Dry subsoil

For many vegetable regions there is a risk of low subsoil moisture coming out of a dry winter.

Get your spade out and take a look at how much moisture is in your subsoil.

If it’s dry:

  • think about starting or increasing irrigation early, especially if using center pivots/lateral moves or if your irrigation system runs near capacity during peak requirements. Subsoil moisture is important as it helps cover you during peak crop water use periods or when you get behind with irrigations. If you have a dry subsoil you lose that “insurance”.
  • think about terminating any cover crops early to reduce subsoil dry down.

If it’s wet:

  • use your cover crop to dry down the soil to allow cultivation at the right soil moisture level.