Potatoes. Other than that, plan on amending the soil a LOT!!! My parents moved into super-sandy soil 28 years ago, and Mom is STILL adding nutrients to several of her beds! love, mom
how do you go about amending the soil? i want to take a few years to add nutrients before i would start growing in it
you wont like this answer,,,, google it.... jesus christ,, well,,ok.. first thing,,,, go to your local extension agent (look in phone book under county extension agent)and have a soil test done,this will involve you getting some lil envelopes from him/her and taking samples as instructed by him/her around your garden spot,then return the samples to him/her. there is usually a small fee for this. once it comes back it will show you exactly what nutrients your soil is lacking.. from there,, i know this is hard for you to comprehend but,,you will have to research either on the internet or at a library what amendments you will need to add to your soil to improve it. this will vary depending on the analysis,and what kind of amendments are available in your area... or you could just take advice from folks that are just guessin at your soil type and just start dumpin shit in your garden ... the problem with that is whats available for one person in there area(like here we have chicken farms,if you wernt planting for a couple years i would recommend tons of composted chicken manure,never use fresh.),may not be available in your area.also,drainage and how the soil holds water will have to be addressed.again this will need to be addressed with a local who is knowledgeable, the extension agent can be very helpful with that as well. you got all that??? this is all assuming you will want to do this organically,otherwise,the extension agent will tell you exactly how much fertilizer and lime etc. to add to the soil to make it healthy and well drained etc.... i hope that answers your question ...
oh also,when adding amendments,,your ground should already be well tilled,you will want to spread amendments evenly over garden spot and till in thoroughly. amendments can be anything from manure to grass clippings wood chips,sea weed,compost,peat moss,, etc... the list is endless,and a lot can be purchased at your local garden store,but on a large scale its much more economical to find alternate sources in your area,,shit just do some research for whats in your area.
The cheapest easiest way to amend sandy or clay soil is to compost all leaves and grass clippings etc. and mix them in your planting areas. You don't even have to compost them in a heap, mix them in directly if you don't want immediate results. I do it all the time, dump my grass clippings around my roses. It does two things it keeps the weeds down and as it breaks down it adds organic material to my soil and makes weed pulling a hell of a lot easier.
Ohhh, I see! You didn't like hippiehillbilly's suggestion that you look this up yourself in the self-sustaining board, huh? Like I said originally, my mom has sandy soil and is STILL amending it 28 years later! She's added literally DOZENS of truckloads of manure, black dirt, earthworms, compost, and God only knows what else into her soil already & paid a small fortune for all of it... and this is for a single acre, NOT a hobby-farm or anything bigger! It isn't a "few years to add nutrients " kind of thing... it takes a VERY LONG time! As in if you really are 20 as it says under your avatar, it'll take longer'n you've been alive to have TRULY great soil! Heck, nearly as long as *I* have been alive hasn't been long enough yet... she STILL fights for everything but the blackberries & the trees! Seriously, if you're dealing with sand... it takes just about forever. I'm not just saying it! Find a local farmer that'll sit down & talk with you for a minute. He'll know what works well in your local soil, and will also be able to tell you what's the cheapest/best amendments in the area. And he'll most likely give you a loooong earful about what it'd take to do what you're thinking of too. It's an awesome idea... but it isn't the kind of thing you just jump into one day, honest! love, mom
Assuming you're located in the U.S.A., getting in touch with your county agent/extension service is what I always suggest as a first step, and second step, and third.... I still am in regular contact with my county agent. It's localized, expert and free info and they're not out to sell anything - a combination that's hard to beat. A soil test is always (in this old hippie's opinion) the next step. It'll tell you about nutriants, pH, and everything else. Sometimes sandy soil is good in nutriants, but low in organic mater. That means it won't hold rain water long enough & a whole host of other things. Ask the county agent about cover crops/green manure plants for you area & your soil. That, along with the leaves, grass clippings, etc. already mentioned, will probably be among your next steps. There are also things like kelp, alfalfa, blood, and bone meal, plus rock phosphate .... well, we'll get into that later. And as far as " years of add nutriants" goes. That's something that is a prepetual part of the cycle of life for all of us. It's something you, ne, all of us should be doing all the time. And that you are ready to dedicate a few years to building up the soil, before you start using it, seems to me like a good sign that your head is in the right place, you have your priorities straight & you're off to a good start. Peace, poor_old_dad
My answer to anything, virtually always, has been to compost EVERYTHING and then whore out your composted materials to your garden ALWAYS. So yes, leaf and grass compost is a fantastic beginning, but if I can suggest to invest a couple bucks into buying one of those black bins, or create your own composter, and start bulking up on your kitchen waste in there. Whether you have too sandy, too clayish, or even just moderate soil, adding a few buckets of mostly- or completely-decomposed composter stuff a few times a year does wonders for your plants, soil, and lawn.
