Gardening is a wonderful passion for many people in Perth, but the wrong soil type can get in the way of reaching your garden goals. One prime example is a sandy soil problem, which can make it difficult to grow certain plants.

People with the wrong types of soils know how difficult it is to grow plants in soil of poor quality. Water runs out of sandy soils quickly and the soil lacks nutrients that plants need to thrive. Luckily, Garden in a Bag has a few handy tips on how to improve sandy soil and achieve the best garden setup.

Sandy Soil Meaning

Before we get into the best compost for sandy soil, let’s look at the description of sandy soil. Essentially, sandy soil is light, dry, warm, acidic and low in nutrients. There is a high proportion of tiny grains of sand compared to clay soil. Sandy soil doesn’t hold water or nutrients well, making it hard to grow many native Australian plants.

Knowing how to improve sandy soil is important so you can avoid prolonged poor soil quality and maintain a bright, vibrant garden.

How to Improve Sandy Soil

If you can see individual sand particles in your garden soil, you’re probably dealing with sandy soil. Water and nutrients run out of sandy soil quickly, so many plants will die in these poor conditions. Improving the quality of sandy soils is easier than you may think, so long as you find a suitable foundation for your sandy soil. In just a few steps, you can help improve dry and sandy soils to grow a wider variety of plants in your garden.

Keep in mind that sandy soil lacks organic compounds, so it needs more organic matter to lock in water and nutrients. To enhance the soil, add compost or manure to your garden. This organic matter should cling together and offer vital nutrients that slowly release as the compost breaks down, effectively feeding plant roots.

Consider adding compost made from manure, food waste, grass, and leaf mould to address both the moisture retention and nutrient deficiency problems in sandy soil.

Building a Suitable Foundation for Sandy Soil

Once you have adequate compost and organic material to improve sandy soil, you should spread it over the garden bed surface and work into the soil. The larger bits of bulky compost act as mulch and spreading it across sandy soils stops erosion and keeps moisture levels up.

While eventually it will decompose, the compost naturally combines with sandy soil as it drops deep into the garden bed. This translates into nutrient-rich gardens with fewer weeds and healthier, happier plants. You can feel confident that organic surface mulch will hold water better than super sandy soil.

You could also grow cover crops like buckwheat or crimson clover to minimise weed growth. The organic matter from cover crops decomposes into the sandy soil, effectively creating a natural fertiliser that prevents erosion and soil compaction. The addition of organic matter should transform your garden, so long as you take care of sandy soil with a quality fertiliser and frequent watering.

Solving Sandy Soil Problems for Over 20 Years

Now that you know what sandy soil is and how to amend sandy soil, you just need the right fertiliser to reach your gardening goals.

Call Garden in a Bag today on 08 8183 7018 to secure the most suitable foundation for sandy soil with our 100% natural fertiliser.