Once the blackberries had been sprayed and allowed to die down, it was decided to conduct a more thorough investigation of the site before deciding which species should be selected for planting. In particular, given the substantial variations in terrain across the site, it was decided to conduct a detailed soil profile analysis.
The investigations were conducted by Clinton Tepper (Woollybutt), using a 15-tonne excavator to dig 10 soil pits at various locations across the property (Clinton also repeated the process for one pit for a Master TreeGrower Program course on the following weekend).
While the cost of the investigations was about $2000 (including the hire of the excavator and driver for a day), the value obtained was greater. On the last soil pit for the day, above the dam in the middle of the open paddocks, it was found that the underlying soil was granitic, not clay as had been found everywhere else. Further investigations with a hand-auger showed that the entire north-facing slope above the dam had a granitic base. This finding totally changed the species selection anticipated for that site to a species which would be more tolerant of the free-draining granitic soils. The soil investigations thus prevented a costly selection of the wrong species for that part of the block, which may not have been detected until many years after planting when the trees on that section of the block appeared to not be doing as well as the same species elsewhere on the block.