A very wise old guy once told me, "If you don't compost everything you can, it's just like strip mining your garden." Peace, poor_old_dad
Jimmy, in our area we can get soil testing mailers for the extension agency ( Va. Tech. )at the public library. We also have sandy soil, and composting is key. However it is possible to throw your nutrient balance out of whack with the wrong amendments and it can be difficult to correct after the fact.
If you're going to be putting a lot into amending your soil, if you set up BEDS first you can just add the amendments to the beds, not the whole area; that saves quite a bit. They don't have to be "raised beds," just designated areas you will be gardening in, as opposed to paths. Oh yeah, in response to your original question, asparagus is supposed to like sandy soil, I've read.
There's sandy soil and there's sandy soil. I live in a area that has sandy loam 20 some feet deep (old flood plain), and it's fertile and easy to till. And people love it.(in fact some even sell it as topsoil).. it's easy to dig and cultivate, it's great for trees, almonds, prunes etc. . If you live on a beach hell yeah you are going to be amending it forever.
While this approach works great with clay soils, I wouldn't reccomend it for sand. Adding lots of bulk amendments raises the soil level.... hence this approach creates raised beds... raised beds mean greater drainage... if there's one thing you don't wan't in sand, it's greater drainage! In Florida, they're creating "lowered beds" where the pathways are built up, and all rainwater is directed to the growing medium. Carrots & onions, squash & watermelons, hot peppers, lamb's quarter weed. Also try lantana, canna, angel trumpets, mallows.
Instead of amending you should be thinking mulching. Retains moisture and keeps the weeds down. In the long run as it breaks down it does amend the soil, but takes time. Watering and water retention is the greatest hurdle you have to learn to live with. I can water in the summer here, and in ten minutes the top half inch is crusty dry. With mulch it's much better especially in areas where I drip under the mulch.
Sandy soil is great for root crops. Think about it they can shape and grow without the restrictions of clay. But it's also open to erosion, more reason to plant those root crops.
You do not say where you are from and have not stated the climate you live in but anyway: tomatoes, parsnips, carrots, asparagus, any citrus (requires moisture holding stuff like organic matter, coconut husks, vermiculite) apples, daisies, gooseberries, redcurrents, whitecurrents.
I've thought about that here in N. Arkansas, too, especially around August. And, too, there was the drought last year in Alabama-Georgia area that may or may not be related to global warming, but I did buy some seeds for plants from Native Seed Search -- tepary beans and a drought-resistant lima bean. Sandy soil can be quite difficult to deal with. I have a friend from northern part of Michigan's lower peninsula who said they've been amending for YEARS and still have trouble with soil being too sandy. Another possibility for water-saving would be a "waffle garden" like the top left picture on here: http://www.whatkidscando.org/featurestories/2007/it_makes_me_feel/index.html
sandy soil can be a blessing. it drains very well, is easy to till, and roots grow easily in it. the issue with sandy soil is the nutrient value, and its ability to hold in enough water. you need to be adding humus (compost/mulch/peat moss, etc.) every year, or constantly. every bit of yard and food waste that can be composted should end up in your garden. grass clippings and leaves are great mulch (or buy a few bales of straw) which can be dug into the soil at the end of the growing season. compost food scraps before adding to avoid attracting rats and such to your garden, or bury them, and dig in old dead plants. if you simply keep putting dead plant matter in, your soil can be very producive. youll need to add a lot at the beginning though, so if your ok with not producing much in the first year, plant a green manure crop like clover or peas. peas and beans (bush type) are great because you can harvest a crop before turning them under the soil.
