Overlooked? Compaction & Herbicides in Hop Yards

Here are a couple subjects I found that are seldom discussed in articles and forums. I think they can impact your success growing hops.

Poor subsoil conditions.   Have you done a compaction/perk test? Take a shovel or a post hole digger and walk your site.  Dig or auger a series of holes a minimum of 2 feet deep across the site.  Check for orange iron banding in the soil which could indicate a seasonally high water table. Do the holes fill up with water? If they do, you may have to install drain tile or sockpipe. Also, note any "hardpan" - soil layers that are so compacted that roots can't penetrate. (If you have difficulty digging through the soil, imagine a plant trying to put a root down into it.)  Hardpan is really common in agricultural land that has been field-cropped with tractors for many years. 

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