Why Exposed Soil Fails: The “Sunday Soil” Problem Explained

Why Exposed Soil Fails: The “Sunday Soil” Problem Explained

it’s Monday and there’s a new video on the farm learning channel Yes this is a new thing It’s a brand new series and it’s brought to you by the team at Ryo Ryzo is an online platform that offers some free and some subscription advice for people wanting to implement regenerative farming practices in their enterprise but who need a little bit of guidance perhaps or not quite sure where to start Ryo has you covered Now we’re going to be interviewing a host of people with expertise in various areas of farming and they’ll be short bite-size and easy to digest If you like this kind of thing hit the subscribe button hit the bell notification so you don’t miss out on a Monday video and we’ll see you soon Today’s video the first of them features Phil from Ryzo and he’s going to be popping up occasionally on the channel as well Good day I’m Phil Mulvy on the Farm Learning Channel I’m here on Colin Siz’s farm at his invitation and I’ve really enjoyed walking around having a look But there’s a few things I’d like to talk to you about Have you heard of Sunday soil now Sunday soil is a term to use that when it rains on Friday or Saturday it’s too wet to actually work You have Sunday off but the time you get to Monday it’s too dry to work because it blows This is because it’s got no organic matter So it’s known as a Sunday soil This soil years ago would have been prone to being a Sunday soil And I’ve got two things here You know I like digging holes So I got a hole dug with a bit of material laid out for the top 150 to 200 mil But next to it over here I’ve got material that was turned over 3 weeks ago and has been subject to sunshine and a lot of oxidation Now we can see with this material you can hear the sand and you can see that it unlike the other soils we’ve looked at in some of the other videos It’s almost got very little clay no silt and there is a lot of 2 to 3 mil aggregate in it It’s on a perian sandstone to to conglomerate and it is very very difficult soil to manage Colin’s done a fantastic job Now let’s have a look at what happens when it dries and you don’t have the litter on top and you don’t have the organic matter helping to protect that soil from the sun And you can see the legum species and there is a couple of worms in here You can see the litter sitting across So you can see that’s the protection You can see some the moths But if we come over to this one that’s been exposed it falls apart in my hands And you can see it’s blowing with just a tiny bit of work And you can see the aggregates in it I know for a fact because I was born not far from here is this material in the 60s not this property had huge gully erosion and was a major problem And the engineering solutions of contour plowing contour banks really didn’t do a lot because it didn’t address the issue of having to cover the soil to protect it and to ensure organic matter builds up But the organic matter buildup can be difficult and long Even on Collins’s property now as you can see it’s got aggregation at the top and it’s looking pretty good But that’s taken a while to get there But it’s only taken 3 weeks of exposure to sunshine to totally lose lose all that through mineralization If you’ve got sandy fragile soils keep them covered with both litter and plants And be aware that any full plowing particularly if it’s exposed for more than a couple of weeks will run the risk of mineralizing that organic cover and having the soil erode or blow If you found this video useful please refer it to your friends And if you really like this and others make sure you press that button down the bottom to subscribe

How can we restore fragile, sandy soils and stop erosion in its tracks?
In this debut episode of Digging Deeper, Tim Thompson visits Colin Seis’s farm to talk with Phil Mulvey from Ryzo. Phil breaks down what “Sunday Soil” really means — and what it tells us about a property’s health.

✔️ How to identify degraded sandy soils
✔️ What happens when soil is left bare
✔️ Why organic matter is the foundation of resilience

If you’re working with dryland pastures or eroded blocks, this is essential listening.

🧠 More interviews: [Insert Playlist Link]

📍 Filmed near Gulgong, NSW
🎙️ Guest: Phil Mulvey – CEO of Ryzo, Environmental Soil Scientist

🔗 Related Videos:
🔸 Sunday Soil Explained on Colin Seis’s Farm
🔸 Regenerative Grazing at Etiwanda Station

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👉 https://www.youtube.com/@farmlearning

#SoilHealth #RegenerativeAgriculture #SustainableFarming #FarmLearning #SundaySoil

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0:00 – New Monday Video Series on Farm Learning
0:11 – Introducing Ryzo: Free & Subscription Regenerative Farming Advice
0:28 – What to Expect from the New Series
0:46 – Meet Phil Mulvey from Ryzo on Colin Seis’s Farm
1:06 – What Is “Sunday Soil”?
1:28 – Soil Comparison: Organic Matter vs. Bare Exposure
2:00 – Sandy Soils and Aggregates: A Closer Look
2:28 – Challenges of Managing Perian Sandstone Soils
2:40 – Soil Protection: Litter, Worms, and Legumes
2:56 – What Happens When Soil Is Left Exposed
3:16 – Erosion History and Failed Contour Plowing Solutions
3:36 – Building Organic Matter: Time vs. Sun Exposure
4:01 – Best Practice: Keep Sandy Soils Covered
4:13 – The Risks of Plowing Without Ground Cover
4:19 – Final Thoughts & Subscribe for More Regenerative Tips