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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

Bill, as usual, you are putting your motives on other people.  I didn't 
search the net, I LIVED in Sonoma County for 30 years.  I *personally* know 
about Purple Dirt.  It has nothing to do with YOUR internet searches.  It is 
called that by the local, as I clearly stated.  The reason they call it 
Purple Dirt is because that is what the color looks like in the sun in the 
summer.

And even though you are a total twit and, as clearly shown by Bev's posts, 
unable to remember what you have and haven't posted and what and who has 
responded to them, I will continue to be a better and more caring person 
than you, ie. be careful in Mendocino County.  Severe ice warnings on the 
roads and lots of black ice in the northern half.  The ice may not clear 
during the day.  It hasn't in the last few days.

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Jones" <billj AT harborside.com>


> I searched online for "purple dirt" and found several types, one formed
> from amethyst mine trailings, one formed from silver mine trailings, and
> another: soil contaminated with benzene.  None of these sounds like
> yours.  Anything is possible on a tiny scale somewhere.  Somewhere in
> Utah, there's a soil that's blue from vanadyl sulfate, for example,
> where the predominant mineral matter is vanadium-based.  But how common
> or relevant is that?
>
> If you knew a little chemistry, you could predict the possibilities
> without having to search the Internet for ad hoc examples.
>
> There are only three reasons I can think of, but maybe Bev has another.
>
> 1.  Young soils haven't had the time to have their supply of alkaline
> metals leached out.
>
> 2.  There are heavier, less common alkali metals.  No CRC Manual with
> me, of course, but I'll bet some might have not-so-soluble compounds
> that can't leach as readily.
>
> 3.  The most likely cause is ammonium ions resulting from the anaerobic
> breakdown of nitrogenous material, thus this "muck" you spoke of.  This
> is "unstable" alkalinity, because the moment you aerate such a soil, a
> different set of bacteria take over, converting the ammonium cations to
> nitrite and nitrate anions.
>
> Mind you, I'm no expert on soil science, as if anyone _really_ were.  I
> just happen to know that there are only so many types of positive ions,
> and it's easy to go through the possibilities systematically.
>
> Incidentally, we decided to leave tomorrow (Friday), and spend two
> glorious nights in San Francisco, hopefully at the Lone Star Saloon,
> then travel up the coast the rest of the way on a fairly rainless
> Sunday, up north.  Screw those Siskiyous.  I don't mind driving on the
> _inside_ lane up the coast. :)
>
> Bill
> S. Oregon coast
>
> Lynda wrote:
>
> > Not necessarily.  Bodega gets an average yearly rainfall of over 55 
> > inches.
> > Purple Dirt tests off the charts alkali.
> >
> > Lynda
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Bill Jones" <billj AT harborside.com>
> >
> >
> >
> > > snip<
> > >
> > >
> > > Of course.  But take away the plastic sheet from the greenhouse, and
> > > after one year of leaching with  60" of rain, the alkaline deposits will
> > > be gone, obviously.  It should be obvious to anyone that there is indeed
> > > a relationship between pH and rainfall levels.
> >
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