When it comes to gardening, sands never go out the picture. More about sands, they are a particular blend of gritty granite, quartz, and sandstone particles of various sizes. Now, diving deeper into the types of sands, horticultural sand is the best for enhancing soil drainage physically.
Despite being inaccessible in some areas, highly expensive, or accessible in smaller amount, these type of sands are the most preferred types. Horticultural sand are ideal for the drainage of the soil as well as the growth of healthy plants.
Why Use Horticultural Sands?
Horticultural sand is not the same as the sand in your child’s sandbox or the sand at your favorite beach. Sandbox sand comprises smaller particles that are smoother and less gritty than regular sand. As a result, because it hardens fast and inhibits water from reaching plant roots, it often causes more harm than benefit.
More about the Horticultural sands, they are mostly used in agriculture; they are composed of broken granite, quartz, or sandstone. Sharp sand, coarse sand, and quartz sand are all terms for horticultural sand for plants. The ingredients in Horticultural sands aren’t identical and help with soil drainage which makes such type of sands a preferred option to many. If you’re working on a huge project, builders’ sand will likely save you money.
Right Time to Use Sands in Garden
In various phases of development, most plants require well-drained soils. While such soils would typically combine soil and sand, some plant growth stages prefer one or the other, or well-mixed little amounts of both.
Here are Some Ideas on When and Why You Should Use Sandsin Your Garden:
#1. Rooting of Seeds and Cuttings: In a soilless combination of sand and compost, seeds and cuttings root very well (or peat). The flexible shape allows for better drainage and air circulation, which speeds up roots.
#2. Mixture for Potting: Most soil types have natural drainage, which is beneficial to outdoor plants but not to plant pots. When used alone and in container gardening, garden soil compresses rapidly and becomes brick-like. You can add sands to your potting mix to help with water drainage and air ventilation. Most plants should have one part sand to two parts potting mix, whereas cactus and other plants should have a 50-50 mix.
#3. Heavy Soil Loosening: Heavy soils, such as clay, have poor drainage and, in certain cases, virtually no porosity. Some plant roots cannot penetrate such dense soils and hence will not reach maturity. If you have hard clay soil in your garden, you’ll need much sand. For the best results in increasing drainage, several experts advocate getting sand into the top nine inches of your soil. Several inches of sand should be spread on the garden soil before digging to mix them.
#4. Improvement in Lawn Grass: Lawn grass can grow hard and soggy in poorly drained soil, especially in wet areas. Raking horticultural sand into holes punched into the grass with an aerator is one technique to alleviate this problem. If your grass is tiny, a pitchfork or rake can be used to make holes.
Conclusion
Horticultural sand is a flexible substance that may be used in various garden applications. Such types of sands are ideal for combining with compost to make the best growth medium for seeds and cuttings. In addition, enhancing grass drainage and breaking down heavy soils are important. Horticultural Sand has been properly collected and cleaned to provide a precisely graded, lime-free, free-draining horticultural sand that is ideal for various gardening applications.
