Meeting with Lisa Krall from the NRCS

On the day that my husband and lifesaver Bill went to Long Island to pick up the remainder of the pencil rods, we had previously scheduled a meeting with Lisa Krall from the NRCS. I stayed back and met Lisa on our land and we walked the property to determine where the wetlands began. My only regret is that I didn't have my camera because I learned a lot from Lisa. Lisa took soil samples using a Dutch auger and showed me the various colors of the soil. We started on the area where we intend to plant the vines and Lisa showed me what the soil profile looked like there. The soil was only slightly damp, we are in need of a good rain, but I don't want to do the rain dance, yet. Then we walked down to the wetland area and using the Dutch auger, Lisa showed me how the soil profile differed there. The top layer is very dark indicative of a layer of humus. Digging further down, Lisa brought up a sample that was mottled gray and yellow/orange and she told me that this indicated the presence of a fluctuating water table. When the water table is not present, oxygen causes the iron in the soil to oxidize and turn the color of rust.

She next identified the trees, shrubs and cover growth in the wetlands. During our walk, she happened upon a jack-in-the-pulpit, which we rescued and is now planted in a shady area at our home. Lisa also emailed me the ID of a cute little white flower that covered the wetland floor. It is a wood anemone! A question that I had for Lisa regarded the ice age which created our soils. Lisa said that the ice age that created the rather acidic soils that we have occurred about 19,000 years ago. She also said that Long Island is the terminal moraine of that ice age. Neat!