Best Soil for Gardening in Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi has 82 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, Hinds County, Mississippi has 95% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Sharkey County, Mississippi 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 Hinds County, Mississippi 95% Moderately well drained Alfisols
2 Yalobusha County, Mississippi 93% Well drained Alfisols
3 Madison County, Mississippi 92% Moderately well drained Alfisols
4 Marshall County, Mississippi 89% Well drained Alfisols
5 Tishomingo County, Mississippi 89% Well drained Ultisols
6 Benton County, Mississippi 89% Well drained Alfisols
7 Carroll County, Mississippi 88% Well drained Alfisols
8 Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi 87% Well drained Ultisols
9 Walthall County, Mississippi 87% Well drained Ultisols
10 Jefferson County, Mississippi 86% Well drained Alfisols
11 Lauderdale County, Mississippi 86% Well drained Ultisols
12 Franklin County, Mississippi 86% Well drained Alfisols
13 Simpson County, Mississippi 86% Well drained Ultisols
14 Choctaw County, Mississippi 85% Well drained Ultisols
15 Lawrence County, Mississippi 85% Well drained Ultisols
16 Lafayette County, Mississippi 84% Well drained Alfisols
17 Lamar County, Mississippi 84% Well drained Ultisols
18 Wilkinson County, Mississippi 83% Well drained Alfisols
19 Webster County, Mississippi 83% Well drained Alfisols
20 Forrest County, Mississippi 83% Well drained Ultisols
21 Copiah County, Mississippi 83% Moderately well drained Alfisols
22 Marion County, Mississippi 82% Well drained Ultisols
23 Tate County, Mississippi 82% Moderately well drained Alfisols
24 Perry County, Mississippi 81% Well drained Ultisols
25 Itawamba County, Mississippi 81% Well drained Ultisols
26 Amite County, Mississippi 81% Moderately well drained Ultisols
27 Pike County, Mississippi 80% Moderately well drained Ultisols
28 Montgomery County, Mississippi 80% Well drained Alfisols
29 Covington County, Mississippi 79% Well drained Ultisols
30 Lincoln County, Mississippi 79% Moderately well drained Ultisols
31 Wayne County, Mississippi 79% Well drained Ultisols
32 DeSoto County, Mississippi 79% Moderately well drained Alfisols
33 Smith County, Mississippi 79% Well drained Ultisols
34 Attala County, Mississippi 78% Well drained Alfisols
35 Claiborne County, Mississippi 78% Well drained Alfisols
36 Prentiss County, Mississippi 76% Well drained Alfisols
37 Holmes County, Mississippi 75% Well drained Alfisols
38 Stone County, Mississippi 75% Well drained Ultisols
39 Neshoba County, Mississippi 74% Well drained Ultisols
40 Calhoun County, Mississippi 73% Moderately well drained Alfisols
41 Union County, Mississippi 73% Well drained Alfisols
42 Jasper County, Mississippi 72% Well drained Ultisols
43 Jones County, Mississippi 72% Well drained Ultisols
44 Greene County, Mississippi 72% Moderately well drained Ultisols
45 Lee County, Mississippi 70% Moderately well drained Ultisols
46 Rankin County, Mississippi 70% Moderately well drained Alfisols
47 Alcorn County, Mississippi 69% Well drained Ultisols
48 Newton County, Mississippi 68% Well drained Ultisols
49 Panola County, Mississippi 67% Moderately well drained Alfisols
50 Adams County, Mississippi 67% Well drained Entisols
51 Winston County, Mississippi 67% Well drained Ultisols
52 Clarke County, Mississippi 67% Well drained Ultisols
53 Tippah County, Mississippi 67% Well drained Alfisols
54 Kemper County, Mississippi 66% Well drained Ultisols
55 Leake County, Mississippi 66% Well drained Ultisols
56 Pearl River County, Mississippi 65% Well drained Ultisols
57 Harrison County, Mississippi 64% Well drained Ultisols
58 Lowndes County, Mississippi 60% Well drained Ultisols
59 Grenada County, Mississippi 60% Well drained Alfisols
60 Yazoo County, Mississippi 60% Well drained Alfisols
61 Pontotoc County, Mississippi 58% Moderately well drained Alfisols
62 Monroe County, Mississippi 57% Somewhat poorly drained Ultisols
63 Warren County, Mississippi 56% Well drained Alfisols
64 George County, Mississippi 50% Well drained Ultisols
65 Hancock County, Mississippi 46% Poorly drained Ultisols
66 Oktibbeha County, Mississippi 41% Somewhat poorly drained Alfisols
67 Clay County, Mississippi 40% Somewhat poorly drained Ultisols
68 Chickasaw County, Mississippi 40% Somewhat poorly drained Ultisols
69 Jackson County, Mississippi 38% Very poorly drained Ultisols
70 Scott County, Mississippi 35% Somewhat poorly drained Ultisols
71 Tallahatchie County, Mississippi 34% Poorly drained Alfisols
72 Noxubee County, Mississippi 34% Somewhat poorly drained Ultisols
73 Leflore County, Mississippi 20% Poorly drained Alfisols
74 Coahoma County, Mississippi 10% Somewhat poorly drained Alfisols
75 Tunica County, Mississippi 8% Poorly drained Inceptisols
76 Quitman County, Mississippi 7% Poorly drained Alfisols
77 Washington County, Mississippi 6% Poorly drained Inceptisols
78 Sunflower County, Mississippi 3% Poorly drained Alfisols
79 Bolivar County, Mississippi 2% Poorly drained Alfisols
80 Humphreys County, Mississippi 0% Poorly drained Alfisols
81 Issaquena County, Mississippi 0% Poorly drained Inceptisols
82 Sharkey County, Mississippi 0% Poorly drained Inceptisols

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