Thank you to my readers

Now we have acquired many letters and e-book orders with type phrases, which is a good inspiration to maintain scribbling, but it surely’s typically additionally an opportunity for studying. In right this moment’s world, it’s a easy matter to make use of Google Earth and take a flyover. In lots of circumstances, one may also drop down through road view and do a drive across the space to peek on the fields and farming. Close to large cities in Alberta, the farm has an precise tackle that may be accessed, so a “drive” by the farm is feasible.

The subsequent step typically entails a visit on-line to Ottawa to go to CanSIS (Canadian Soil Data Service). That website has all the present and historic soil survey reviews for all of Canada — a really priceless useful resource. So, right here we go, to see some precise examples. I’m giving the places however not the names as a result of I’ve not sought permission to say names.

Rollo Bay West, P.E.I.

This was a fantastic thrill and a primary for that far east; Rollo Bay is simply 20 miles west of the jap tip of Prince Edward Island. A drive down the freeway introduced simply what you’ll assume — a discipline of potatoes with very pink soil, similar to I noticed in Tanzania all these years in the past.

The soil survey map for Kings County confirmed the Rollo Bay space to be like Charlottetown, high-quality sandy loam with good drainage however strongly acidic. The soil survey report acknowledged the assistance of J.S. (Pete) Clark, who recruited me in 1972 for the two-year stint on the slopes of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Walter Burns, who was the Canadian director of that undertaking. Small world.

Brucefield, Ont.

Brucefield is 10 miles east of the east shore of Lake Huron and is 270 ft increased than the lake, so there’s a good drainage gradient.

The reader who ordered a e-book is a non-public agronomist and we established e-mail contact. I had checked out the soil survey report, however he gave me good further info. I suspected the soils to be acidic due to excessive rainfall quantities — however not so. They’re glacial soils derived from limestone, so pH is impartial to a bit excessive in locations. The massive problem is drainage, and tile drainage is the norm. The unique tile spacing was 45 ft, however some are splitting that to 22 ft, and the spacing on new installations is 27 ft.

Bruderheim, Alta.

The reader at Bruderheim, Alta., was on a highway with an tackle, so Google Earth might drop me all the way down to do a drive-by. There’s a stunning farmyard with mature shelterbelt on three sides and bins galore with a well-developed grain dealing with system.

I knew the soils from a former colleague (well-known soil microbiologist Eldor Paul), who was raised on a dairy farm close to Bruderheim. He was raised on very productive, thick black soils with deep topsoil.

Bonus Spherical: Wes Anderson Croppro Consulting

After I did a seek for Bruderheim on the pc, it spit out an e-mail from Wes Anderson, who had learn and responded to an earlier column on soil pH. He has finished work on very sandy soils north of Bruderheim, simply south of the North Saskatchewan River. He discovered many pH values within the 5.0-5.6 vary and a few as little as 4.8 and 4.9.

CropPro does the SWAT system of zoning fields for variable fee, and so on. In some fields, the pH ranges from 5.4-7.8, so focused liming can be a chance, however some fields had been very acidic all through.

Wes despatched me a number of good images of canola with extreme calcium and magnesium deficiency, manganese toxicity and roots that had been very sick. Thanks, Wes, for the knowledge and nice images.

And, due to the various readers who order books, write type letters and supply a focus to study an space new to me.