SAND Subsoil HELP!

Hi All

I have a new build garden and along 2 sides of the garden I have 30cm on topsoil and below this is pure compacted sharp sand to about 1 meter. (that is as deep as I was able to check)

I wish to plant standard fruit trees, shrubs perennials etc but fear that the sand subsoil will not substane the roots at all and if waterlogged will cause rot in the winter months.

Can someone advise if this will be ok do I need to get a mini digger in to remove the sand?

 

Hi, thanks for the info, can I ask how deep your topsoil is?

 

I also garden on pure sand, with just a thin layer of topsoil in some places (the grass has very little or none).

As @ARMANDII says, add as much natural plant-food you can: leaf mould, home made compost, etc as often as you can. When planting shrubs and trees, we dig a planting hole twice as deep/big as normal, half-fill with a mix of home compost and “soil”, and then plant with a handful of chicken manure pellets - either in more half-and-half, or compost.

Regarding fruit trees, I would recommend buying from a specialist nursery. Don’t just order on-line from them, but phone and ask to speak to an advisor (when I did, sometimes you end up speaking with the manager or owner...). Tell them your soil conditions, and location; what you want to grow; the space you have; the size you are aiming for. If you can, do your homework first, and know the root-stock that is normally recommended, and then ask if you need to choose a different one for your location. A good specialist nursery should be able to tell you what you need, to achieve what you want. As a base reference, we wanted trees around 8 foot high, so a largish garden tree. Because of the poor soil (its also on a slope, so drought is a constant threat), we have planted trees grown on small-orchard rootstock - so went up 2 sizes on the rootstock scale. The extra vigour is needed to establish the roots before the conditions hit them. That said, we have still lost 3 of the 7 trees - exceptionally hot and dry summers, year after year...

edited to add hubby’s thoughts, after I discussed this post with him:
Be prepared to tell them what grows well already, either in your garden, or if it’s new/empty, gardens around. A soil test will tell the soil-type of that bit of soil, which may be imported topsoil. Trees doing well in the neighbourhood will tell what the indigenous soil is!
A specialist nursery may seem like an expensive option. They are compared to Aldi’s/Lidl’s etc (a great source of basic plants), but are on a par with most garden centres, and you get much more choice, and I think fantastic value and quality.

 

Thank you all for your help

 

Soil Science is perhaps what this question relates to. NO. I'm not going to bog you down with facts and figures.

Top Soil basically refers to about the top 12-18 inches of soil. As gardeners. We usually dig and cultivate in general. The top spit. The average depth of a spade or fork. Below that, to most gardeners. Who cares.

Actually in fact. We should care. OK. In practice, we often spend loads of money, buying in top soil, covering over what we have got with loads of compost and heaven knows what.

Today mention. Double digging, illegitimate child trenching etc. Mouths gape open. What's that? So may I take you on a digging trip... So divide your plot into resonable strips. Now dig. Lift and set aside the topsoil. Most important. Topsoil has to remain as such.

Having dug out the topsoil. You have the subsoil. This is so often where your problems lie. Hey! this is all clay, or. Damn, all sand. Sand. Oh well that's not too bad, sand, drainage. STOP! don't be fooled. Loose sand is good. It has free drainage. Heavey compacted, compressed sand loses its drainabilitiy.


So the subsoil, of what ever it's consistancy needs to be dealt with. Digging it over. Double digging, will help. Now is the time to add loads of vegetive/organic matter. Sandy soils must be kept open. Back- breaking. But well worth the effort.