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Re: sandy soils test
Yes indeed - I've seen lovely lawns grown with little irrigation on
sandy soils in many climates. One thing that is critical I think is
that one should never, ever, take off the clippings when mowing. It
is absolutely critical to let them fall so that the microherd can use
them to build the humus content, so that roots can get a better hold.
And I think most lawns benefit from an annual light compost dressing
if one is trying to grow a fine lawn. Personally, as soon as the lawn
stopped being a soccer pitch for one generation it turned into a
soccer pitch for the next so I grow a very determined lawn made by
simply levelling a ploughed field and mowing whatever came up at
about three inches. The blades are down to two and a half inches
these days and the lawn is pretty good and very, very practical. But
not of much relevance here since it was grown on a combination of
sticky blue clay and stones - we are on a terminal morain, There are
streaks of pure sand through the garden and an underground river flow
through sand six feet down but that is a different story and typical
of gardening in this area.
I wouldn't grow a lawn in the shade in any conditions.
Kathryn
On 2 Apr 2008, at 23:37, Tom Ogren wrote:
> 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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