Episode 11: The View From the Hill. Where We're Going with this Podcast

Send us Fan Mail What if the nutrition problem, the moisture problem, the pH problem and the non-wetting problem in your paddock are not four separate issues — but one underlying constraint wearing four different hats? In this episode, Leonie steps back from the individual soil topics and looks at the whole system. Using the simple idea of standing on a hill and surveying the farm, she traces how the fundamental nature of sandy soils (low surface area, low ability to hold water and nutrients) drives a chain of consequences that can leave a crop dying of thirst above two metres of moist soil. Along the way she unpacks: - Why leaching, acidification, aluminium toxicity and restricted root growth often belong to the same story - Why parent material matters more than texture alone (and a real-life garden story that proves it) - How chemical, physical and biological properties are tangled together rather than sitting in neat boxes - Four practical habits of mind that help you stop treating symptoms and start aiming at causes This is not a “how-to” episode. It is the map. The detailed episodes that follow will fill in the boxes. If you finish listening with more questions than answers, the episode has done its job. A systems view of sandy soils, written for farmers and agronomists who want to spend less money on the wrong fix. Thank you to Willilams Woolsehd and Naked Bean Coffee for your support.   **REFERENCES**  Davies, S., Fisher, J., Roper, M., & Murphy, D. (2022). Soil quality: 7 Soil water repellence. SoilsWest, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/sq\_ebooks/9/ Gazey, C., Azam, G., Clausen, J., & Rengel, Z. (2019). Soil quality: 4 Soil acidity. SoilsWest. https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/sq\_ebooks/4/ Hoyle, F. C., & Murphy, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). Soil quality: 1 Constraints to plant production. SoilsWest. https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/sq\_ebooks/1/ McKenzie, N., Jacquier, D., Isbell, R., & Brown, K. (2004). Australian soils and landscapes: An illustrated compendium. CSIRO Publishing. Hall, D. J. M., Davies, S. L., Bell, R. W., & Edwards, T. J. (2020). Soil management systems to overcome multiple constraints for dryland crops on deep sands in a water limited environment on the south coast of Western Australia. Agronomy, 10, 1881. Unkovich, M., McKenzie, D., & Parker, W. (2023). New insights into high soil strength and crop plants: Implications for grain crop production in the Australian environment. Plant and Soil, 486, 183–208. Soil CRC. (2025). Organic and clay amendments to improve the productivity of sandy soils: Research findings fact sheet. Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils. https://soilcrc.com.au/resources **Connect with Leonie** Instagram: @agfromthegroundup Website: www.agriculturefromthegroundup.com.au