Quote:
Originally Posted by oklapike
Mainly the climate and the soil. It's near desert out in that part of the state, and then soil is pretty poor, rocky and alkaline.
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Thanks I suspected that as I used to garden in New Mexico and Colorado, and the parts of Oklahoma I saw on my many annual road trips from Denver to Tampa and back struck me as more benign versions of those regions where high alkalinity, soluble salts, lack of rainfall and soil nutrients made gardening a real challenge. I suspect that switchgrass farm is going to need a LOT of soil inputs to provide nitrogen and phosphorus plus lower the pH to free up micronutrients, plus a huge amount of water to thrive. The more I see and read as a gardener, environmentalist and car lover, the more I want to see cellulosic ethanol made from plant waste vs. cultivated crops used as a stop gap fuel in cars as we approach truly sustainable power sources for cars, like solar or bio-derived hydrogen for fuel cells, or solar electric for battery cars. The switchgrass plant I am testing here in a pot in humid Tampa is a real water hog. Thanks for the insight into that part of Oklahoma.