Looking for small farm near Jackson (Natchez, Crystal Springs: home, camping, property taxes)

[bonefilmer]

My husband is considering a job in the Jackson area. I have never been to MS. We are from Wisconsin. We would like to live outside of the city on 20 to 100 acres (a hobby farm). What are land prices like in this general area? What are property taxes like? (Our home here, an average home of 2100 sq ft., 2 acres , is valued at about $300,000 and our taxes are around $4000-$4500, cheaper than in many areas of SE Wisconsin).

I hear that the soil in that part of MS is black and rich! Where I live the soil is sandy, as we live in an area where the glaciers left lots of rock. I love gardening and am sick of the very short season here. I think I could handle 2 months of heat and humidity in the South (August gets bad here - near 100 degrees and 80 to 90 percent humidity) in exchange for 6 months of winter. Not much is usually planted before memorial day because there are still killing frosts possible, and you have to start preparing your gardens for winter by mid-September. I'd like to hear from those of you who are avid gardeners, on what it is like to have such a long season to plant and what kinds of things do well down south. I envy all of the beautiful flowers you can grow, most of which are annuals up here. I guess our freezing temperatures help to kill off some of the pests, which is about the only advantage I can think of. I love vegetable gardening too! Can't even imagine having garden fresh vegetables in April or October.

The family also enjoys hunting, fishing, swimming, picnics, hiking - typical outdoor stuff.

[blueridgemama]

Check out Crystal Springs. It is a little south of Jackson--maybe ten miles. Of course, this being Mississippi, farm land and acreage is available North, South, East, and West of the city. It's pretty amazing how quickly it turns rural. As far as acreage, it is CHEAP once you get outside the city. I wouldn't say that the soil is black and rich...I'd more describe it as a mixture of dust and clay. But it depends on where you are. Years of abuse of the land with agrochemicals and failure to rotate crops has left much of the land depleted. However, MS soil is better than many parts of the country. The growing season is long and you can grow a wide variety of plants. Water is abundant. Cover crops can go a long way toward mending the soil, especially since the winters are mild enough not to really freeze your plants. Outdoor activities are everywhere. The Natchez Trace parkway has lots of hiking and camping. There are state parks all around Jackson.

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by bonefilmer

I think I could handle 2 months of heat and humidity in the South (August gets bad here - near 100 degrees and 80 to 90 percent humidity) in exchange for 6 months of winter.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but if you think you're escaping 100 degree days and 90% humidity in Mississippi, or that it only lasts a couple of months...think again. Not every day is that hot, but most are that humid. It can be oppressive in the summertime...but you do get to escape 6 months of winter!

Life's just a trade-off sometimes, isn't it? LOL!

[marmac]

I wouldn't let posters scare you with words like--"depleted"-- "abuse of agrochemicals"----------- etc scare you.

Take soil tests. They are cheap and accurate.

[Mississippienne]

Sam I Am is right. You will find that the weather in MS will easily hit 90 degrees, with crushing humidity. Seriously, I don't know how my ancestors survived having to wear corsets and layers in this heat. Right now it's about, oh, 80 degrees here on the Gulf Coast, and it was raining heavily this morning. Our winter is December-February. That's it. It's a miracle if it snows. That being said, winter in MS is miserable because it's wet and rainy, and the cold makes your bones ache. It'll heat up by March, and get REALLY HOT by late May. By October it starts to cool down -- I remember we'd have a cold snap every year on Halloween. If you want four seasons, I'd suggest trying TN or KY or someplace slightly more north.

[barebull]

Ther ya'll go thinking it gets hot in Missisippi shucks me an the boys put our wool uniforms and fight the war over and over again. It does have its moments though. year before last was'nt so bad and the winter was mild. we've been lucky with the soil in our area have a creek which runs thru the property as long as the winters stay mild usually up until November we could hold grasss in the pasture. Drop me a line if you would like I lived in that area for over 30years.