Single hen

[Angels4]

I've posted this in OmletUS and have only recieved one response. Thank you Christian, I will try carrots.

After I get settled at the beach I'm going to try and grow my first ever vegetables. The soil is quite sandy and I wos wondering if anybody could make any suggestions on what might grow in this type of soil.

[Christian]

My pleasure Mark. Have you looked at this? -

 

http://www.wqseeds.com/planting.html

[Angels4]

Thanks for that Christian, I haven't ever had the need or opportunity to look at the information you sent, but now that I'm planning vegetables it will be nice to have. Thanks again

[eggypeggy]

How sandy, when you say the beach do mean literally! I would build some raised beds and add lots of top soil from elsewhere and loads and loads of well rotted manure. That should build up a resonable soil structure for any veg. Just don't add manure to the brassica bed.

 

Asparagus likes well drained soil.

 

Sandy soil can be nice and easy to dig etc, just that it needs watering alot and the nutrients leach out very quickly so you might want to add your general fertiliser a bit more frequently than on the packet.

 

Good luck.

[Valkyrie]

Lots of muck and compost. Being on clay, I am rather jealous! Definitely use green manures in between to stop any goodness being washed out quickly. You can undersow with clovers or other ones - that will benefit the veggies too. A book I would recommend - bearing in mind it is for farms, but can be adapted to smaller plots - is by an American:

The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman.

 

You should be able to get it from Amazon. I have found it extremely useful and had quite a lot of success by using some of his techniques in my little veggie patch.

Apart from that you should have brilliant crops - especially carrots (which I am growing in deep plant pots)!

[chickenanne]

I have the most revolting soil: it's much more like plastacine than clay, I think I could easily make my own crockery from it if I felt the urge. Sandy soil warms up quicker and is nice and light to work with, but as everyone else has said, water runs through it quickly (so well drained - prone to dryiness) and nutrients wash out quick, too.

Lots of compost is the best improvement

Leeks, carrots, parsnips, meditaranean herbs, actually anything meditaranean will do reasonably well in something sandy.

[Angels4]

Thanks everybody, I was directed to this lovely website on OmletUS, and I think I will give it a try. http://www.squarefootgardening.com I will let you know how things are working once I get started.

[Valkyrie]

You can get the books on Amazon too (same fella). I think Gardeners World did a trial and they were quite successful. Fingers crossed for you - apparently vermiculite (which the guy uses a lot) might be hard to get in the US. When we go to the US I hit the quilt shops - you will just have to hit the garden centres when you visit here instead!