poor soil

we have had our garden for about 18 months and have had some nice veg out of it, the problem is we had some huge conifers all around us these have now been cut down but over the years have sapped all the nutrients out of the ground also the soil is very sandy and holds no moisture any wind dries it out, what can I put in to make the soil better?

 

I once heard a gardener say that they are seven main soil types.

Sand, clay, silt, chalk, loam, peat and a 7th category: "earth that has been spewed up from the bowels of hell".

When I moved into my house 5 years ago, I had the 7th type. Builders rubble, glass, discarded pot noodle cartons, you name it.

It's take a lot of raking, sifting, turning, digging and most of all stacks and stacks and stacks of compost over the years, but it's now in very good condition.

 

Dig loads and loads of manure in. Also, what has worked for me in the past, but goes against the rules, is to just dig in all sorts of grass cuttings, leaves, veg peelings (excluding potatoes because they will try to grow) etc even if they haven't been composted. It has the disadvantage that the decomposition process borrows nitrogen that you plants would need, until the stuff has finished decomposing, but you have a number of options to counter that. If you can wait til next year, you could grow a green manure crop this year (some are very pretty, eg crimson clover), and just dig it in next spring and you're ready to go. If you go for a legume crop, the nitrogen issue wont be an issue, as they fix nitrogen from the air and store it as nitrates in tiny nodules on their roots.

Have a look at here:
http://www.organiccatalogue.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_51

If you want to plant the area this year, you could simply dig in loads of rotted manure.

I tried an experiment in my patch where I dug some water retaining gel crystals into the soil. Don't bother. It doesn't work. It might work fine for containers (as it is intended for), but does nothing for open ground.

 

Good points Cluedup1!

I think if you are not planning to sue the soil until next year then "fallowing" it will improve it a lot. And whatever vegetative material you put in will rot down and contribute to better soil quality.

"I dug some water retaining gel crystals into the"

I think its a useful trick under a plant (e.g. a container grown shrub being planted out) in particularly dry spots where they would otherwise be stunted, or struggle.

But other than that will just work their way to the surface and Poof! they'll be gone!

 

The other thing to try is mushroom compost which may be easier to get hold of. TONNES OF HORSE MANURE is the best solution though. Get digging.!!

 

As others have said, add plenty of organic matter. My personal favourite is farm yard manure....it really is worth getting a load if you can. You won't regret it and will transform your soil for years to come if used liberally.