Adding Sand to the Garden Bed. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AENBM 5 September 2009 Adding Sand to the garden bed. The garden bed is a clay base, mixed with plenty of compost over the last five years. By inspection I felt the structure was too tight and compacted too much, so decided to a add a layer of mason or play sand. This modified the soil to make it more friable. The sand was worked into the underlying soil using the Honda FG110 minitiller and raked smooth. The area will be seeded with double cut red annual clover as a Winter cover crop, which will be rototilled into the soil in the Spring.
• Clay soils are not inherently bad, but can be problematic if they lack good structure. • To significantly alter a clay soil, sand must be incorporated to about 50% of the total soil volume. • Many problems associated with clay soils (poor aeration, drainage, etc.) can be alleviated through good management practices http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda chalker-scott/Horticultural Myths_files/Myths/Amendments 2.pdf
That I know. My soil before the addition of the sand today was compost/clay mix. With emphasis on the compost. This certainly made the clay soil manageable. The soil was probably fine except for a bit too much compacting. I felt the sand would alleviate this problem. I have done this on a small scale in other areas of he garden with good results. Thanks for you concern. Much appreciated.
