Most small acreage horticultural crops have specific soil, water and climate requirements for optimum production. The following links will assist in identifying these characteristics for potential sites throughout Texas.
Web Soil Survey
Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world. NRCS has soil maps and data available online for more than 95 percent of the nation’s counties and anticipates having 100 percent in the near future. The site is updated and maintained online as the single authoritative source of soil survey information.
Texas Online Soil Survey Manuscripts
This Web site lists soil surveys that have been published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 1899. Soil surveys furnish soil maps and interpretations needed in giving technical assistance to farmers and ranchers; in guiding decisions about soil selection, use, and management; and in planning research and disseminating the results of research.
The Office of the State Climatologist for Texas (OSC)
This OSC is a component of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and the Texas Center for Climate Studies (TCCS), having close links with the National Climatic Data Center and the Global Historical Climate Group in Asheville, North Carolina. The OSC retains a large data base covering Texas and southern states. The OSC regularly publishes reports and monographs and undertakes research on climate patterns and applied meteorology.
USGS Ground Water Data for Texas
The Ground-Water database consists of more than 850,000 records of wells, springs, test holes, tunnels, drains, and excavations in Texas and the United States. Available site descriptive information includes well location information such as latitude and longitude, well depth, and aquifer.
Texas A&M University Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory
The Texas Agrilife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory is housed in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University. The laboratory began operations in 1946 primary as a soil testing laboratory. The laboratory’s primary mission is to provide research based analysis and non-bias recommendations for agronomic, horticultural and non-crop related soil analysis, plant tissue analysis, forage nutritive analysis, and non-drinking water analysis.
