Best Soil for Gardening in Georgia

Georgia

Georgia has 95 USDA soil survey areas, and they vary considerably in how friendly the ground is for growing things. We ranked every survey area by the percentage of well-drained soil — the single most important soil property for most garden plants.

At the top, Coweta, Heard, and Troup Counties, Georgia has 97% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Camden and Glynn Counties, Georgia comes in at 0%, meaning more of the landscape has drainage challenges that may require raised beds, soil amendments, or careful site selection for a productive garden.

Remember that these are area-wide averages. Even in a low-ranking survey area, individual properties can have excellent garden soil. Look up your specific address for exact conditions.

#Survey AreaWell-Drained SoilsDominant DrainageDominant Soil Order
1 Coweta, Heard, and Troup Counties, Georgia 97% Well drained Ultisols
2 Lincoln and Wilkes Counties, Georgia 96% Well drained Ultisols
3 Fannin and Union Counties, Georgia 96% Well drained Ultisols
4 Oglethorpe County, Georgia 95% Well drained Ultisols
5 Bartow County, Georgia 95% Well drained Ultisols
6 Forsyth County, Georgia 95% Well drained Ultisols
7 Barrow, Hall, and Jackson Counties, Georgia 95% Well drained Ultisols
8 Hart County, Georgia 94% Well drained Ultisols
9 Clarke and Oconee Counties, Georgia 94% Well drained Ultisols
10 Dade and Walker Counties, Georgia 93% Well drained Ultisols
11 DeKalb County, Georgia 93% Well drained Ultisols
12 Monroe County, Georgia 92% Well drained Ultisols
13 Paulding County, Georgia 92% Well drained Ultisols
14 Morgan County, Georgia 92% Well drained Ultisols
15 Newton and Rockdale Counties, Georgia 91% Well drained Ultisols
16 Butts County, Georgia 91% Well drained Ultisols
17 Walton County, Georgia 91% Well drained Ultisols
18 Gwinnett County, Georgia 91% Well drained Ultisols
19 Jasper County, Georgia 91% Well drained Ultisols
20 Rabun and Towns Counties, Georgia 91% Well drained Ultisols
21 Banks and Stephens Counties, Georgia 90% Well drained Ultisols
22 Dawson, Lumpkin, and White Counties, Georgia 90% Well drained Ultisols
23 Clayton, Fayette, and Henry Counties, Georgia 89% Well drained Ultisols
24 Cobb County, Georgia 89% Well drained Ultisols
25 Baldwin, Jones, and Putnam Counties, Georgia 89% Well drained Ultisols
26 Harris and Talbot Counties, Georgia 88% Well drained Ultisols
27 Habersham County, Georgia 88% Well drained Ultisols
28 Lamar, Pike, and Upson Counties, Georgia 88% Well drained Ultisols
29 Elbert, Franklin, and Madison Counties, Georgia 88% Well drained Ultisols
30 Greene County, Georgia 88% Well drained Ultisols
31 Columbia, McDuffie, and Warren Counties, Georgia 88% Well drained Ultisols
32 Spalding County, Georgia 87% Well drained Ultisols
33 Murray and Whitfield Counties, Georgia 87% Well drained Ultisols
34 Chattooga, Floyd, and Polk Counties, Georgia 86% Well drained Ultisols
35 Douglas County, Georgia 86% Well drained Ultisols
36 Catoosa County, Georgia 85% Well drained Ultisols
37 Carroll and Haralson Counties, Georgia 85% Well drained Ultisols
38 Fulton County, Georgia 85% Well drained Ultisols
39 Cherokee, Gilmer, and Pickens Counties, Georgia 85% Well drained Ultisols
40 Meriwether County, Georgia 84% Well drained Ultisols
41 Stewart County, Georgia 84% Well drained Ultisols
42 Hancock and Taliaferro Counties, Georgia 83% Well drained Ultisols
