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tamika

By Tamika

California, United States

What to do with a whole back yard of sand?? Any ideas
Thanks tamika




Answers

 

Cacti and succulents? Even they would need some nourishment as well as pure sand though. Or you could give up and have a collection of pots?

1 Aug, 2015

 

Or you could just add organic material by the ton. We had a sand dune for a garden at our last house. We added 20 tons of cow manure every year for 12 years and it was still sand. Easy to cultivate though and every thing grew well, as long as they were fed and watered.

1 Aug, 2015

 

You can take a good old walk around the neighborhood to see what others have done with the same soil and climate conditions that you have. I've gotten plenty of good gardening ideas doing that over the years and cultivated some good friendships along the way too.

1 Aug, 2015

 

Build a sand castle lol

1 Aug, 2015

 

Owdboggy has the right idea, if you want a more traditional garden, Tamika. I would dig in an inch-thick layer of composted steer manure to give it a jump start, plus some slow-acting nitrogen fertilizer, such as hoof & horn meal. In flowerbeds, veggie gardens, and rose beds, maintain a 2-3 inch deep layer of organic mulch on the ground to conserve water, and continue to improve the soil. With the lawn, feed regularly with an organic lawn food, such as alfalfa meal, and apply a 1/2 inch deep layer of compost in spring and fall, to keep the soil rich. In the rest of the yard, look for shrubs, trees, and ground covers well adapted to sandy soil. The plant palette available to you will vary widely depending on where in California you live: coast, mountains, Central Valley, or deserts. In a more drought tolerant landscape, a gravel mulch will help keep the soil from blowing away, but will interfere with maintaining organic matter in the soil. Organic fertilizers, and regular applications of compost tea will help fill the gap.

1 Aug, 2015

How do I say thanks?

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