Does this sound good for cacti?

[pinegapcontrol]

"positioned on the ridge of old Cambrian soil that runs through the eastern side of the Mount Camel range. This narrow strip, running, north from Lancefield towards Rochester, is unique, not only to vine growing in Victoria but in Australia.

The soils are the oldest known in the country, originating over 550 million years ago. Most soils of volcanic origin in Australia, such as those around Melbourne and Western Victoria, are young and highly acidic whereas these ancient Cambrian soils are near neutral in pH. The Mount Camel range itself is a result of a rift in the sea floor, from which molten rock arose, encapsulating limestone into the lava. The resulting soil is deep, red-coloured, mottled with lime and impart low vigour to the vines growing in it.

These soil characteristics were some of the features which attracted winemaker Alberto Antonini, who firmly believes that calcium in the soil is essential for the production of elegant red wines."

[Gunter]

Sounds just fine.

[pinegapcontrol]

just fine...or ideal? im looking at spending a kings ransome on some land.

I know i should know the answers to these questions, but... i dont.

[Bert&Ernie]

I doubt you'll ever get ideal soil in Australia. But that sounds pretty good.. cacti should be fine as long as it's well draining

[~ EnergyVibes ~]

I've often wondered, is the "ideal soil" really the native soil trichos grow in in SA?

Surely they'd grow faster in an optimum environment, rather than the harsh environment they've developed in?

[Distracted]

Generally the older the soil the worse it is I thought... hence why Australia has old barren soils, depleted of their nutrients.

Cacti seem to grow anywhere.... I wouldn't spend big money on land used to grow grapes hoping my cacti will grow 20% faster.

[pinegapcontrol]

its 1700 an acre so not overly expensive. speed of growth is not really the issue, just general good health without a lot of attention. lime/calcium is always a plus, also volcanic rock, the neutral ph was probably the thing i was most uncertain about, is that good or bad?

[paradox]

neutral in most cases is good

[Evil Genius]

The ideal pH value for most cacti is between 5 and 6.5 because most (there are exceptions) grow best in acidic soil. But neutral works very well too. Neutral is 7 which is neither acid nor alkaline. Most tap waters is too alkaline, which is why rain water works a lot better. So yeah, get yourself some pH test strips to check the soil if you are not sure because the pH level can be influenced by many variables. I may also add that the pH level is not the only thing that can influence the health of a cactus and it´s possible for a plant not to like a certain medium despite an ideal pH level.

[pinegapcontrol]

Thanks a million for your quick and informative replies guys. very helpful and much appreciated.

[paradox]

In terms of soil in the landscape neutral ph is generally good, as the broadest range of nutrients are available & it will be able to support the broadest diversity of different plants.. its generally also pretty straight forward to tweak it either way if need be.. or choose different areas to tweak in different directions for different plants & their needs..

[franky]

If you plan on adding lenty of organic material PH shouldn't be of the up most importance as the organic matter will ofer plenty of chelation

[incognito]

1700 an acre is cheap as chips!! Are u just buying land? Or land and dwelling? Fill us in on all the details bruz! Sounds good though! Mate cacti grow awesome here in the central west red soil, I don't think its possible for them to grow happier and healthier and flower as profusely. They are seriously happy plants in the ground here.

[pinegapcontrol]

its just land, cleared with the odd big gum here and there, its got a catchment dam but not connected to any creek, channel or river system.

the quotes in the original post are not from the add, just the best description i could find for the soil, in another article i read but cant find now it talks about how the shiraz grapes love it because they dont get wet feet, which can only be a plus for cacti. I remember reading something somewhere about cactus country i think, where they had to dig up massive old cacti like saguaro because the root systems had reached the water table below. it may have been after floods, i cant remember.

Im pretty much sold on the property but im like a kid at christmas so i wanted to get some other opinions.

its 100 acres so I would be mortgaging up. never done that before but im getting older. go hard or go home kinda mindset.

Its also got a very small area of a protected aboriginal heritage site, i dont know the full details but there were some very rare native grasses found there.

For dwelling im thinking of those dome shelters connected to shipping containers, House slash greenhouse kind of thing.

Thats of course unless i win tattslotto and am able to build my dream of a semi underground multi level pyramid greenhouse.

Still working out the financials but as far as the actual property goes i think i should be able to manage it. one step at a time, ive got no problems with living in a tent for a year or two.