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Member
Posts: 29
| We are looking at a house today and it looks to be on dark dirt. I don't think it's "gumbo" but it definitely looks to be black dirt. Some iron ore and possibly a little sand in places. I am going to bring a shovel to investigate. I wondered what the opinions are of keeping and working horses on this type of land? Thanks! |
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 Quarter Horse HIstorian
Posts: 2878
  
Location: Aubrey, Texas | I grew up on black dirt. Literally had it suck one of my boots off as I was walking through a muddy lot! If there is a lot of clay in it, it will take a long time to dry out after a good rain. Also, it packs in the horses' feet and is the devil to dig out. Makes for good farming- |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | You deal with what you have. There is an app called SoilWeb you can get on your phone that uses gps coordinates to tell you what your soil profile is. Our house sits on Herbert silt loam (A Bear), but the pasture is 2 others including Rilla silt loam. You can then google to find the characteristics and uses, so you have an idea what you're working with. |
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Member
Posts: 29
| that's a great tip. i will look for the app. thanks
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Blessed 
Location: Here | Three 4 Luck - 2015-04-08 9:16 AM You deal with what you have. There is an app called SoilWeb you can get on your phone that uses gps coordinates to tell you what your soil profile is. Our house sits on Herbert silt loam (A Bear), but the pasture is 2 others including Rilla silt loam. You can then google to find the characteristics and uses, so you have an idea what you're working with.
Thank you for this info! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 725
| In Iowa all the dirt is Black, We have an arena with pure dirt and it is perfect! We don't have much clay though so maybe that's why, and it seems to dry out quickly, but it does get hard if you don't work it. |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | In our area, black dirt is a good thing, it grows stuff very well. Our areas with gumbo have more of a brown or red tinge than black, and we have quite a bit of gumbo...gumbo, around here, is also more prone to alkali. But other areas may be different. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 501
| Black usually means soil with lots of nutrients vs dead brown/gray dirt with nothing. Black will make mud but not get the chunky, pebbly crap that clay/ gumbo brings. If its new construction they will often put a thin cover of black soil on the top to grow things immediatley but underneath it could be anything. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | SG. - 2015-04-08 10:38 AM Three 4 Luck - 2015-04-08 9:16 AM You deal with what you have. There is an app called SoilWeb you can get on your phone that uses gps coordinates to tell you what your soil profile is. Our house sits on Herbert silt loam (A Bear), but the pasture is 2 others including Rilla silt loam. You can then google to find the characteristics and uses, so you have an idea what you're working with. Thank you for this info!
You're welcome. It's something I use for work, way more convenient than looking up the profile maps, but it's fun to play with too. |
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Veteran
Posts: 191
| We live on black dirt and it's never been a problem!!! We Always have a full think green pasture, and never have to worry about Stickers !!!! |
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 Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | Twinkles, what area of the country are you talking about? I grew up in North Central Texas and we had gumbo----RUN FAR, FAR AWAY FROM IT! I'm so happy to be farther south and a bit east now. Our soil is sandy loam. LOVE IT! |
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Kaycee - 2015-04-08 12:04 PM Twinkles, what area of the country are you talking about? I grew up in North Central Texas and we had gumbo----RUN FAR, FAR AWAY FROM IT! I'm so happy to be farther south and a bit east now. Our soil is sandy loam. LOVE IT!
What Kaycee said! I'm in north east Texas and that was the first thing I did when we looked at the place I now live to buy was dig a hole and check the soil. The black dirt in north Texas is NASTY!!!!! |
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Member
Posts: 29
| Ok, it's confirmed black gumbo 14 acres (out of 17), 3/4 acres was sandy loam. So, does anyone like black gumbo?? Is it do-able? I love everything else about it.. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | twinkles - 2015-04-08 3:47 PM
Ok, it's confirmed black gumbo 14 acres (out of 17), 3/4 acres was sandy loam. So, does anyone like black gumbo?? Is it do-able? I love everything else about it..
I hate that black gumbo dirt, it sticks to every thing when wet. And its hard to get out of a horses hoof, when it rains it seems horses get taller when in gumbo LOL |
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 Party Girl
Posts: 12293
Location: Buffalo, Wyoming | My SO's parents have a couple of farms in NorthEast Texas and they both have black gumbo dirt. That stuff is the devil, I hated when I had to turn my horses out in it or walk through it or drive through it.... You get the picture. |
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Member
Posts: 29
| That's what I though. Darn. Thanks for the input. I guess I'll keep looking. That soil app was awesome to use. It was dead on. I walked the whole property and it was very accurate when the land changed. The realtor was excited to learn about it also. Thanks so much! |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | twinkles - 2015-04-08 4:45 PM
That's what I though. Darn. Thanks for the input. I guess I'll keep looking. That soil app was awesome to use. It was dead on. I walked the whole property and it was very accurate when the land changed. The realtor was excited to learn about it also. Thanks so much!
I'm glad it helped. Sorry the results weren't better...  |
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 More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | Three 4 Luck - 2015-04-08 9:16 AM You deal with what you have. There is an app called SoilWeb you can get on your phone that uses gps coordinates to tell you what your soil profile is. Our house sits on Herbert silt loam (A Bear), but the pasture is 2 others including Rilla silt loam. You can then google to find the characteristics and uses, so you have an idea what you're working with.
You are so smart! |
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Quarter Horse HIstorian
Posts: 2878
Location: Aubrey, Texas | You could still make it work but it would take improvements. Our old place in Gainesville (about as north central Texas as you could get!) had gravel drives, the area in front of the barn was gravel, and my dad hauled in sand for the arena. Later, he built a new barn with a small indoor arena, which helped tremendously.
Edited to add that we never had sand burrs (stickers) but we had goat-heads, stickers that grew in a flat rosette, which were treacherous for barefoot little girls.
Edited by cloverleaf 2015-04-08 5:02 PM
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8555
Location: sunny california | cloverleaf - 2015-04-08 2:58 PM You could still make it work but it would take improvements. Our old place in Gainesville (about as north central Texas as you could get!) had gravel drives, the area in front of the barn was gravel, and my dad hauled in sand for the arena. Later, he built a new barn with a small indoor arena, which helped tremendously. Edited to add that we never had sand burrs (stickers) but we had goat-heads, stickers that grew in a flat rosette, which were treacherous for barefoot little girls.
those goat heads are the worst. the kids would get flat tires on their bikes from them |
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