Soil Management Handbook - Ministry of Agriculture and Lands

Crops Or Crop Groups
Alfalfa: alfalfa has a narrow range of moisture tolerance and generally requires “dry feet” and irrigation. Alfalfa is
not suited on shallow soils or slopes greater than 15%. Artificially drained sites may have a higher suitability for
alfalfa. Slopes between 9 and 15% may require special precautions for harvesting operations.
Annual Vegetable Crops: this crop group includes a wide range of crops. Root crop vegetables and annual leafy
vegetables are separated from the larger group due to watertable restrictions. The group includes annual legumes
(beans, fababeans, lentils, peas and soybeans), cucurbits (pumpkins, melons, cucumbers and squash), brassicas
(broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and kale) and tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic. On slopes
between 9 and 15%, drip irrigation practices are required to reduce water erosion. These crops are not generally
suited on soils with a high coarse fragment percent (i.e., >50%) or on very stony soils (i.e., stones >S2).
1) Root Crop Vegetables: crops include potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips and turnips. These crops are not
tolerant to shallow watertables, will require organic matter additions for longer term production on fine-textured
soils and are restricted to slopes under 9% if mechanical harvesting is used. These crops should not be grown on
soils with a stoniness class greater than S1. On slopes greater than 9%, mechanical harvesting of root crops will
become difficult.
2) Annual Leafy Vegetables: crops include spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, radish, celery and other ‘salad greens’.
These crops are tolerant to shallow watertables during the growing season and the soil should have a stoniness
class of S1 or less.
Asparagus: a deep-rooted crop, asparagus should be planted only into fertile, well-drained loams and sandy loams
which are free of perennial weeds.
Blueberries: blueberries are a shallow-rooted crop and needs a mulch on very coarse and very fine-textured soils.
Blueberries generally prefer an acidic soil with a high organic matter percent or an organic soil, and have a relatively
high moisture requirement, but do not like “wet feet”. Included with blueberries are Ribes spp. Currents and
gooseberries can be grown on heavier, wetter soils.
Cereals: crops include barley, fall rye, oats, wheat and winter wheat. Oil seeds, such as canola, would be included in
this crop group. Yields can be maximized when summer watertables are between 75 to 100 cm. Irrigation may not
be economical on coarse-textured soils.
Corn: a deep-rooted crop, corn is suited to soils with a low coarse fragment percentage, and generally requires
irrigation. Corn can be produced on slopes up to 15% if it is contour planted. Includes sweet and forage corn.
Forage Crops – drier sites: soils and landscapes are well drained, meaning these sites tend to be more arid.
Irrigation may be required. Slopes under 15% are suitable for mechanical harvesting. Crops include orchard grass,
ryegrass, timothy and barley (see slope comment for alfalfa).
Forage Crops – wetter sites: soils and landscapes are imperfect to poorly drained or soils have a high moistureholding
capacity. Irrigation is not generally required. Crops include reed canarygrass, creeping red fescue and
meadow foxtail and most clovers (clovers may be suited to drier sites as well).
Ginseng: is suited to a well defined soil which has a loam to silt loam texture with a workable soil depth of 30 cm
and a whole depth of 60 cm, low coarse fragment percent less than 15%, good water retention and moderate organic
matter content. It is advisable to avoid gravels, shale and clay. The slopes should be less than 15%. Where slopes are
>5%, there is a risk of water running on the shad cloth causing erosion or “wet spots” under the cloth. Where slopes
are >9%, mechanical digging is affected.
Soil Management Handbook – Okanagan-Similkameen Valleys 9