Does applying sand to the garden help? Let’s find out! For most people
I would not recommend adding sand to the garden since it can hurt, but
in some cases it can really help! We use sand and have seen amazing
results, so let’s go through the benefits and costs of using sand in
the garden.
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I live in a river basin, lots of clay, I guess you just saved me alot of headache.
Where did you get that picket fence around your garden?
I've always added sand to clay soils along with compost and peat or coconut coir to lighten soil. There's a balance to be had. No thing is all or nothing. Thanks
for the tips.
MIgardener, what are your thoughts on a raised bed with a layer of masonry sand on the bottom and then a layer of cardboard and then a layer of raised bed soil?
I'm so glad I watched this. Side note, clay soil is the worst
Beginner trying to learn more, I bought play sand but after a couple searches I find "coarse sand" is better for gardening than play sand? It says play sand may not drain well and cause more trouble? Thanks for any and all answers…Trying to grow mango and avocados by the way.
Solid scientific explanation. Awesome video. You can't mix just sand and clay, for the reasons you explained. But if there is other stuff involved (like organic matter), then it's a different story. Then it becomes a discussion of having the right ratios. The trick is to keep the clay component less than everything else, so that it is dispersed and the particles separated. Compost+sand has to be much greater than clay. I'm thinking 10-30% clay in a raised bed would be perfect as fill material. And then 10% sand. And the rest organic matter.
Thank you for this info. I just want to add some builders sand to my compost so Looking for pros and cons
We have black soil so how much sand I should add sand to my horticulture farmland
The sand in clay soil makes concrete is total BS.
Great topic u discuss ..since very few video regarding this topic on youtube & finally helpfull ..
I added sand to my FLOWER bed. I now have some kind of lily pad looking vine growing. What is it and how do I get rid of it? I have pulled and pulled and pulled and they keep coming back.
Great information, thank you!
Clay is a charged particle. Sand and silt are inert. So clay is necessary for the Cation Exchange Capacity in a soil. Adding organic can increase your CEC. You are correct that adding sand to a soil is a bad idea but you are wrong to say you add gypsum to break up a soil with a lot of clay. Gypsum has value in reducing the SAR and also with increasing Ca in the base saturation. Other than that it doesn't magically break up a clay soil. Also clay isn't alkaline. Soils which consist of sand, silt and clay in the mineral portion can be either alkaline or acidic. In alkaline soils free lime can be either present or not present. A quick easy test is to drop some acid onto the soil. If it fizzes then you have some lime in the soil.
Brother understands me who is sand Jupiter.
What if mixing sand with peat moss and compost, is that good? Because in the country I live in we have mountains of sand and I want to use them to plant trees in containers . What do you recommend ?
You provide a lot of good information, but you are wrong about this. First off, no one with any sense is trying to garden in pure clay, which isn’t common anyways. There’s already going to be some amount of sand in the soil. Second, clay heavy soil already sets up like concrete when it’s dry. Adding sand doesn’t make it set up any harder. Third, first hand accounts of successfully using sand as a soil amendment to loosen clay are common including several right here in these comments.
Hi. Should i add sand to my potting sand for indoor plants? I just want to improve the drainage a little more. I was thinking about 1 part sand to 8 part potting soil. What are your thoughts?
Gary goes into detail on sand in the soil. https://youtu.be/KHZHy3_7PPE
I think I need to rewatch. I got no sand unless there’s a lot of compost?
i added coarse sand and scoria to my cactus/succulent garden. Am worried now that I have killed the garden
Thanks but how much sand do I use in my compost?
You can not just add sand to clay. You need to mix in a lot organic matter, Gypsum into the sand. Then put into the clay.
How about washing sand that’s why I came here. Thanks for warnings about mixing with clay. I had my doubts. Builders merchants say that plastering sand is washed. Now I am on the hunt for Gypsum
First year i use sand in potted plants and i am happy with result.Potato,tomato,pine,cypress,date palms,everything likes sand
Skip to 1:00 for info
Sea sand is not good for plants. River sand is good
“Say SAND again.” – Summer from Rick and Morty.
I learned in the early 90s, about mixing sand with clay. I had a habit of collecting sand from every dune field I encountered out West (like, by the bucketful). Eventually, I got the urge to mix some of it with my soil for a cactus in a pot. It's bad enough when you use coarse sand, but desert sand is already pretty fine to begin with. Yeah, I got orange concrete. NOW, in my raised beds that are 95% organic matter (I do have some clay that got mixed in with charcoal and ashes from the burn pile and run through the blender), I had no problem adding some stuff I found on the side of the road. It's 50 gallons of road sand and oak leaves that have mulched down over a decade or so. Good drainage, and I brought home dozens of earthworms with it, which I am happy to say are reproducing like rabbits.