Re: sand vs organic matter
- To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: sand vs organic matter
- From: P*@aol.com
- Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 20:20:02 EST
In a message dated 3/21/99 3:41:55 PM Eastern Standard Time,
Heilmanjon@aol.com writes:
<< Well, I have done it both ways. My experience with adding sand to my good
adobe soil was that we got adobe with the tilth of conrete. Squezze a handful
of that mixture and you get a handful of modeling clay.
Adding compost of various kinds alwyas gave me better results.
>>
I am not familiar with adobe soil. I am assuming it is almost entirely a clay
type particle size. If the soil you speak of is like that, it would take huge
amounts of sand to change it. I'm talking dump truck loads rather than wheel
barrow loads. Also if drainage is a problem, one might be better to
manufacture a raised bed on top of the poorly drained soil. If you have a bad
drainage area and dig a thousand cubic feet out....you can make a swimming
pool....even with the sand in it. It would be interesting to know what the
parent rock that broke down to create the adobe. In New England, soils are
typically (but not always) made up of feldspar and quartz predominantly. Other
minerals are present, but feldspar and quartz are usually the big players.
pumkinguy
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