Re: sandy soils test

**"* O* <t*@earthlink.net>**

I'd agree with Mary on not bothering to grow lawns on sandy soil in the
shade, but not on growing it on sandy soil in the sun. There are a number of
interesting lawn grass species that will do well on sandy soils. For many
areas I'm quite keen on buffalograss, for a number of reasons. It will grow
fine on sandy soils, is attractive and gentle on bare feet, it hardly ever
has to be mowed, it can be had in all-female cultivars that produce
pollen-free lawns, and it has very low fertilizer and irrigation demands.
Yes, it does go dormant in the winter, but hey, nothings perfect.
  There are also some other very useful species for sandy areas near the
coasts, some of which are so salt-tolerant that they can actually be watered
with sea water and will still thrive.
Tom
ps. Although I understand perfectly the anti-lawn peoples' perspective, I
also feel that for some areas, there simply is no better ground cover than a
good lawn. Few other groundcovers are half as much fun for kids to play on,
or just to walk across in the morning in your bare feet.
What the "Experts" May Not Tell You About.. .Growing the Perfect Lawn
by Tom Ogren, Warner Books, 2004. ISBN: 0-446-69093-7, $12.95.

----- Original Message -----
From: "MARY FRAN MCQUADE" <mfmcq@sympatico.ca>
To: <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 1:37 PM
Subject: [GWL] sandy soils test

> 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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