probably be the first priority followed by a milk cow, goats, hay, and some grains. The margins of our planted pine host a variety of natives which I hope to expand along with thinning. Some fruit and nut producing trees will also be part of the plan.
Right now I feel like the mixture of weeds, especially low ground covers like chamberbitter are doing little to improve the soils. We're currently mowing with a blade height of something like 5" which doesn't even cut a lot of them. I read that some cover crops could possibly be directed seeded after a closer mowing perhaps I could try that or just start sheet mulching an even smaller area? Perhaps I could make use of all the pine straw and future pine chips for mulch or hugel mounds if it's just going to sit there a while...
Adriaan: Thanks for the link. I'll check out cereal rye and crimson clover. A mix of species might be nice.
Everyone: So the use of a reseeding cover crop might not be such a bad idea over at least some of the area? Any votes for beneficial perennials?
Thanks again!!!
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