Our soil is silt over a sand substrate and even after all the rain we have had, the soil is now beginning to become very dry after only a week or so of no rain.
As said grain size and shape determine the ability (if that is the right word) of sand to allow water to pass through.
I needed to buy more for cuttings anyway & was faced with the choice of sharp sand, grit sand or silver sand.
I would have thought the grit sand would have had the largest particles, but the sharp sand actually looked like it had some grit pieces in too & said on the outside perfect for cuttings, so I bought that to try that this time.
Does anyone know where Cornish silver sand and/or grit can be obtained these days? In the good old days it used to be available from a couple of local garden suppliers here in Oxfordshire, but seems to have now disappeared from the market.
As others have said, sharp sand is actually crushed rock, and has particles of various size in. I've recently been reading about soil & soil improvers, as I'd like to start growing some veg next year, and autumn & winter is the perfect time for reading & planning what to do next year. Lots of books say adding sand to clay soil helps, as it makes the soil more open, and helps to prevent a 'crust' forming when the soil starts to dry out, thus aiding drainage (otherwise the water just runs off the crust, and does not penetrate to the roots). Adding any organic matter, and digging, helps to aid drainage, as it makes the soil more porous and opens up the structure.
Sand DOES improve drainage, this is why you are advised to brush sand into your lawn every autumn, after removing dead grass by raking, and putting some holes in (or de-thatching and aerating to give them their Sunday names).
If you look at a bag of sharp sand and a bag of horticultural grit, there's not a great deal of difference - apart from the price, that is!
Hi can anyone help? We have a garden which is flooding at
The moment we've dug it up an before laying the top level we have a 4inch gap I was going to use merseygrit before the top spilt help the drainage would that be
From what I have read, adding grit of any kind alone to clay soil can cause problems. The key is to add sufficient organic matter at the same time. Alfalfa meal is a good alternative, I add it in pellet version because it isn't available to me in loose form but as it decays it creates these mini pockets of fertile compost throughout the bed.
We have a lawn which is about 100mtrs x 40 mtrs on a very slight slope. We're on clay type soil and when we first started caring for the lawn, it used to get very wet & boggy. At the start of the season, as we go into spring I have deep forked and almost lifted the lawn away from the sub strata. Fork deeply and then really pull down on the fork till you hear it 'ripping' away. I leave it a few days for aeration and then roll it back down where the surface has been disturbed by the fork 'pulling' THEN I TOP DRESS WITH ABOUT 7-8 BAGS OF SHARP SAND. I've been doing this every year for the last 4 or 5 years. The lawn now drains so much better, soild doesn't get anywhere near as 'boggy' even after heavy rainfall and the lawn looks splendid in peak season.
One of the questions here was asking where to obtain Cornish silver horticultural grit. The question has not been answered . I used it in the 1950s and 60s and I would like to obtain some now. The grains were about one eigth of an inch squarish. Does anyone know how to obtain it?.
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Exactly.
Our soil is silt over a sand substrate and even after all the rain we have had, the soil is now beginning to become very dry after only a week or so of no rain.
As said grain size and shape determine the ability (if that is the right word) of sand to allow water to pass through.
I needed to buy more for cuttings anyway & was faced with the choice of sharp sand, grit sand or silver sand.
I would have thought the grit sand would have had the largest particles, but the sharp sand actually looked like it had some grit pieces in too & said on the outside perfect for cuttings, so I bought that to try that this time.
Does anyone know where Cornish silver sand and/or grit can be obtained these days? In the good old days it used to be available from a couple of local garden suppliers here in Oxfordshire, but seems to have now disappeared from the market.
As others have said, sharp sand is actually crushed rock, and has particles of various size in. I've recently been reading about soil & soil improvers, as I'd like to start growing some veg next year, and autumn & winter is the perfect time for reading & planning what to do next year. Lots of books say adding sand to clay soil helps, as it makes the soil more open, and helps to prevent a 'crust' forming when the soil starts to dry out, thus aiding drainage (otherwise the water just runs off the crust, and does not penetrate to the roots). Adding any organic matter, and digging, helps to aid drainage, as it makes the soil more porous and opens up the structure.
Sand DOES improve drainage, this is why you are advised to brush sand into your lawn every autumn, after removing dead grass by raking, and putting some holes in (or de-thatching and aerating to give them their Sunday names).
If you look at a bag of sharp sand and a bag of horticultural grit, there's not a great deal of difference - apart from the price, that is!
The moment we've dug it up an before laying the top level we have a 4inch gap I was going to use merseygrit before the top spilt help the drainage would that be
Ok?
?Merseygrit?
Everywhere is soaking wet at the moment. What I've got here wouldn't be altered by any sort of grit or sand. A few dry weeks is what's needed.
In the sticks near Peterborough
From what I have read, adding grit of any kind alone to clay soil can cause problems. The key is to add sufficient organic matter at the same time. Alfalfa meal is a good alternative, I add it in pellet version because it isn't available to me in loose form but as it decays it creates these mini pockets of fertile compost throughout the bed.
We have a lawn which is about 100mtrs x 40 mtrs on a very slight slope. We're on clay type soil and when we first started caring for the lawn, it used to get very wet & boggy. At the start of the season, as we go into spring I have deep forked and almost lifted the lawn away from the sub strata. Fork deeply and then really pull down on the fork till you hear it 'ripping' away. I leave it a few days for aeration and then roll it back down where the surface has been disturbed by the fork 'pulling' THEN I TOP DRESS WITH ABOUT 7-8 BAGS OF SHARP SAND. I've been doing this every year for the last 4 or 5 years. The lawn now drains so much better, soild doesn't get anywhere near as 'boggy' even after heavy rainfall and the lawn looks splendid in peak season.
One of the questions here was asking where to obtain Cornish silver horticultural grit. The question has not been answered . I used it in the 1950s and 60s and I would like to obtain some now. The grains were about one eigth of an inch squarish. Does anyone know how to obtain it?.