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  • From: Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Test
  • Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 02:34:12 -0800

Lynda wrote:

I'm in a drought area which is different than a desert area.

The acidity or alkali nature of an area is determined by what was there, what is there and what the water brings and what the water leaves behind. I'm knee deep in Doug Fir and Ponderosa pines and about 6 types of oak. Very acid area.


But this is not innate acidity, which is caused when there are no alkali metals to counterbalance the aluminate anions that form in clay soil.

Head on down to Sonoma County, over between the Russian River and Bodega Bay
and you'll find a place locally called Purple Dirt. Tons of rain during
part of the year and then absolutely no moisture the balance of the year.
As the soil dries out each year it accumulates more and more salts. You
can't get much more alkali.


That describes our weather perfectly, but our soil is acidic, as rainy areas tend to be (well documented). There must be another explanation. Is that soil low lying and poorly drained? That's consistent with anaerobic decomposition of nitrogenous materials. Water would have to drain away for it to lose alkaline cations. Otherwise there's no place for alkaline compounds to escape to, like the low spots in the greenhouse.

BTW, the most interesting thing I ever read about blueberries is that their roots are specializedto the point that they cannot absorb nitrates, only ammonium ions, which is consistent with the anaerobic environments where they grow. So fertilize accordingly, should you use chemical fertilizers.

Bill
S. Oregon coast




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