Fertility
Jono Ritchie helped us to soil test and recommend a fertiliser strategy before planting a broccoli trial in April 2019. The test showed sulfur levels were low, so 100 kg/ha of Kieserite was applied to amend this. The results of that soil test can be seen below:
Soil Structure
A pit dug in May 2013 showed some evidence of deep compaction and limitations to drainage with soil mottling at about 400 – 500 mm depth. We think this is related to the historic use of the site for orcharding. While the paddock was ripped since, the depth of ripping was insufficient to deal with deeper compaction even after seven years in pasture.
Visual Soil Assessment
In September 2013, James Powrie (HBRC) and Dan Bloomer took soil samples and completed Visual Soil Assessments using the Landcare Research methodology of Shepherd et al.
The soil was relatively wet, possibly influencing the scores. Five of the six micro-paddocks showed good physical condition. Block 4 was notably poorer with clear evidence of compaction from vehicle traffic. This is perhaps unsurprising, as the Block is the first inside the gate through which all tractors and trucks enter the fields.