Windsor -- Connecticut State Soil

Photograph of landscape of Windsor soil series. Area is a field of young shade tobacco with support poles and shading material.

Photograph of profile of a typifying pedon of Windsor soil series

Windsor Soil Profile

Surface layer: dark yellowish brown loamy sand
Subsoil - upper: dark brown loamy sand
Subsoil - middle: strong brown loamy sand
Subsoil - lower: yellowish brown sand
Substratum: pale brown and light yellowish brown sand
 Windsor soils are well suited to the highly diversified agriculture of Connecticut. They are the preferred soils for the production of shade tobacco. They are important for the production of fruit and vegetable crops, silage corn, and ornamental shrubs and trees.

The Windsor series consists of very deep, excessively drained, rapidly permeable soils formed in glacial meltwater sediments. Some areas formed in sand dunes swept by winds from the Connecticut River Valley as ancient glacial Lake Hitchcock receded. The largest acreages of Windsor soils are in the northern part of the Connecticut River Valley, but the soils are mapped throughout the state. Windsor soils overlie ground-water aquifers of sand and gravel. Droughtiness is the main limitation for crops, lawns, and landscaping. During dry months, irrigation is necessary for optimal production. There is a hazard of ground-water pollution because of the rapid permeability of these soils.

Small scale of Connecticut showing distribution of Windsor soil series.
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