This one is for all you gardeners out there...

Black Dirt sale
1 - 10 bags $12 each
10 bags and up $10 each
To purchase Dirt contact Jeannie at 628 - 3379

I'm not familiar with the term. Is this rich organic material? Is it known to work in our (presumably alkaline) soil? I've spread my yard with sea grass & sand and I'll shortly be looking for something to go on top of it.

How long have you been here Peter? Amazing lack of local knowledge!!!

So Peter--ya wanna buy some black dirt or what?
It's black and it's dirt--OK
how much you want?
Call 628-3379

Peter if you are dealing with acidic soil try some peat moss or composted material, dried leaves, potato peels etc. It may smell a bit but should help balance the soil. Black dirt is a combination of top soil and I beleive manure, very rich but good stuff. I do a fair bit of gardening.
Good luck

Is this stuff only available in one color?

Thank you Connie M. A helpful response. Belizeonthebeach - unfortunately I'm not a gardener and "dirt" doesn't really tell me much about it. I may get in touch when some current work is finished.

Peter black dirt is the local term for anthrosol, which is found many places on Ambergris Caye, especially in areas that were previously occupied by the Maya. Their waste and refuse has decomposed over many years to produce a rich, fertile composted soil called 'black dirt'. Jeannie's price sounds fair. We buy black dirt regularly.

Thanks for that explanation, that I hadn't heard before. Clearly my "amazing lack of local knowledge", seemingly shared by a few others I've spoken to.

Black dirt also comes from the mainland and is basically fertile top soil. The hand filled bags have less gravel in it than the machine loads. The Mayans used it for balast way back on their trips to the island and probably also used it for farming here. Large mounds of it can be found all about the island. The little park that is for sale is an example of this (and has soil stolen from it). Mixed with horse manure, the stuff is awesome for growing all "kind" of good stuff.

Much of the black dirt coming from northern Belize cane country was stripped off of Maya mounds hence is full of broken pottery shards and interesting little figurines, etc.

I wonder how much archeology has been lost in the process?

Ah! Yet another rhetorical question...have you ever done anything to find an answer?

Not rhetorical, just a muse. But certainly a question to which probably no-one has the answer. Have you not heard how much has been learned in other places from studying the contents of dumps?