sand mixed into soil?

[temujin8]

I was talking to an older grower, and he swears by it. any incite on this?

temujin8 Reviewed by temujin8 on 07-19-2008. sand mixed into soil? I was talking to an older grower, and he swears by it. any incite on this? Rating: 5

[keeko]

I was talking to an older grower, and he swears by it. any incite on this?

what else does he/she use in what parts?

sand can be good depending on how the rest of your soil mix is....makes good for drainage.

[stinkyattic]

Sand is acceptable as a soil texture additive if it's clean, washed sand, but it is not ideal.
What you really want is Perlite, which is chunky light puffy white shit and completely inert- won't change the soil except by making it lighter.
I can see why an older grower might still use sand; it is commonly added to garden soil that is too heavy and clay-ey, but your friend should definitely try a grow with perlite instead- he will be pleasantly surprised.

[temujin8]

thanks, I figgured it was a drainage thing.
dont they put Perlite in bags of pete? I think they put it in other soil but idk I always think of pete, where can you get just bags of perlite?

[Rusty Trichome]

Perlite is available in a variety of sizes from almost any garden center or nursery. I like to get the the biggist (largest chunks) I can find, but sometimes you have no choice. Is worth getting. :thumbsup:

re sand: I used to toss in some greensand for the minerals and iron it contained. Been a long time since I used it...but doesn't greensand buffer the soil, too? Wish I had kept my old logs...
Anyway, it didn't take long to switch to the easier-to-control liquid micronutes.

[stinkyattic]

You're thinking of promix. It's not just peat, it's also limed. I even think that adding a bit of extra perlite to promix is not a bad idea.

Greensand is a rich source of micronutirents, rather than an inert soil structure amendment like washed quartz sand is, although quartz may supply Si at low levels. I'm not sure what the solubility of Si04 is at pH 6.8.

[Dutch Pimp]

Greensand is a rich source of micronutirents, rather than an inert soil structure amendment like washed quartz sand is, although quartz may supply Si at low levels. I'm not sure what the solubility of Si04 is at pH 6.8.

What's Greensand? I'm still looking for a simple source for Silica. A gyspy told me, I need a small amount of a Silica supplement.....

...for my plants, I assume...:smokin:

[Rusty Trichome]

greensand - Google Search

[texas grass]

greensand i believe comes from ancient dried up sea beds. its a very slow release and packed full of micro and trace nutes and some potasium.
you dont want to use greensand as an aeration amendment but as a nutrient amendment
use a lava sand or a play sand as your aeration amendment, or skip the stuff and go perlite

[xxxdout]

I use 1 part pearlite to 2 parts amended soil, sometimes I cheat a little and get soil w/ nutes in it. Only problem I've had is if it storms w/ really heavy rain, the pearlite near the surface will come up.