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Having grown up around farming, I have seen firsthand the effects of leaving farmland fallow. Fallow land is land that is left alone, supposedly to help regenerate after farming, this is not a very good way to improve soil. Soil quality can actually become worse if left unattended, due to erosion and heavy-rooted weeds and grasses.

Allowing farmland to lay fallow has some benefit, however crop rotation is proving to be a much better way to regenerate soil. Farming techniques that don't add proper nutrients to the growing crop will eventually lead to the decimation of the soil. In this case, the benefits of fallowing are more substantial, allowing the soil to rest for a period of years.

On the other hand, the practice of crop rotation is a far better way to increase the nitrogen in a depleted parcel of land. This is simply the practice of not planting the same crop in the same place from year to year. For example, you plant clover or other nitrogen rich crops instead, and plow them under, allowing for decomposition to release the nitrogen into the soil.

I plant the same dirt that my grandfather planted back in the 1930's. Every fall I plant a cover crop of beans or clover, and after maturity, I plow them into the soil. I also use a lot of newspaper and wheat and rye straw as mulch, and this too gets plowed into the earth. I also add granular fertilizer and crushed limestone as needed for nutrients and Ph balance.

If you are going to fallow land, you might consider putting livestock on it to help with fertilization. Also, you need to control weeds and brush, these can seriously deplete nutrients. In my opinion it is better just to continue planting than it is to improperly fallow land.

Learn more about this author, Marty Alan McGill.
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