A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Sandy Soil

I have recently moved to a farm. My soil is sand! It looks like someone had actually brought loads of sand in. Any suggestions on how to get a garden or even a lawn started?? I need help!

welcome to the garden helper moonstar i like that name. i live in an area where i have lots and lots of sand also, and as weezie said to you in another area, compost is the way to go. i am a sort of passive composter, so it takes me a long time, but i am getting there! good luck to you. oh, and where are you city/state/country wise?

Jiffymouse,
thanks for the reply. I am not what you would call an experienced gardener by a long shot! I will try what ever is recommended to me though. I live just out side of Everton, Missouri.
Oh and moonstar is my native american name.. thanks again!

Hello Moonstar and welcome to THE GARDEN HELPER!!!!

I have granite for soil and thus harder than a son of a gun to dig....actually need a jack hammer to dig! So I am going up....with raised beds! If you do a forum search I am pretty sure you will find previous discussions about this subject! During that time I would find any and everyone with leaves and grass clippings (not Burmuda) mixed with your chicken stuff(you will have to check and make sure chicken droppings are acceptable for sure) and start composting!!!

Guess you posted in 2 sections ....and Weezie gotcha already about the composting!

and to answer catlover's almost question, chicken droppings are good. about any non-meat eating animals (such as cats or dogs) make good manure. rabbits, sheep, chickens, horses, and cows being the most common.

Phil here, just wanted to add a warning to you, please be cautious when choosing sources of compost, your own "homegrown" is the best bet, many municipal compost facilities offer free or cheap compost; however, I know three people who have poisoned there gardens with herbicides that were in the poorly composted materials, of which the main component was grass clippings, a question to ask is , HOW LONG WAS IT COMPOSTED, and be concerned if the answer is less than one year

Phil,
You have touched a personal pet peeve
of mine like you wouldn't believe!
I totally agree with that...
I am a home composter and cringe at the
thought of using my town's municiple compost..........
I do not use pesticides' on anything and I have no control over the other peoples' practice's.
I look at all that stuff brought down there and
it is such a waste....
And some people even have the nerve to throw garbage,
home remodeling items, etc. down
there and waste what might be useable....
I doubt anyone reading this is the type to
do that, but I just wonder about why
people do those things...
Thanks for adding this to the board.
It's a very good point!!!!

Weezie