St. Louis County agricultural farming questions, history and locations (St. Charles: neighborhood, university)

[ajf131]

Hi there. I have been trying for sometime to find a source that historically documents all or many types of farming activities in St. Louis County. Trying to dig up information has been a challenge for me. Growing up here, I always suspected that even though much of St. Louis County isn't the first place a farmer would look due to the fact it isn't flat, I always figured that being in such a vast watershed for many rivers, creeks, etc. would make most of the county extremely fertile and productive. I looked at many web soil surveys and found the predominating soil types to have a parent material of loess and to be either silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam, and most hills are not too steep for farmland except once you start hitting the Ozark foothills in Southwestern and far Southern St. Louis County. I know the floodplains are very productive and ideal farmland, but I am searching for any evidence of agricultural productivity in Mid-County, specifically in places like Clayton, Richmond Heights, Maplewood, Webster Groves, Rock Hill, Ladue, Olivette, Town and Country, etc. I've read evidence of many farms around here, but no specific details of what kinds they were. Most of these areas seem like they are quite fertile. Most of the hills don't exceed 20 percent in slope, and many times don't exceed 9 percent...I've read that the maximum slope row crops can tolerate is 35%. The soil around these areas seems to be fairly similar to that of Illinois and St. Charles County...it is definitely not at all rocky and red like that of the Ozarks. I guess my question is, even though I cannot because the area is now urbanized... if I wanted to grow corn, soybeans, and wheat in this area, would it be possible with a tiller? Gardening doesn't seem to be a difficult task in this region...trees of all sorts can grow and are numerous. My mother tells me it was never a back-breaking task planting and maintaining a garden in my neighborhood. I guess am looking for someone on here either who can answer my questions with absolute certainty and knowledge or for someone who can refer me to a source that will give me the info I have been after for several months. Thanks. It just seems not to make sense that the flood plains would be the only option for an area surrounded by tons of them that appears in topography in many respects to be just a hillier version of the flat cropland across the Missouri and Mississippi.

[centralaustinite]

Are you looking for historical information, just to know history? Or are you planning a garden? I found your post confusing.

Much of south county was once predominately truck farms, that is vegetable farms with produce grown to sell in the city, there were larger vegetable farms out towards Chesterfield (once known as Gumbo Flats for the dark, sticky soil). Intensive cultivation of corn and soybeans tended to come later (1970s and later).

If you want to grow a garden in your yard, that is certainly doable, either test the soil for lead and other contaminants, or garden in raised beds and bring in new, organic dirt.

There are many local historical societies with detailed records of area farms and you could try the big Missouri Historical Society for information as well.

[ajf131]

Thanks for the suggestion. Think I'll try it. I'm interested in whether it would be practical to farm a lot of St. Louis County outside of the flood plains if much of it were not urbanized. I'm trying better to understand what the soil capabilities in most of St. Louis County are outside of the Ozark foothills and floodplains, like how fertile it is, if crops could mostly tolerate the slopes of its hills, etc. I read that the steepness of most of these hills is no greater than 20 percent, in many cases no more than 9 percent. I'm trying I guess to get a better understanding not only of the farming that was historically done in the area, but the kind of farming that was done and if the soil is fertile and capable of growing corn, wheat and soybeans. I don't have a great understanding of this...so...in any case, I'd appreciate some feedback. I'll check the historical society out.

[centralaustinite]

Okay, it sounds like you should talk to a geology professor (try Washington University or even Meramac Community College). St. Louis County certainly has fertile soil. I grew up on a sloped lot in south county and have a picture of the slope and the hill behind it covered in corn in the 1930s. The Mississippian Indians cultivated the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash) in the area quite intensively for centuries. (An old nick name for St. Louis was Mound City).

Does St. Louis County have an ag extension office? If so, they would have good answers. Anyway, despite my city-data name (and 20 years in Austin), I am born and raised in south county and know a lot of old-timers who used to be farmers! The soil nearly everywhere in the area can support corn, wheat, and soybeans, as well as vegetables and orchards. The soil has a higher clay content, the glaciers did not push down this far so we don't have the deep dark topsoil of Iowa, but as a general rule, St. Louis County soil is fertile and agriculture was a significant part of the local economy even into the 1970s.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Okay, it sounds like you should talk to a geology professor (try Washington University or even Meramac Community College). St. Louis County certainly has fertile soil. I grew up on a sloped lot in south county and have a picture of the slope and the hill behind it covered in corn in the 1930s. The Mississippian Indians cultivated the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash) in the area quite intensively for centuries. (An old nick name for St. Louis was Mound City).

Does St. Louis County have an ag extension office? If so, they would have good answers. Anyway, despite my city-data name (and 20 years in Austin), I am born and raised in south county and know a lot of old-timers who used to be farmers! The soil nearly everywhere in the area can support corn, wheat, and soybeans, as well as vegetables and orchards. The soil has a higher clay content, the glaciers did not push down this far so we don't have the deep dark topsoil of Iowa, but as a general rule, St. Louis County soil is fertile and agriculture was a significant part of the local economy even into the 1970s.

That makes sense now. That is true...glaciers didn't push down as far although I know a lobe of ice flattened out much of North St. Louis and North County...ithe Mississippi River actually used to run along Kingshighway and the lobe of ice that drifted over to the Missouri side during the retreat of the Illinoian glacier redirected the Mississippi several miles east to where it is today. Glacial till is in the soil approximately no farther west of downtown than Kingshighway. Yeah...I am well aware of the higher clay content....St. Louis and St. Louis County had HUGE brick and clay mining operations for years. I am pretty sure brick production is prominent in the Ozarks as well, though that is pretty much all you can do with Ozark soil unless you want to dig all those rocks out.Thank you for the information, you have been VERY helpful. I'll actually consult with a SLU professor if I get the chance but I'll check out Wash U. as I grew up less than a mile or two southwest of the campus. Hopefully you might be able to answer more questions in the future. Btw...out of curiousity, does Austin have fertile soil for farmland...I visited the city about a year or two ago and remember it being hilly, but ask because Texas in general is flat as a board or rolling prairie, PERFECT for lots of agriculture, and I think much of it lies along either the Great Plains and the Gulf Coastal plain. Southwest Texas is more rocky, sandy and mountainous i thought..anyway, this is an answer I have been after for a long time, I cannot express the satisfaction. Next time I'll just ask you instead of doing TONS of research and pouring through TONS of documents on google and books on Amazon for a month

[centralaustinite]

The soil just east of Austin, east of I-35 is part of the Blackland Prairie and yes it is very fertile. Cotton, sorgham, and soybeans, mainly, although in the 1920s and 1930s this area was a major source of canned spinach! Big farms would grow spinach, it would be canned nearby and sent across the county on the railroad. But much of Austin has just an inch or two of sandy soil on top of limestone!! Not good for growing much of anything! In most of the city growing vegetables requires using raised beds and bringing in soil. But we do have an 11 month growing season!

[ajf131]

Doesn't surprise me considering how far south Austin is hehe. That's a lot longer than St. Louis' growing season for sure.