How to Garden in Sandy Soil

A friend asked me to help with her grape plants. They were concerned as to why the new plants hadn’t grown at all since transplanting a few months ago. Brief observation cued me into the root of the issue. Sandy, pale soil. I know it well. Where I grew up, the soil was nearly beach sand with nearby sand dunes. Firstly, I’ll list the issues of sandy soil.

This is a sample from my friend’s most fertile area. It’s almost pure orange/grey sand with less than 0.3 percent organic matter.
  • Sandy soil struggles to build up organic matter.
  • Sand doesn’t hold any water.
  • Sand becomes void of water-soluble minerals.
  • Sand can become highly acidic.

Sandy soil has relatively large particles. Water and air can permeate it quickly. This is why sandy soil can, through rainwater, become washed out of fertility and easily dissolvable minerals. Sand often needs a lot of re-mineralization. Common missing elements are: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, magnesium, iron, boron, and sulfur. Some regions will likely be low in calcium and sodium as well. A good soil test will show you what’s needed. Trace minerals are often added through mineral salts, volcanic clays, and manure from well-fed animals. I recommend all three.

You can get a good soil test as well as quality mineral products from the Redmond mineral company. Check out their online shop at: shop.redmondagriculture.com

Because sand is well aerated, organic matter breaks down much more quickly in highly sandy soil. Compost, and its base component humus, can break down faster than it’s naturally deposited and created in sandy soil. To garden in sand, you need to bring in an excess of organic material. My favorite for this use is compost, a depth of 2 inches, and till it in. After that, apply manure if available, or peat moss, to a depth of 2 inches. In this situation, tilling is beneficial to blend the additives in the soil. There will be little to no healthy soil structure to damage. Get it mixed in so the soil can have a head start. Bare, sandy soil can be inoculated with proper soil life by taking some rich soil from the woods and sprinkling it throughout. That will bring invaluable missing biological and fungal components.

The final step is to mulch. Mulch is any organic material that’s at least four inches thick covering your soil. It will hold in moisture and create a habitat ecosystem for worms, soil fungi, and all sorts of other little helpful creatures. It can include old leaves, untreated woodchips, rotted manure, hay, straw, and kitchen scraps. In small amounts, you can add sawdust, lawn clippings, and un-rotted manure. Lawn clippings and sawdust tend to mat down and keep out too much air so go somewhat sparingly with them. No more than an inch or two or just mix several mulch ingredients together. Mulch can be a foot deep once plants are established. My garden is currently mulched with grass hay that my neighbor gave me after it molded in his barn. Our soil is 86 percent sand with a little silt and virtually no clay yet it’s rich, dark, and moist throughout the summer months even with little to no irrigation.

Sandy soil will need more rain or irrigation until it’s amended properly. It will not hold onto fertilizer unless it’s balanced with a fine-particle complex carbon structure (think compost and humus) Another great amendment that I love for sandy soil is biochar. It’s an agricultural-grade activated charcoal. In soil, it holds onto both water and fertility like compost. But, unlike compost, it never breaks down.

Since compost breaks down incredibly fast in sand, biochar is a genuine lifeline for gardeners with sand. Biochar also boosts the action of beneficial soil microbes in the soil. That’s how natural fertility is created. Just add it to your soil when amending. I like to use it at 10 percent (about ½ inch on your soil) and rake it in. I sell biochar by the gallon at northernhomesteading.etsy.com so go check it out.

To learn more about growing your own food, read this article: How to Start a Garden to Grow Real Food

Jordan

I practice what I preach. Here in rural west Michigan, me, my wife, and 5 young kids work together to grow food, raise animals, and grow aninmal feed on just 1 acre. I teach homesteading classes locally, and help people where I can.

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