So, you've limed once since adopting this method? How long have you been doing this method? How long had it been since the last liming? I may have missed it, but how many tons did you add? How much fertilizer do you put out when you plant?
I started planting this field as a plot around 6-7 years ago. When I first started planting the field I had it tested and the pH was 6.9. The field had never been limed that I know of. It was an old pasture that hadn't been used in a number of years. The reason the pH showed that high is because over the years a layer of OM had built up across the top horizon of soil from all the weeds/grasses and it had a higher holding capacity in that upper horizon. Same as what you see in my last photo. As the plants died and decomposed each year, they recycled the Ca into that top horizon and it was held in higher concentrations there. What I didn't realize at the time, was that when you got down into the soil below the level that the OM was having an effect, then the pH dropped to 5.1....I know this because I just had a test ran on my subsoil.
Well, I came along and started breaking the old field up and killing out all of the bermuda grass. In doing so, I began to burn up all of that OM that had built up in the pasture. My pH began dropping as well because my holding capacity for Ca was dropping. Another way to think about it is that Ca is no longer as concentrated in the soil. After a few years, my pH had dropped from 6.9 to 5.1. Ca levels had fallen from 1100 lbs per acre down to 300 lbs..It was void of OM and therefore had no holding capacity for the Ca.
I began turning my soil around a few years ago by rebuilding the OM. I purposely went through an extra growing season with a pH in the low 5's because I knew the rye and crabgrass would still grow. Again, I wanted to build up plenty of OM before bringing in Ca by the ton. The past spring I brought in 2 tons/ac....When I sent in my test this year it showed my pH already coming up from 5.1 to 5.9.... It had only been a few months so we'll see how the spring test looks. Once I get my pH back up, I won't be bringing in large amounts of lime for the purpose of getting my pH out of the gutter. The dark soil you see in my picture is able to hold it and recycle it the same as it had been doing when I first started.
Short answer on fert....I put out 50 lbs of 34-0-0 at planting.
Let me stop there for now because I'm about to go hunting. My hunting club is ironically to the south of me but still in the north zone so season is still open.
