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

[sheknitsandcrochets]

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.

 

[sheknitsandcrochets]

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.