North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

Bill and all,
   Yes, sandy soil has a low CEC because it is basically inert, the silica 
can't absorb or hold nutrients.  Western clays have a very high CEC because 
they have layers that not only attract cations to their surface, but adsorb 
them in between layers.  Eastern clays have had many of these binding sites 
filled by hydrogen, and have a much reduced adsorption capacity, mostly they 
just absorb.  Cations are alkaline ions, and the best ratio to have in your 
soil is something like 70% Ca, 15% Mg, 5% K and under 1% Na.  (Don't quote 
me on this, my book's still out on loan.)  As most poisons are alkaline in 
nature, clays have long been used to protect from them.  Kaopectate will 
absorb toxins from a bacterial infection of the gut, so you don't have 
anymore symptoms.  Acorns do not need leaching if you cook them with enough 
clay, preferably western clay with a very high CEC.  There was a National 
Geographic article showing flocks of macaws eating clay during the time of 
year when their main food is seeds with lots of toxins designed to ummm... 
keep things from eating them.
   If you had a high CEC soil that was well balanced, you could "mine" it 
for many years without adding nutrients... but the person who inherited it 
would have a hard time fixing it back again.    Donna