sandy soils test

**"* F* M* <m*@sympatico.ca>**

At last, something I can speak about from MUCH experience.

Lynn, I'm sorry to say the lawn pros are probably right. If you really have 
sandy soil, you do have to water demonically to keep lawn grass growing.

The smart solution, of course, is DON'T GROW LAWNS on sandy soil. Plant 
native grasses, dig up the lawn and plant drought-tolerant flowers. Grow 
beach roses, cotoneasters, herbs and other good stuff. It's a losing battle 
to try to grow a lawn on sand. (If you're in shade, become an expert in 
shade-tolerant shrubs and perennials, and use lots of bark chips!)

How do I know? My area of Toronto is called the Beach -- because our houses 
sit on the sandy shores of Lake Ontario(tho the lake has receded quite a b 
it over the centuries). Dig down 6 inches and it's all sand. It can rain all 
day and not leave a puddle in my garden. My mom, visiting from the 
gumbo-soiled Texas Gulf Coast, thought a pile of dug-out earth down the 
street was a load of sand that had been delivered!

"Amending the soil" helps a bit, but it takes quite a while, and there's at 
least 6 feet of underlying sand to cope with -- that's a lot of amending.

Yes, the jam jar test will show quite plainly the layers of sand, loam and 
clay -- sand on the bottom, clay on top. The biggest layer is what your soil 
is.

Sorry to run on like this, but I've struggled with sandy shade for 20 years!

Mary Fran McQuade
Toronto (on a bright sunny day when most -- not all -- of the snow has 
melted)

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