Gardening in Sandy Soil?
By newtondak
@newtondak (3946)
United States
May 9, 2008 3:42pm CST
Does anyone have any advice for gardening in sandy soil. We recently moved to and area of ND where the soil is like this. I'm used the the soil in Missouri which sticks together a lot more!
5 responses
@coolseeds (3919)
• United States
10 May 08
You need to amend your soil with manure, compost and topsoil. Or you can grow stuff that likes sandy soil like Agave, Aloe and Yucca.
Compost is the easiest way to enrich your soil. You should also use natural fertilizers like bloodmeal and fish emulsion. They will also help.
For an easy start you can put a good potting mix into the hole where you will be planting. More is better so don't skimp on digging the hole. Then in the fall put the leaves into the growing area and till them into the ground with a good does of a nitrogen fertilizer. If you do this you will soon have the richest soil in the area.
@coolseeds (3919)
• United States
11 May 08
A lot of people are recommending container gardening. I recommend putting a good potting mix into the ground.
It is the same as container gardening and it has more benefits. Your plants will benefit from cooler roots if they were in the ground. This I can not say for a plant in a container. Your plants will also be able to receive nutrients from the soil that they couldn't trapped in a pot. Eventually you will have beautiful soil if you add organic matter and a good potting mix.
If you grew in containers you will never have a good growing area and have to deal with replacing the soil in the pots every year. Among other things.
@newtondak (3946)
• United States
10 May 08
That isn't feasible at this time, but I'm thinking I could incorporate a little at a time until I have more soil than sand!
@astromama (1221)
• United States
10 May 08
Depending on the size of garden you want, you could maybe try a container garden using various containers and potting soil, compost... also a little research should show you what kinds of plants do well in sandy soil.. you could search for heirlooms to grow that are adapted to the environment. I add sand to my strawberries because they do so well in it. Go as native as possible and grow other favorites in containers so you can moderate their individual soil. Herbs and tomatoes grow well in containers.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
9 May 08
When I lived in Arizona, I always dug the holes for the plants and filled them with potting soil. The dirt that I'd dug up, I put on top so it would look like the plants were growing naturally.
Although AZ had more sand and clay and rock than dirt, the plants grew just fine with this method. Good luck with yours!
@newtondak (3946)
• United States
10 May 08
That's a great idea. I can't afford to just bring in a truck load of "real" dirt, but putting the plants in it wouldn't be too bad.
1 person likes this
@bork5111 (24)
• United States
9 May 08
You might want to check a local home and garden store in your area. They might have more information about the soil. I would imagine that with the sandy soil it has to make a difference on what and how you plant things. Or you could talk to some neighbors and see if they could give you some pointers.
@newtondak (3946)
• United States
10 May 08
I think my neighbor does do some gardening - I'll have to check with her. I can see already that it dries out much quicker than the soil I am used to, and it's drier here, so I'm thinking that I'm going to need to water frequently.
