I have sand, more sand and a heavy thick layer of SAND 😉 I have made compost and hauled in soil for many years and I always need more !!! I wish I had a husband to help me :)
Thank you for the simple , step by step demonstrations . Great plants and message. What kind of diol do you use for the seedlings and to plant the native flowers?
Hi Meryem - my soil is primarily sandy loam. But it is very compacted (turf grass) and sort of behaves like clay. For growing seedlings, I just use potting soil. ProMix is the best in my opinion, but any potting soil will work. The really cheap soils often have lots of twigs though, which is not good for starting seed.
This is a fast soil test that is fairly accurate. It will get you into the correct region of the soil texture pyramid despite not having the precision of the mason-jar test.
Hi - In general you just need to go as deep as you need to, which is kind of a too-generic answer. But what I mean, is if you are planting something that will have very shallow roots, then just go 6" or so. If you are doing tomatoes, go at least a foot or until you hit very compacted soil since their roots 'can' go 2-3' deep in ideal conditions. And pay attention if there are different layers or strata to your soil. So, if you notice the top 6" have a much different consistency then the next 6", just do the test twice and note any differences. I find it's really a good idea to take a few different samples that are somewhat deep, using a flat or deep shovel. And just look for any changes in the cross-section you pull out. You would be amazed as to how much soil can vary within a hole, and just 10' apart. Also of interest - I'm going to have a video to test the exact proportions of clay, sand, and silt soon (should be Saturday). It takes a bit more effort than the ribbon, but it gives a much more precise answer and is just really interesting.
Hears something to play with the old farmers used a glas jar So they took this test every few Acres but a gardener can do it every few feet but put the soil in add rain water or filter water then shake the jar let it sit till it separates then the water on top test for the PH this will tell you if you have sand or clay how much each and the PH and if you need to rotate the crops. Now this is how the world has turned the desert sand into the Oasis gardens like the pueblo Indian and the babylonians hanging garden. So take green plants and pack a bucket and fill it with human pee wait two days add more pee then put it in the sun wait two weeks this is 100 percent nitrogen and use one cup too one gallon of rain water or filtered water . Every thing your body don't use your plants need the Hi acidic rate of the pee will brake the green matter down.
