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["Robert Walton" <waltonrp AT gmail.com>]

Here is the project. I have about 2 acres that has been fallow for
years. I've had it 4 years and bushhogged it off each year. Before
that there were maybe 4 or 5 year old pines on it, it was cropland
before that.  There were brambles, honeysuckle, weeds, saplings,
grasses, etc growing there. Soil test a couple of years ago shows it
is acid (5.2), low in all nutrients. I plowed it up this spring,
planted oats in March on part of it and Buckwheat mid April on the
other. The oats and buckwheat are growing, but poor as expected.

I plan to disk up this land soon and I'm planting buckwheat and
cowpeas for summer cover/green manure. About the end of August, I'd
like to plant another round of buckwheat and then rye/vetch/crimson
clover in October. I'll try to have lime spread in August. I'm hoping
that a good disking will be enough tilling to kill the cover crop and
knock back weeds and brambles. If the weeds are really bad in the
fall, I'll plow.

My main goals this year are to build some fertility and to get some
control over the brambles. I want to crop this land next year, corn
mostly.

It would be great if I could fertilize this land before the next crop.
Natural and chemical fertilizers are high priced.

Option 1 chemical: 500# of 10-10-10 an acre would be a real modest
application. It's about $126 an acre

Option 2 natural: 1 ton of rock phosphate is $450. A ton of Greendsand is $460

Spending $1000 an acre is a big, big investment. I realize that the
two options are not Apples to Apples, because the rock phosphate is
going to last several years. The greensand is going to aid the clay
soil.

I'm probably stuck with the chemical option, the vendor is closer and
I don't think I can swing $2000 to amend the soil on these two acres
(In addition to lime). What I need is some basic nutrients so that the
green manures can grow for me.

Has anyone used rock phosphate, greensand or other amendments on acre
or larger plots? How much did you apply, what did you find the results
to be? Are these prices in range?

I'd sure like to go organic from the get go here, but I just don't see
it as practical. I'm thinking that if I can get a bit of fertility in
the soil, I can build on that by liming and green manures and end up
with a workable field.

Rob - Va