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Aldie, VA

I, ah, have a question that may seem rather stupid, but I've been wondering about it for a few years now.

How come all the dirt below the Mason-Dixon is red?

I'm originally from Ontario, Canada and lived in Michigan for a few years. When we moved from MI to VA in December of 1999, the first thing I noticed was that that dirt was red. I feel like I'm living on Mars :)

So, uhm, why is is red and what makes it so different from the soil up north? I do know it's far more acidic (try growing azaleas and Scottish Heather up north!) and there's a lot of clay, is that what lends it to the red coloration? And does this pose special problems for pumpkin growers down here?

I'm new to pumpkins and gardening. Haven't done much of either since I was a kid in Canada.

Thanks,
PS: what color is your carpeting and how do you get that red dust out of it? :)

8/19/2004 2:01:50 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I'm a Northerner but perhaps I can help. The red comes from iron oxides present in the rock the soils were formed from. We have some veins of red rocks here too. But since it's cooler & wetter here, organic matter readily acculmuates & stains it brown. In very hot dry environments the organic matter is much less so the soil keeps it's red color.

8/19/2004 2:36:06 PM

Aldie, VA

Thanks for your reply, Tremor.

So, you say because it's cooler and wetter so it accumulates. Down here it's certainly hotter, but I think it's probably just as wet? Taking it further -- the organic matter decays more rapidly thus disallowing for any build up. Which would mean that the soil down here sorely lacks for good nutrients?

Dunno, grasping at straws?

Actually, it's not really hotter down here, it just stays hot longer. I'm still not use to these 14 straight days of +90 weather and I tend to hide in the house. I'm also the strange neighbor everyone talks about 'cause she's walking around outside in January in shorts and t-shirt :)

Roan

8/19/2004 3:12:30 PM

Ga.

Roan,,,14 days of 90's???? LOL...Come farther south..Maybe,lets say south Ga...14 days huh,,rofl....I could only hope for 14 days of 90's....WOW......Uhmmm,,,maybe 60-80 days of 90's.....Shorts at Christmas....Might have to put long pants on in March...Da breaks of being southern......

8/19/2004 4:12:02 PM

Aldie, VA

Bah, Jeff, I'm Canadian, I gotta be COLD! :)

My entire family complains that the house is too cold, winter or summer. My mother-in-law, a Nebraskan no less, brings her big sweaters when she visits in the summer.

Georgia's certainly too hot for me, and I hope we don't end up moving down there. I have three rough-coated collies and one of them has a huge "show coat". He'd fry!

:)
Roan

8/19/2004 4:55:30 PM

South Hill, Virginia

Roan,

Will you be taking a pumpkin to the VA state fair?

9/14/2004 4:03:37 PM