I want to plant walnut trees in a high desert ranch. Lots of ground water with springs and creeks over 2 miles in total and I can plant on both sides of the creeks. Problem is we receive ~7in of rain annually and the soil is extremely alkaline. pH in the soil ranges from 8.6 - 9.4 on average with some areas as high as 11. The water in the creeks are all between 8.4 - 9. Is this too alkaline to even bother trying to amend the soil? I am not sure 300 pounds of sulfur would make a dent in even 0.25 miles, and I have 2 miles to amend. I am concerned about adding HCL to the water and harming the plants that are thriving in the creeks. Any advice on where to begin?
@@regenerativegardeningwithpatti Thank you for the reply! The location is at Deep Hole Spring near Gerlach Nevada. No Kochia is growing but there are some grasses growing in the cow pastures I don't know the name of. Lots of cottonwood trees, a few of what I believe are Russian Olive trees, sagebrush, and one lonely pine tree. My current plan is to dig Zai pits near the creeks and plant walnut seeds in the base. Maybe Demi Lunes south of those and plant some grass or clover? Maybe Goji Berries? It's a 2.5 hour drive one way for me so I can only make it out there once a week so looking for low maintenance changes.
This is a fun video from West Kentucky
Thank you it’s been really helpful
Glad to hear it! Best of luck.
I want to plant walnut trees in a high desert ranch. Lots of ground water with springs and creeks over 2 miles in total and I can plant on both sides of the creeks. Problem is we receive ~7in of rain annually and the soil is extremely alkaline. pH in the soil ranges from 8.6 - 9.4 on average with some areas as high as 11. The water in the creeks are all between 8.4 - 9. Is this too alkaline to even bother trying to amend the soil? I am not sure 300 pounds of sulfur would make a dent in even 0.25 miles, and I have 2 miles to amend. I am concerned about adding HCL to the water and harming the plants that are thriving in the creeks.
Any advice on where to begin?
Hey, what is growing on the site right now? Nature can fix a lot of problems, but we can not change pH on that scale. Is Kochia growing in the area?
@@regenerativegardeningwithpatti Thank you for the reply!
The location is at Deep Hole Spring near Gerlach Nevada. No Kochia is growing but there are some grasses growing in the cow pastures I don't know the name of. Lots of cottonwood trees, a few of what I believe are Russian Olive trees, sagebrush, and one lonely pine tree.
My current plan is to dig Zai pits near the creeks and plant walnut seeds in the base. Maybe Demi Lunes south of those and plant some grass or clover? Maybe Goji Berries? It's a 2.5 hour drive one way for me so I can only make it out there once a week so looking for low maintenance changes.
Calcium the single element metal or calcium sulfate the hydrated compound?
calcium sulfate if will flocculate the soil and reduce pH in clay soils, Thank you for the comment.
can I use quicklime instead of gypsum?
I don't know anything about quicklime. Normally lime is used where you have too low of pH. I would ask your extension agent.