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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: <pbunch@cox.net>
  • To: livingontheland <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Local Soils
  • Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 11:06:39 -0700

I just found an article describing the soils in our area. They are derived
from volcanic ash deposited between +20,000 and 10,000 years ago. Both the
surface and subsoil is considered to be very low in nutrients and the subsoil
nutrients are extremely low while the clay content is high. Contrary to what
I though these soils are considered to be very low in phosphorus. The organic
matter content in the surface layer is +13% and very low in the subsoil. The
organic matter in surface layer is so high it stains your fingers brown when
handing wet material. In the A horizon the percent clay is around 13.2 with a
pH about 5.8. They are considered to be very resistant to erosion and highly
leached.

Perhaps as suggested the organic matter derived from cut vegetation will
supply enough of the trace minerals but since the native vegetation is
adapted to low mineral content it may not hold much. The author speculates
that the original forests contained virtually all of the minerals in the
biotic component and recycled them as occurs over laterites in the Amazon
basin. Once the nutrients were released by cutting they went down stream fast
and will be very slow to return. So much for using deep rooted mineral
"miners." I think it will be necessary to increase the pH and calcium with
some lime. I am going to have to find some source for other minerals. With
amendment, a no-till system may approximate the original forests ability to
maintain nutrients in the root zone and vegetation.

Oh well...





  • [Livingontheland] Local Soils, pbunch, 09/26/2010

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