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

General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap horizons commonly have fine sandyloam, fine sand, or loamy fine sand textures . TheBg and calcareous Ckg horizons usually have finesand or loamy fine sand textures . The calcareousIICkg horizons generally have higher silt or veryfine sand contents and frequently they have siltloam or very fine sandy loam textures .Gray gley colours are dominant within theprofile, and prominent dark yellowish brown todark brown mottles are also present. A zone ofintensive mottling is often present in the sandymaterials above the point where they contact theunderlying loamy materials . Soil reaction rangesfrom strongly acid to neutral in the Ap horizons,to mildly alkaline in the IICkg horizons . Soilclassification is typically Orthic Humic Gleysol.Soil VariabilityOccasionally the IICkg horizons have silttextures. They may also contain layers of sandy orclayey materials . Silver Hill soils frequently arefound in landscapes where better drained soilsalso occur.Land Use/Management ContinentsSilver Hill soils require tile drainage in orderto reach their potential capability for common fieldcrop production . They are rated Class 2W . Withtile drainage, they are suitable for a wide range ofspecial crops . Suitability ratings for selectedspecial crops are given in Tables 6, 7, and 8.Compaction can occur in St. Williams soils ifthey are 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.Southwold Soils (SO)Landform and TopographySouthwold soils have developed on blankets offine to very fine textured lacustrine materials.They usually occur in low-lying depressional areasin landscapes which have nearly level topography.Slopes are less than 2% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsSouthwold soils are very poorly drained andslowly permeable. Saturated conditions occur ator near the surface for prolonged periods eachyear because of high water table levels .Southwold soils have high water holdingcapacities, and surface runoff is slow .General Soil CharacteristicsSouthwold soil materials contain 27% or moreclay. The Ap, Bg, and calcareous Ckg horizonswhich commonly occur usually have silty clayloam or silty clay textures.Bluish gray or gray gley colours are dominantwithin the profile . Soil reaction ranges fromslightly acid to neutral in. the Ap horizons, tomildly alkaline in the Ckg horizons. Soilclassification is typically Orthic Hun-dc Gleysol .Soil VariabilityThe aerial extent of Southwold soils in theCounty is limited . The clayey subsoil materialsmay contain layers of medium or coarse texturedmaterials .Southwold soils may occur in areas whereToledo (TO) soils were mapped.Land Use/Management CommentsSouthwold soils require tile drainage in orderto reach their potential capability for common fieldcrop production. They are rated Class 4W . Dueto severe wetness conditions, they are not suitablefor growing most vegetable, fruit, and nut crops .If they are tile drained, they have limitedsuitability for some special field crops includingwhite beans and spring canola .Springwater Soils (SP)Landform and TopographySpringwater soils have developed on blanketsof coarse textured eolian materials . They occuronly in low-lying depressional areas in landscapeswhich have nearly level topography . Slopes areless than 2% .Soil Moisture CharacteristicsSpringwater soils are very poorly drained andrapidly permeable . The very poor drainageconditions associated with these soils are causedby high water table levels which occur at or nearthe surface for prolonged periods each year . Theyhave moderate water holding capacities in thesurface materials which have high organic mattercontents, but the water holding capacities of thesubsoil materials is low. Surface runoff is slow .General Soil CharacteristicsThe Ap horizons usually have fine sand ofloamy fine sand textures, and high organic mattercontents. The subsoil Bg and calcareous Ckghorizons usually have fine sand textures .45