43 Decatur County, Georgia 82% Well drained Ultisols
44 Gordon County, Georgia 82% Well drained Ultisols
45 Houston and Peach Counties, Georgia 81% Well drained Ultisols
46 Bibb County, Georgia 79% Well drained Ultisols
47 Randolph County, Georgia 78% Well drained Ultisols
48 Grady County, Georgia 76% Well drained Ultisols
49 Clay and Quitman Counties, Georgia 76% Well drained Ultisols
50 Twiggs County, Georgia 73% Well drained Ultisols
51 Baker and Mitchell Counties, Georgia 73% Well drained Ultisols
52 Crisp and Turner Counties, Georgia 73% Well drained Ultisols
53 Schley and Sumter Counties, Georgia 73% Well drained Ultisols
54 Calhoun and Early Counties, Georgia 73% Well drained Ultisols
55 Muscogee County, Georgia 72% Well drained Ultisols
56 Dooly and Macon Counties, Georgia 71% Well drained Ultisols
57 Glascock and Jefferson Counties, Georgia 71% Well drained Ultisols
58 Pulaski and Wilcox Counties, Georgia 71% Well drained Ultisols
59 Lee and Terrell Counties, Georgia 70% Well drained Ultisols
60 Johnson and Laurens Counties, Georgia 70% Well drained Ultisols
61 Miller and Seminole Counties, Georgia 69% Well drained Ultisols
62 Bleckley, Dodge, and Telfair Counties, Georgia 69% Well drained Ultisols
63 Burke County, Georgia 68% Well drained Ultisols
64 Treutlen County, Georgia 67% Well drained Ultisols
65 Brooks and Thomas Counties, Georgia 66% Well drained Ultisols
66 Crawford and Taylor Counties, Georgia 65% Well drained Ultisols
67 Dougherty County, Georgia 65% Well drained Ultisols
68 Worth County, Georgia 64% Well drained Ultisols
69 Emanuel County, Georgia 64% Well drained Ultisols
70 Washington and Wilkinson Counties, Georgia 63% Well drained Ultisols
71 Webster County, Georgia 61% Well drained Ultisols
72 Tift County, Georgia 60% Well drained Ultisols
73 Chattahoochee and Marion Counties, Georgia 56% Well drained Ultisols
74 Ben Hill and Irwin Counties, Georgia 52% Well drained Ultisols
75 Screven County, Georgia 52% Well drained Ultisols
76 Montgomery, Toombs, and Wheeler Counties, Georgia 52% Well drained Ultisols
77 Colquitt and Cook Counties, Georgia 51% Well drained Ultisols
78 Jenkins County, Georgia 50% Well drained Ultisols
79 Candler, Evans, and Tattnall Counties, Georgia 47% Well drained Ultisols
80 Richmond County, Georgia 45% Well drained Ultisols
81 Bulloch County, Georgia 44% Well drained Ultisols
82 Lowndes County, Georgia 30% Poorly drained Ultisols
83 Atkinson, Bacon, and Coffee Counties, Georgia 30% Poorly drained Ultisols
84 Berrien and Lanier Counties, Georgia 28% Poorly drained Ultisols
85 Appling and Jeff Davis Counties, Georgia 21% Somewhat poorly drained Ultisols
86 Wayne County, Georgia 19% Poorly drained Ultisols
87 Effingham County, Georgia 19% Poorly drained Ultisols
88 Liberty and Long Counties, Georgia 14% Very poorly drained Ultisols
89 Pierce County, Georgia 14% Somewhat poorly drained Ultisols
90 Bryan and Chatham Counties, Georgia 11% Very poorly drained Ultisols
91 McIntosh County, Georgia 8% Very poorly drained Ultisols
92 Ware County, Georgia 3% Poorly drained Ultisols
93 Brantley and Charlton Counties, Georgia 2% Poorly drained Ultisols
94 Clinch and Echols Counties, Georgia 0% Poorly drained Ultisols
95 Camden and Glynn Counties, Georgia 0% Very poorly drained Spodosols

See also: national gardening soil rankings | Georgia drainage rankings | all Georgia survey areas