The Soils of Elgin County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Gobles soils were frequently mapped incombination with Kelvin (KE) soils .Land Use/Management CommentsGobles soils, including those with loamy orcoarse phases, are rated Class 2D for commonfield crops when topography is not a limitation .Gobles washed phase soils are rated Class 1 .Gobles soils in general are suitable for a fairlywide range of special crops if the surface slopesare not too steep . Their suitability increases formany special crops if they are tile drained .Suitability ratings for selected special crops aregiven in Tables 6, 7, and 8.Gobles soils, especially those with fine texturedsurface materials, are susceptible to compaction .Care should be taken, therefore, not to use heavymachinery when they are too wet. Acrop rotationwhich includes a forage crop . will aid inmaintaining soil structure . Gobles soils with fineor medium textured surface materials are alsosusceptible to water erosion . Planting cover cropsand maintaining high crop residue levels will aidin reducing the risk of erosion by water.Gobles soils with medium or coarse texturedsurface materials should be considered forconservation tillage practices. Conventional tillagepractices, however, are likely best on fine texturedGobles soils to improve structure and enhancedrainage .Granby Soils (GY)Landform and TopographyGranby soils have developed on blankets ofcoarse textured lacustrine materials . They usuallyoccur in low-lying or depressional positions inlandscapes which have nearly level topography.Slopes are less than 2% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsGranby soils are poorly drained due to highwater table levels which occur in the subsoilhorizons for prolonged periods of time each year.They are usually rapidly permeable and have lowwater holding capacities . Surface runoff is slow .General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap horizons usually have sandy loam orloamy sand textures . The subsoil Bg andcalcareous Ckg horizons tend to have higher sandcontents and sand or loamy sand textures .Gray gley colours are dominant within theprofile, and prominent dark yellowish brown tostrong brown mottles also are present. Soilreaction ranges from neutral in theAp horizons, tomildly alkaline in the Ckg horizons . Soilclassification is typically Orthic Humic Gleysol .Soil VariabilityGranby soils were most often mapped incombination with Brady (BY) soils in landscapeswhere the blankets of sandy materials tend to beconsiderably deeper than 100 cm.Land Use/Management CommentsGranby soils require tile drainage in order toreach their potential capability for common fieldcrop production . They are rated Class 3W. Duemainly to wetness limitations, they have limitedsuitability for most special crops if they are not tiledrained . Their suitability increases for a widerange of special crops, however, if they are tiledrained . Suitability ratings for selected specialcrops are given in Tables 6, 7, and 8.Compaction can occur in Granby soils if theyare too wet . Care should be taken, therefore,when using heavy machinery. Conservationtillage practices, particularly no-till practices forfall crops, should be considered for these soils .Highgate Soils (HI)Landform and TopographyHighgate soils have developed on 40 to 100 cmthick veneers of coarse textured lacustrinematerials which are underlain by gravelly coarsetextured lacustrine beach materials . The uppersandy materials are often wind modified . Theyfrequently occur on mid and lower slope positionsof beach ridges which are located near the flanksof terminal moraines . Slopes are usually less than5% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsHighgate soils are imperfectly drained andrapidly permeable . The imperfect drainageconditions associated with these soils are due tohigh water table levels which occur mainly in thewinter and early spring. They have low waterholding capacities and slow surface runoff.General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap, Bm, and Bmgj horizons whichcommonly occur usually have sandy loam, finesandy loam, or loamy fine sand textures . Clayenriched Btgj horizons, which usually have sandyloam or fine sandy loam textures, frequently occurabove the calcareous IICkgj horizons . The IICkgj37