Play Sand

[Rahab222]

Okay, my brother says I need to add some sand to my largest garden bed for tomatoes and peppers. The only sand I can find at the Big Box stores is Play Sand, like you put in a child's sandbox. Is this something I can use in the garden or do I need to buy some sand from a place that sells soil? Thanks!

 

[w_r_ranch]

Play sand is too finely textured to drain well. What you want is coarse builders' sand, ordered by the cubic yard from a masonry supplier. Mix this with your soil & add compost to contribute organic matter in a 2:1 ratio.

 

[ErnieCopp]

This is interesting about the sand. What is the purpose in adding sand to the garden soil? In Construciton, sand is added to make some types of soil stronger or harder, which makes it compact tighter. What type of soil is it added to, and what is the result?

I am an Old Dog, but still trying to learn New Tricks.

Ernie

 

[MR. L.]

cotton burr compost.. works pretty good.. loosens and helps hold moisture

 

[Rahab222]

Mr. L; Thanks for your input on the cotton burr compost. I knew it helps loosen the soil, but I wasn't sure if it helps hold moisture or not. I was wondering. I have a bale of cotton burr compost I didn't use last year. My mother told me my Dad always mixed this into the soil via tractor, but I didn't know why. I will definitely use it in my soil preparation tomorrow.

 

[Rahab222]

Ernie; We've got gumbo soil on the Gulf Coast and everywhere south of Houston; all the way down to the valley. The sand helps make the soil more porous for drainage. A friend of mine told me this week the Houston area is set for a drought this summer, so I'm now going to be thankful for any rain we get.

 

[Mr_Yan]

I have noticed construction sand around here in the big box stores. It is near the bags of concrete and blocks.

What kind of bed is your large bed? In ground or box? How do you plan on mixing it in?

 

[Rahab222]

Mr. Yan; My largest bed, 20' x 8' approximately, is my only in ground bed. When I first brought gardening back into my life, about 7 years ago, I started with a few containers of tomatoes and hanging baskets of strawberries. I kept these in my front yard where I sat out with neighbors each evening, so I would remember to tend to them. I quickly found out people steal your plants - all of them; one here, one there. So, living in the suburbs, I realized everything I planted food-wise was going to have to go in the backyard, behind a locked gate.

I had an acquaintance who gave me a book called, "Square Foot Gardening," using a soilless mixture made up of (5) different kind of compost; vermiculite and peat moss. This mixture was 1/3 of each (with the total of the five composts equaling 1/3 of the mixture.) This mix was put into 4' x 4' boxes that were about 6" deep each, but I doubled mine to have a depth of 12" each. My brother made them for me out of cedar fence pickets. I found videos on YouTube showing how to mix the Mel's mix by putting everything on a large tarp and having another person grab an opposite corner; so that you're both pulling at the same time to roll everything over and mix in all the above components. I had much better success with this than with the container gardening and everything was secured in the backyard.

I wanted to expand, but the Mel's Mix was rather pricey for me. All of my 4' x 4' boxes contain Mel's Mix I made myself or a mixture made specifically for raised beds.

As you've seen and heard, I've just gradually expanded each year. The large onion bed I have this year, I put in last year, purchasing garden soil from my favorite nursery. I put tomatoes in there in 2014, but they didn't do very well. I don't know if it's because I planted them after the nighttime temperatures were over 50 - 75 degrees, or if the garden soil needed time to be amended each year. I've made this my onion bed for 2015. The onions appear to be doing well, but I bought the fertilizer and bulb starter the company recommended this year.

Before this, I put in the larger bed to raise tomatoes and peppers and anything else I can fit in. I don't really have the space I need to rotate crops each year, but I'm doing what I can this year; with the exception of the main bed.

Today, I put my Black Kow, Chicken Compost, Vegan Compost, Leaf Mold, Hummus and Manure Compost, Cotton Burrs and about 10 gallons of peat moss on the tarp and did the above method. You can find this on YouTube. I do all of this by myself, so I don't overload the tarp. Notice, I didn't put any vermiculite in; I used the cotton burrs instead. I then hauled all this over to my largest bed in the wheelbarrow and dumped it in on top of the regular garden soil in this box (which I usually amend with manure each year.) I then hand tilled everything in, using a pitchfork for the final toss. I then dug my holes for (3) Tycoon tomato plants and (1) beefsteak tomato plant. I used Epsom salts, my hand rolled compost, etc. and Miracle Grow in the hole. The area I completed today was about 6' x 7'. I mentioned before that due to all the rain we've been having in Houston this spring, I was going to have to plant in sections to get everything done.

After planting, staking and putting cages around my (4) tomato plants, I used the hand rolled compost to make a large mound around each tomato plant. I do this to try to keep a nice heap of dirt around my plants all season and replenish it as needed so the Houston temperatures don't kill my roots. I then put the coffee grounds I got for free from Star Bucks pretty thickly on and around each mound. The caffeine keep slugs and snails away from the plant so they don't eat the leaves or seedlings. I have been seeing so many of the tiny white snails this year, that I don't recall having noticed previously. Maybe from all the rain?

I hope this helps. I've just sort of combined a little bit of everything I've learned. WR and others on this board are great at helping me iron out the wrinkles and adding to my gardening knowledge. I just keep reading, researching and then practicing gardening to see what works the best.

HAPPY GARDENING!

 

[Rahab222]

Mr. Yan; BTW, I didn't get around to adding any sand. Hopefully this coming fall.