Salty Soil in Hay Fields

[spav1]

Our hay fields in Colorado are sub irrigated with a water table fairly close to the surface. There are a couple of area in the fields where the water table will "push" up some Salt to the surface. When this happens you can obviously see the white salt on the surface and it is really hard to get anything to grow in these areas. I have tried discing, adding compost, and re planting with an Alkaline seed mix. This didn't work Now I just applied a product called "liquid Chisel" which is supposed to dissolve the salt and put back into solution for the soil and reduce the salt ratio ( I have my doubts). The last option I can think of is to take off about 6-8 inches of the top layer and replace with "new" top soil just to get the grass established and see if that will work. (I have my doubts about that as well-because new salt will probably push back up to surface next spring when water table moves like it always does).
Anyone else have any similar problems with other solutions?

Sean

 

[ruffdog]

Interesting....I have relatives that live out there and I know those Russian Olive trees grow everywhere (salt tolerant plant). Your compost and fertilizer may actually be high in salt too and should be tested. Here is good info:

https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/224.pdf

 

[5030]

Personally. I think you are screwed unless you have a very large wallet.

 

[jyoutz]

Alkalinity is usually treated by applying sulfur. If it’s an alkaline salt, you might check with cooperative extension about this.

 

[spav1]

Thanks for the input. Good news, this only effects a small are of our fields and we still get nice yields. I am just tired of looking at it and fighting the Kocia weeds that actually like the salty soils. We work hard, so I am sure we'll get it dialed in eventually. More rain would sure help.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

hmmm.... you have what we caall around the coffee shop table "problem soil". We see it from time to time especially in areas with high water tables. Artisian wells in the area sometimes are indicator. From the pic fair to guess it is excess saline coming to the surface. A soil test could confirm but I wouldn't spend the money.

Often they are low lying places in the field where drainage likely poor. You can confirm by testing if the white area is more compacted than the areas around that arn't white. Can do this with a metal rod or re-bar or similar and stick in the ground a couple of feet and see if white areas feel different than green areas. Compacted soil is indicator of high water table leaching saline.

You could try to improve drainage so water does not pool in this area, add organic matter, add some gypsum (think ground up drywall) pump water onto the spots to leach out saline, etc.... BUT all take time and money of course. Sometimes takes lots of time and lots of money.

Around me cause land is pretty cheap and not a cosmetic thing like a lawn we would just let it be with maybe doing some minimal grading by cutting some shallow trench drains if easy enough to do. Channel dirt could go onto low areas??

 

[jyoutz]

hmmm.... you have what we caall around the coffee shop table "problem soil". We see it from time to time especially in areas with high water tables. Artisian wells in the area sometimes are indicator. From the pic fair to guess it is excess saline coming to the surface. A soil test could confirm but I wouldn't spend the money.

Often they are low lying places in the field where drainage likely poor. You can confirm by testing if the white area is more compacted than the areas around that arn't white. Can do this with a metal rod or re-bar or similar and stick in the ground a couple of feet and see if white areas feel different than green areas. Compacted soil is indicator of high water table leaching saline.

You could try to improve drainage so water does not pool in this area, add organic matter, add some gypsum (think ground up drywall) pump water onto the spots to leach out saline, etc.... BUT all take time and money of course. Sometimes takes lots of time and lots of money.

Around me cause land is pretty cheap and not a cosmetic thing like a lawn we would just let it be with maybe doing some minimal grading by cutting some shallow trench drains if easy enough to do. Channel dirt could go onto low areas??

Gypsum would increase alkalinity; something that sure isn’t needed in western soils. Increasing acidity would be the focus for amendments (if warranted).

 

[LouNY]

If there is cheese plant close by you might be able to get a couple of tanker loads of whey and pour on these spots.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

Gypsum would increase alkalinity; something that sure isn’t needed in western soils. Increasing acidity would be the focus for amendments (if warranted).

agronomists though recommend gypsum though not to change the ph but rather its added to improve soil permability (decrease the crusting/hardness of ground)

always best to ask professional agrologists as lots of stuff could be at play.

cheers

 

[Hay Dude]

Can’t say I’ve ever seen that before. My vote would be take a loader bucket and scrape off 10-12” with the salt and replace with topsoil, but one would have to assume it’s going to pump back up through the soil up to the surface again.

 

[redman135]

That looks like salt burn. I don't think you can get rid of it easily. Salt burn is a significant problem in the grain belt in West Australia (5000 acres farm and 2000 unusable due to salt).
The way they work around the problem in West Australia is to install drainage to keeep the water table below plant root depth so you can still use the land.
Salt on the surface is caused by a high water table like you describe.

 

[Egon]

Alkaline soil. Get it tested and follow recommended procedures.

 

[bigtiller]

I remember seeing this problem on an episode of Ag PhD with brothers Brian and Darren Hefty, farmers in the Sioux Falls South Dakota area.

It requires a long term fix that begins with pattern tiling the area with lots of tile. The water table must be lowered to begin addressing the problem.

After that, it was soil sampling and amending for several years to erase the problem that most likely began decades ago.

That's what I remember about the show. I have no practical experience.

 

[ghfsgagef]

Dealing with salt-affected areas in your hay fields can be a complex and challenging task. Despite trying various methods to address the issue, the water table's proximity continues to bring salt to the surface, making it difficult for grass to thrive in these areas. While applying "liquid Chisel" aims to reduce the salt ratio, you have doubts about its effectiveness. Considering the persistence of the problem, the option of removing the top layer of soil and replacing it with touchcric live fresh topsoil may provide a temporary solution, but the issue could resurface with the water table's fluctuation.