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Martinsville, Ohio | There are fields close to me where the topsoil is all gone and they are farming the subsoil that is left. Some of those soils should have never been plowed in retrospect but that is not how man knew how to farm here 200 years ago.
I would hope I average 6 inches on most of my fields but honestly I inherited some of that "topsoil all gone" and have tried my best to keep it intact since. Nine years here is pale in comparison to the 180 or so years this land was farmed before me.
In repairing tile, I have found as much as a foot of topsoil but only in the low spots. Some of these soils have subsoil nearly the same color as topsoil so you need to know the difference. Deep black soil isn't all topsoil. The amount of black or deep soil in Ohio is far less than it was 200 years ago when our state was settled.
It is interesting to note that Ohio had more prime farmground than any state in the nation, that is Class I soil, 0-2 degrees slope with good air and water movement. Much of that good soil has been lost or paved over in 200 years.
Ed | |
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How deep is your top soil?
