Sandy Soil ~ what would you do/have you done?

[GardenBlooms22]

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. I don't use any chemicals, it's not even legal this close to the River.... I totally forgot to get a soil test, I really will do that! Then I can know how far off I am. There are many "zones" around my 2acre's that I work, surrounded by forest. Some pure sand, sand with slight acid from trees, shade and sand, etc. Anything raised clearly does better as I'm always amending. I compost chicken poo and scraps in summer but in winter I just put it directly on. My Dad who as a Master Gardener, Master Composter had clay soil! That is quite the challenge too. I know that he was always mixing in perlite, peat and many different manures, he swore by sheep.... He told me to get as much "forest floor" as I can but even the forest needs what it's got because a few inches down it's sandy.

Thank you again, I just wrote myself a weekend list with SOIL TEST KIT at the top

No problem at all! I'm happy to help in any way I can.

We don't use any chemicals on our grass, either. So grass clippings might be an option for amending your garden bed (I don't have personal experience on this, though). Gardeningknowhow.com says this: "Late fall to early spring grass clippings are excellent for helping you juice up the garden bed. Mix them into the soil to a depth of at least 8 inches (20 cm.) to add nitrogen."

Yes, the soil test will likely prove useful. It's nice to know exactly where you're at and what the best course of action is when adding amendments (although I don't think you can't go wrong with compost).

Ah, having several different soil types within your gardening space must be challenging. When you get the soil test, I would take a sample from each soil 'zone' or 'type' you have in your space. Because I would suspect each separate 'zone' would have slightly different requirements.

You may want to try growing plants that appreciate shade in some of the shaded areas of your gardening space (like spinach, for instance).

Yeah, clay soil has its own challenges, that's for sure. It generally holds onto water and nutrients better than sandy soil, but is sometimes so heavy that it's a struggle for plant roots to penetrate it. Additionally, clay soil will sometimes hold onto water to such an extent that it actually causes a plant's roots to rot.

Provenwinners.com says this: "The key to success in sandy soil is less frequent deeper watering, using slow release fertilizers to reduce the amount of fertilizer run off and environmental pollution, and adding as much organic matter as possible to the soil to help hold water, nutrients, and keep plant roots in place."

Yes, I've heard leaf rot from forests is like gold when it comes to amendments. We put some down on our garden bed earlier this year.

 

[GardenBlooms22]

Plain brown corrugated cardboard boxes are an excellent source of carbon .Laid flat on the ground between the rows it keeps out weeds and feeds the worms as it decomposes.

Yes, I've heard of people doing that. Sounds like a good idea.

 

[saysfaa]

It might sound counter intuitive but encouraging certain "weeds" can help a lot with sandy soil. They can keep the soil from washing or blowing away, they can keep nutrients close enough to the surface for other plants to use them (either slowing leaching or deep rooted plants capturing nutrients and bringing them to the surface.)

Just be careful to not encourage invasive species.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

It might sound counter intuitive but encouraging certain "weeds" can help a lot with sandy soil. They can keep the soil from washing or blowing away, they can keep nutrients close enough to the surface for other plants to use them (either slowing leaching or deep rooted plants capturing nutrients and bringing them to the surface.)

Just be careful to not encourage invasive species.

That's a great tip, I'm going to be more careful about what I do and don't pull out of there. I have a few actually pretty, flowering weeds in my walkways.

 

[Clementine2022]

On the map my property is a pizza slice with the crust end as River frontage. So it's nice to have that much River view but my soil is just pure sand, medium bank. Add to that fir tree canopy and I feel like I couldn't be in a more challenging place to garden. Between the house and River I do have a nice open spot for garden and landscaping. My chicken coop is on one side of the pizza headed towards the point. About 5years ago I brought in 2 dump truck loads of horse poo and basically spread it everywhere. I was able to seed a small lawn. I add horse poo on garden beds every other fall and cover with black plastic to prevent rain leaching nutrients out as much as possible. Chicken poo is almost as valuable to me as eggs! I collect and dump it everywhere I have trees or flowering bushes, un-composted but in a circle far enough away from the main plant to not burn it. I'm just looking for ideas that I've not thought of. I get really jealous of those of you with full sun and loamy soil but I do appreciate what I have and will probably never move. A couple pics so you can get a feel for my challenge! Thank You in advance!!

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Raised beds are good. You want the rain to send those nutrients into the soil. Maybe work the poo in, not just on top. Do you have a compost area? When you pull weeds, put them in the compost. Add whatever scraps you don't give to the chickens too. Once it breaks done, its great to build up the soil. I add chicken poop and bedding into my compost too. Sometimes poo alone can burn your plants.