Best Soil for Gardening in Indiana
Indiana has 92 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, Brown County, Indiana has 97% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Tipton County, Indiana comes in at 7%, 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 Area | Well-Drained Soils | Dominant Drainage | Dominant Soil Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown County, Indiana | 97% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 2 | Floyd County, Indiana | 97% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 3 | Harrison County, Indiana | 97% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 4 | Ohio County, Indiana | 96% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 5 | Switzerland County, Indiana | 94% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 6 | Monroe County, Indiana | 94% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 7 | Dearborn County, Indiana | 92% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 8 | Lawrence County, Indiana | 90% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 9 | Washington County, Indiana | 87% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 10 | Clark County, Indiana | 87% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 11 | Martin County, Indiana | 85% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 12 | Owen County, Indiana | 83% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 13 | Dubois County, Indiana | 82% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 14 | Fayette County, Indiana | 82% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 15 | Union County, Indiana | 79% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 16 | Franklin County, Indiana | 78% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 17 | Greene County, Indiana | 77% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 18 | Scott County, Indiana | 72% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 19 | Orange County, Indiana | 72% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 20 | Spencer County, Indiana | 71% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 21 | Jefferson County, Indiana | 69% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 22 | Pike County, Indiana | 68% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 23 | Morgan County, Indiana | 67% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 24 | Vanderburgh County, Indiana | 66% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 25 | Crawford County, Indiana | 66% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 26 | Parke County, Indiana | 66% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 27 | Putnam County, Indiana | 66% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 28 | Wayne County, Indiana | 65% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 29 | Steuben County, Indiana | 64% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 30 | Jennings County, Indiana | 62% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 31 | Warrick County, Indiana | 61% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 32 | Jackson County, Indiana | 60% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 33 | Noble County, Indiana | 59% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 34 | Posey County, Indiana | 59% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 35 | Vermillion County, Indiana | 58% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 36 | Knox County, Indiana | 56% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 37 | Bartholomew County, Indiana | 56% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 38 | Lagrange County, Indiana | 55% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 39 | Daviess County, Indiana | 55% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 40 | Gibson County, Indiana | 54% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 41 | Clay County, Indiana | 54% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 42 | Ripley County, Indiana | 54% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 43 | Sullivan County, Indiana | 53% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 44 | Warren County, Indiana | 53% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 45 | Kosciusko County, Indiana | 52% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 46 | Vigo County, Indiana | 51% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 47 | Decatur County, Indiana | 51% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 48 | Marion County, Indiana | 48% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 49 | Henry County, Indiana | 47% | Poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 50 | Fountain County, Indiana | 46% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 51 | Randolph County, Indiana | 46% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 52 | Whitley County, Indiana | 45% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 53 | La Porte County, Indiana | 45% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 54 | Perry County, Indiana | 43% | Somewhat excessively drained | Alfisols |
| 55 | Wabash County, Indiana | 42% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 56 | Johnson County, Indiana | 41% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 57 | Marshall County, Indiana | 40% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 58 | Tippecanoe County, Indiana | 40% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 59 | Miami County, Indiana | 39% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 60 | Porter County, Indiana | 38% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 61 | Cass County, Indiana | 38% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 62 | Fulton County, Indiana | 37% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 63 | Rush County, Indiana | 37% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 64 | Carroll County, Indiana | 37% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 65 | Lake County, Indiana | 37% | Poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 66 | Jay County, Indiana | 36% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 67 | St. Joseph County, Indiana | 35% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 68 | De Kalb County, Indiana | 34% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 69 | Grant County, Indiana | 34% | Very poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 70 | Montgomery County, Indiana | 34% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 71 | Blackford County, Indiana | 32% | Very poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 72 | Shelby County, Indiana | 31% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 73 | Delaware County, Indiana | 29% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 74 | Hendricks County, Indiana | 28% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 75 | Hamilton County, Indiana | 27% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 76 | Benton County, Indiana | 26% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 77 | Elkhart County, Indiana | 26% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 78 | Clinton County, Indiana | 25% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 79 | Madison County, Indiana | 25% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 80 | Allen County, Indiana | 24% | Very poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 81 | Huntington County, Indiana | 21% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 82 | Newton County, Indiana | 20% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 83 | Hancock County, Indiana | 20% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 84 | Pulaski County, Indiana | 20% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 85 | Boone County, Indiana | 19% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 86 | Starke County, Indiana | 18% | Poorly drained | Entisols |
| 87 | White County, Indiana | 17% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 88 | Howard County, Indiana | 16% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 89 | Wells County, Indiana | 14% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 90 | Jasper County, Indiana | 13% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 91 | Adams County, Indiana | 9% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 92 | Tipton County, Indiana | 7% | Poorly drained | Alfisols |