Carolyn Mount

Thank you so much, everyone, for the warm welcome as well as all the great questions, suggestions and feedback. I will share a bit more information, as has been requested, with a few more questions.

Answers: we have heard of hugelkultures and have utilized them in other areas in our yard. I was just looking for something more specific related to more immediately and more directly working with the soil at this time.

Our two acres is a rectangle with the length running east/west. There are a few mature trees in lower 40 but it is largely open and full sun or the large trees are mostly on the north side.

I did hear the comments to not mind or worry about the rocks too much. However, when working with the skid steer, I could only scrape off an inch or two every pass as it is so hard packed. Almost like deadpan. Most of that area only has an inch or two of soil (if that) and then it is solid rock tetris. It is so much work, and a bit back breaking, but I do think digging up some/most of the rocks will in the end be a very good thing. I have excavated rocks that were 3' wide by 1' deep. Already there is so much more breathing room breaking up the first 6-8" that I think once I add manure and mulch, it will be able to get worked in so much faster. In some areas, it is 70% rocks with very little dirt/soil.

Currently my plan is to dig up/break up the area as much as I can by hand. I will then dig the holes for two apple and two pear trees we would like to plant in the fall. In those holes I will add mushroom compost. In the meantime, I hope to get some cow and chicken manure (just a bit) and dig that in as much as I can by hand over the whole area. I would then add mulch over the whole area.

My additional questions are:
- should I by trying to lower the ph (it's currently in any more aggressive/faster/more direct way than what my plan above would contribute?
- I am assuming it's best to plant a cover crop in the fall? We do hope to do companion planting with the trees. I am assuming there won't be many cover crops that would grow in the heat of the summer without extensive watering (this area is the farthest from the house)?
- We have a lot of snakes in the area. I know they have their place in nature, but I don't love having them in my yard. Are there lower growing cover crops that would not encourage them to hang out in?\

Again, thank you everyone!

Hi,

First time poster here! I am so grateful for this community and have enjoyed and learned from so many posts already. I have spent a lot of time reading Dr RedHawk's soil threads but was hoping for some specific feedback.

We live in Ontario, Canada (zone 5b), just outside of Peterborogh. We have two acres and are looking to prepare an area of poor soil for future fruit trees (ideally apple, pear, maybe cherry, maybe apricot, grapes, hearty kiwi, maybe pawpaw). The area is very hilly and we basically sit on moraines and eskers (I am not great with my geology). Our neighbour is an aggregate pit so hopefully that tells you something! Our yard is quite hilly. A third sits on the top of a hill (we call it the upper 40), a third is a big slope, a third is the lower 40 (which has some slightly higher and lower areas; the future orchard would not be in the lowest area). We did some grading this spring to be able to use the areas more efficiently. In the process we discovered mounds that were basically just rock. The ground is compacted, poor soil quality and SO many rocks (I have dug up and moved by hand thousands of rocks already). Rocks are largely shale, limestone and granite with some quartz. We would really like to amend the soil in two specific areas (one in the upper 40 and one in the lower 40) to allow for more and better things to grow (specifically the fruit trees listed above). I have been digging up the rocks by hand as I am able. Largely in hopes to allow for better root growth, better drainage, and to make room to add/amend the soil. We have had the soil tested in both areas and the results are attached (B40 refers to bottom or lower 40, U40 for the upper 40).

What I am looking for is help on how to amend the soil. Our neighbour has cattle and we most likely could get cow manure. We also have arborists up the road and can get wood mulch. We are open to securing other materials if something better would be recommended. The agronomist suggested just digging the holes for future trees and focus on amending that area. As I am digging up large and small rocks, I am ok to try and turn over the whole area to be able to dig in manure everywhere (thus the artisanal, hand crafted soil we are aiming for!). Other specific questions would be:
- looking at the soil testing results, would any of the specific trees listed above (apple, pear, grape, kiwi, cherry, apricot, pawpaw) do better in one area over the other (upper 40 vs lower 40)?
- what would you recommend in terms of amending/fertilizing the areas?
- we had talked about planting at least a few trees in the fall. Would that be too early if we amended the soil in the next two months? Is it better to wait until the spring to plant trees? (I have read arguments for fall planting and for spring planting and am unsure which would be better, especially with wanting to amend the soil).
- If we were to add aged cow manure, for an area of approximately 100ftx75ft, is it possible to add too much?
- would mulch help, either mixed into the soil or added on top?
- What about cover crops? What would you recommend planting on top?

Any information or recommendations anyone can make would be most appreciated. We have moved a lot and have finally found our forever home. We want to build a food forest and be good to the land and could use all the help we can get. Thanks so much!