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Published on Friday, October 1,
2021
 By Victoria Torley Now, where were we? Oh yes, sandy soil. You don’t have to live near the beach to have sandy soil, but it helps. Of course, if you are at the beach, you have both sandy soil and salt spray. When you combine them, you have real trouble. Then there is the frequent windiness at the beach, which brings its own problems, so let’s stick to the soil. It is much easier to start with sandy soil and amend it than it is to start with heavy or clay soils – especially clay soils (sometimes all you can do is dig the clay out). There is a tremendous amount of space between sand grains as opposed to - - - well almost any other kind of soil. Remember that soil is made up of air, minerals (dirt), liquids, organic matter, and organisms (think worms). Aerated soil is essential for root growth, and the usual figure for a percentage of air in good soil is 20-25%. Pick up a handful of good garden soil and what you hold is 25% air. You have a head start on that if you start with sand. You also have a head start on minerals like calcium for example, if you have white sand, and a whole host of minerals if you have black volcanic sand. But what about liquids? They can be a problem. Liquids run through sand like . . . like water through a sieve. We need to slow it down so it doesn’t get away before the roots can use it. Where do we turn? Clay! Finely ground clay is perfect for helping sandy soil hold water. Clay also provides more minerals, and grinding the clay makes the minerals more available to the roots. So now we have two mineral sources, the sand, and the clay. Next? Next are the same things you added to your clay soil, like kitchen vegetable clippings. I have to admit to being lazy about these. I store veggie clippings in a bag in the refrigerator. About once a week, the gardener digs a hole in the yard and buries them. That’s it, no mixing, no mess. They will decay beautifully and bring in all those wonderful organisms that soil needs. Of course, you can do a bit extra work and start a compost pile with those grass clippings, cow or horse manure, dead leaves, all that detritus from the yard that needs disposal. Mix it all up, let it sit and decay a while and add it to your sand/clay. Your plants will thank you.  These tomatoes said ‘thanks’ for the humus-rich soil. Just remember – drainage is important to tomatoes. They don’t like ‘wet feet’ try to keep them in a raised bed and provide a bit of cover from the rain. ------------------- Editor's note: More information on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached at victoriatorley1@gmail.com Real
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