Timothy Norton wrote:I have been trying to wrap my head around the idea of soil cation exchange capacity and believe it deserves its own thread. I am actively learning about this topic so if I have misunderstood anything please let me know!
Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) is a measurement of a soil's ability to retain cations in the soil particulates. Cations are positively charged molecules that can be bind by negative charges that exist in soil. When water travels through the soil, these cations can be exchanged between water and the soil. This phenomenon is important because many of these cations are in fact fertilizer for the plants that we hope to grow! I will not get into the physical instructions in order to conduct a CEC test but we can still benefit from understanding the principles of why it is important to consider.
Soils with a high CEC hold a higher capacity of nutrients and water locally that then may be drawn upon by plants for their needs. Soils with low CEC might require more frequent care when it comes to nutritional and watering needs. What influences if a soil has a higher or lower capacity? The two factors that I can consider easily without any complicated testing involve is considering how much clay and organic matter exists in the soil. Higher levels of clay and organic matter coincide with higher CEC levels. PH is reported to have an effect but this is not something I have explored yet.
Does the soil have mostly clay? It probably has a high CEC rating.
Does the soil consist of mostly sand? It probably has a low CEC rating.
A great way to figure this out at a low cost would be to conduct a Mason Jar Soil Test.
Soil Cation Exchange Capacity in relation to Soil Texture
As gardeners, we can influence the levels of organic matter (OM) in our gardens through a variety of ways including adding compost, chop and drop, and the use of mulches. We then can take advantage of soils with increased CEC capabilities as the OM content develops over time.
That's pretty much right.
Ph affects the availability of certain nutrients more than others, so at high pH, manganese cannot be absorbed by many plants (hollies, blueberries, azaleas) and they tell you that by turning yellow. The manganese is in the soil but can't be absorbed. Adding sulfur helps in those cases but sulfur reacts quickly and is a short term solution.
Other plants require higher levels of calcium which is abundant in alkaline soils, think limestone (calcium carbonate), and they've adapted to getting enough manganese at those high pH (tomatoes, black walnuts, stinging nettle) You won't find those plants in acid soil and vice versa. Which is why gypsum or lime prevents blossom end rot in tomatoes.
Acid soil isn't inherently poor, but if you look at the globe, the acid soil is in rainy areas because the acid rain dissolve all the bases. And the rain can leach a lot of nutrients, so there is a correlation
Organic matter can change the pH of soil. Wood ash is used to make lye, right? So in particular, hardwood bark mulch raises pH substantially.
The nitrogen in organic matter is not released all at once, it is released as bacteria break it down which makes it hard to quantify how much nitrogen there is available. On top of that, not all plant matter contains nitrogen. Cellulose and lignin i.e. wood don't have nitrogen and decomposing wood requires nitrogen from the soil to feed the bacteria. So using paper as fertilizer will decrease nitrogen and raise carbon
Best sources for nitrogen in organic matter would be high protein forages like alfalfa.
Also, organic matter breaks down in high temperature exposed to oxygen. So the father north you go, the blacker the soil because the bacteria can't break down all the carbon when they're cold. The closer to the equator and it's very hard to build up organic matter especially if the soil is tilled and oxygenated. It will have to be applied frequently
One of the biggest benefits of organic matter is it's moisture retention. It can hold a lot of water but it doesn't drown plants, it's a literal sponge, and acting as a slow release fertilizer it can do wonders to sand. If you ever watch an old pile of construction sand, it won't grow anything until a few leaves fall in it. And it will loosen clay up too.
One last point is because the nutrients are in the form of ions, they are basically salt. And when you overdue the fertilizer, you are making the soil too salty for the plant, so don't fertilize excessively during a drought.
I got the valley oak wheel hoe last winter in lieu of a rototiller for aisles. Tbh, i only used a handful of times but it was exceptional for what it does, just as you guys say. Its one of those things you can't believe aren't more mainstream
How are you producing mulch?
I cut hay with a sycthe for rabbits and sometimes i use the low quality stuff to good effect but I've never done the whole garden that way
If the to soil is freshly tilled, raking works just fine. Thats what i do with small grains. It's okay if some seeds are exposed. The rain will bury them.
Big seeds need deeper and there are seeders you can use by hand
If you do try driving over it as mentioned above, some soils make hardpans if the moisture content is right and the wheels heavy
The seeds will survive but won't come up until spring so you'd be better off holding off because it's a long time to forget where you planted them and keeping them weeded is very important when they're little.
The one advantage is they will come up when they are ready and not when you are ready so they tend to sprout earlier.
Any love for wheel hoes?
They're crazy fast at what they do but mostly I'm using the 6in ezdigging grub hoe because i don't weed frequently enough and i have to till by hand
Shawn Harper wrote:I have been feeding my rabbits a ration of pellets mixed with sunflower seed and a generous amount of forage and hay. However with winter coming on the forage is drying up. Do any of you guys have winter forage tricks or do you only feed hay all winter?
I used to feed my rabbits bamboo because it was green all winter and they liked it pretty good. Otherwise it's just hay and make sure they have some grain to stay warm. I used to think European hares (domesticated rabbits) were like cottontails and could live on just grass (not that that's even true) until i saw an anecdote from the 1600s saying they were feeding grain to their rabbits way back then
If it hasn't snowed on you yet, stinging nettle will put on growth pretty late in the year that I'll feed in small amounts.
I wonder if the invasive bush honeysuckle is any good as feed? It keeps it's leaves into December and deer eat it.
