Sandy soil, due to its specific characteristics, presents a certain difficulty for both summer residents and industrial agricultural producers. Such soil needs enrichment and special treatment. It is also important to know what grows well in poor and loose sandy soil, because it is suitable for a narrow range of ornamental, fruit, vegetable and berry plants.
Specifics of sandy soil
Sandy soils have certain advantages over others:
- High water permeability.Precipitation and water during irrigation penetrate deep into the soil, do not stagnate and do not lead to rotting of sensitive roots.
- Quickly warms up and retains heat even in cold weather, for example caused by rain.
- This soil is loose, roots grow well in it, and it is easy to dig and cultivate.
- It is excellent for growing drought-resistant plants whose roots do not tolerate excess moisture.
Such land also has disadvantages:
- It is not able to retain moisture. After watering or rain, it quickly penetrates the ground, but dries out just as quickly.
- It contains few minerals, and when they are added, they are quickly washed out and moved to the lower layers of the soil.
- There is very little organic matter in sandy soil, and even with regular application it quickly decomposes.
- Such land must be regularly watered and fertilized.
When all the specific features and characteristics are taken into account, it can be successfully used for growing various plants.
Tips for Improving Soil
To make sands as suitable as possible for growing plants, they need to be cultivated and improved. Several methods are used for this.
Claying
The main reason for the low suitability of soil with a predominance of sand is its rapid drying out, due to its loose structure and increased permeability. To improve the technical characteristics of the soil and its nutritional value, clay is used - 3 buckets per square meter of land.
An important feature of the process is that clay is added only in the state of dry powder. If it has lumps, they will not mix with the sand for a long time, and claying will not give any results.
Claying is a labor-intensive and expensive process, so it can be expensive to carry out over large areas. It is more suitable for a small summer cottage or garden plot.
Mulching with organic matter
Sandy soil needs to be amended with generous doses of organic fertilizers, mainly semi-rotted manure, compost or non-acidic peat. This will have to be done often and regularly, especially in the first years of operation of the site. The same applies to the application of mineral fertilizers.
When rotted, organic mulch improves the structure and enriches it with organic matter and nutrients.
Planting green manure
Sowing green manure plants in early spring gives a bountiful harvest of greenery and roots, and digging in the fall enriches it with organic matter. In such soil, the roots and green mass quickly overheat, forming humus and then a humus layer. Various cultivated plants grow well on it.
For these purposes, peas, annual lupine, vetch-oat mixture and other green manure are used. At the end of the growing season, the crops are dug up or plowed into the ground.
What can you plant?
With high quality agricultural technology, various varieties of ornamental, fruit, berry and vegetable crops can be grown on improved sands.
Fruit crops
Sandy soils are characterized by increased looseness, so the roots penetrate deeply into them. But young plantings need intensive care and watering until their roots are well established.
Strawberries and berry bushes grow well on such soils: gooseberries, currants, blackberries, honeysuckle, barberry, chokeberry (chokeberry) and sea buckthorn.
If you want to grow fruit plants - cherries, plums and apple trees - you will have to add a significant amount of humus, other organic matter, nutrient soil and minerals. They will not grow on clean sand.
Ornamental plants
Conifers and conifers grow well among ornamental shrubs and trees, as well as hawthorn, bladderwort, lilac, barberry and gorse. They have powerful, long roots that help them anchor themselves in the ground and reach water. But in the first years after planting, the seedlings will need serious care.
Also in such areas you can grow flowering plants, among them the best perennials: lavender, catnip, ash, spurge, anemone, oregano, coreopsis, alyssum, cat's paw, yarrow and many others.
Alpine plants such as sedum, phlox, periwinkle, arabis, speedwell, and so on grow well on such soils. You can also arrange lawns - English and grass, of course, provided that they are saturated with organic matter and provided with watering.
Vegetables and greens
The most obvious vegetation for sandy land is melons, especially watermelons. They have long powerful roots, strengthen the soil and grow juicy, sweet and sugary.
