Preparing the Land

Soil types are well documented in the Prince Edward County survey, but so far I haven\'t found a comparative survey for Lennox & Addington County. Where 33 Vines is located, and all along the Adolphus Reach waterfront, the soil seems to be fairly consistent. High clay content starts about 12\" below the surface. The description of the soil is clay loam with limestone substrate, the key to the potential for excellent grapes. My research reveals that these clay loam soils are similar to the Burgundy region of France, and when you are planting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, that is excellent news.

Before I bought the land, I took soil samples from three test holes on the property and submitted them for analysis to the \"Soil and Nutrient Laboratory\" at University of Guelph. The relatively simple report determines \"soil test values and ratings for specific crops (grapes)\". It covers the soil elements phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and Ph level. Most element ratings were in the medium range, as expected, but magnesium was listed as \"high\" for all three samples. I didn\'t know what that meant, so I called the lab who assured me high magnesium is a good thing for grapevines. So I\'m happy about that, but I\'m still not sure why!

The report also delivers a \"Fertilizer Requirement\" and suggests soil additives to benefit the grapevines. Limestone, Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash are the types of fertilizers. Not surprisingly the requirement for Limestone was zero for all the samples. Phosphate was about zero, too, but Potash was recommended.

The report concluded that the soils are good for grapevines and could be further improved with Potash. I contacted a company near Trenton, \"Tri-County Agromart\" that is widely used for vineyard supplies, so I\'ll contact them for my potash.