Bodine soil series

What this means

What Bodine soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems

For gardens

Typical topsoil in Bodine soils is very strongly acidic: pH 4.6 (most land between 4.6 and 5.0). Most vegetables and lawn grasses do best around 6.0 to 7.0, so lime is often needed; blueberries, azaleas and rhododendrons like it as it is.

Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 99% of mapped Bodine acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is gravelly silt loam (88% of mapped Bodine acres).

100% of mapped Bodine acres is excessively or somewhat excessively drained: water moves through fast, so gardens need more frequent watering in dry spells.

For lawns and yards

98% of mapped acres is in hydrologic group A, where water soaks in fast. Lawns there dry out quickly; deeper, less frequent watering and organic matter help.

For a septic system

For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates 99% of the acres in mapped Bodine soils very limited, <1% somewhat limited and 0% not limited (1% not rated, such as urban land, pits or water).

Where the soil is very limited (slow permeability, a high water table, flooding, shallow bedrock or steep slopes), alternative systems such as mound or sand-filter designs are common and cost more.

Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.

Generated from the mapped numbers above using fixed rules, not a site visit. See how these notes are written.