Soil

If you ever wonder about the property you want to purchase or want to know what will grow well on the property you now own, here’s a few common sense suggestions you may not have thought of. First, look around and see what properties are around yours. Are they owned by other farmers or are they raw land, undeveloped. Notice if their gardens are producing any vegetables or if it’s swampy, wooded, or pasture land. Next walk on the property and in your mind, divide it into quarters. Grab a handful of dirt approximately 1-2” deep from middle of each quarter of property, and put into separate small paper bags, making four bags of dirt. Mark the outside with your name, phone number and where the dirt came from. North quarter, Northeast section or in some way you can identify where it came from. For added recognition, take a picture of the area where the dirt came from. Then head out to your county agriculture center. You can find the location in the phone book or on the web for your county. They will test the soil, tell you what its made of and what will be best to grow there. Also they will tell you what you need to add to increase productivity. The agriculture center is a very important place to get information, take classes on being a better farmer or just to take classes on anything related to agriculture and nature conservancy. You will be amazed on what you resources are there, from flower arranging, wildflower study, hiking, to solar and wind energy.