Yes, the higher the organic matter, the blacker the soil.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Dark color usually indicates more organic matter.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Here in Colorado we have dark clay soil that won't grow anything until a lot of manure/humus is worked into it to break it up.

When I lived in New Mexico, my place was all blow sand in a section of the old Rio Grande river bottom. When I first moved in, the corn grew only 6" tall. I irrigated from a ditch where the water came from the Rio Grande Every year in the spring ,that water was about like pea soup in consistency from the runoff. I would shoot it across that sand as fast as I could to seal the sand and then disc it in every year. In about three years,I had some good hay crops.In the desert country, it is amazing how good that sorry looking soil will grow things as long as water there.

We planted 4 acres in cucumbers as there was pickle factory on the Isleta Indian Reservation. They paid 6-9 cents a pound for those little 2-3" gerkins but were had pressed to pay 2 cents a pound for the bigger cucumbers. We couldn't pick them fast enough and they got away from us. We sure lost our shirt tail on that deal.

I always look at texture before color.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum