Sand is good in small amounts with a soil mix and desert sands CAN be good, as their calcium-rich alkalinity can sweeten carrot flavor, but if those sands are too salty, most vegetables don't like soils with too much free sodium. Rinsed sands are one way to avoid this, you can wash out some sodium chlorides & carbonates while keeping the calcium & manganese oxides. I have to admit I have no idea about the particulars of Dubai desert sand and am generalizing based on California's desert sands. Sounds like what you need is fully composted organic matter - grass, leaves, bark, manure, ... Sand has essentially no nitrogen and purchased soil often lacks the useful microrganisms that help process dead vegetation into usable nutrients anyway. Some mall soils are mainly useful as a way of maintaining drainage in containers and preventing root rot, but if they are all you use, it's like putting your crops on a diet. That's why so many people add chemical fertilizers to container plants. But you want to try and avoid bringing in diseases or pests along with the compost, there's always some risk with non-sterile soil amendments. It's a bit of a balancing act as well as the subject of quite a lot of discussion about creating perfect soil mixes for particular plants. As a novice, you mainly want to understand that you must have nitrogen to even get the plants growing, then phosphorus and potassium (N/P/K on fertilizer labels) and micro-nutrients for crop production. Desert sands will almost guarantee you potassium and if you want to extend your gardening knowledge into ecological knowledge about your surroundings, using various native soils in your yard can be very educational.

Unlike mint, Basil grows best in full sun. Why dont you find a sunny spot for it? Probably getting plant would be more suitable for you. Plant them about a foot apart and try planting basil seeds between them. This way your childeren will see how a plant grows from seed. With your basil, let it grow about10 inches then cut from top of each branch roughly 3-4 inches, just about a quarter of inch above where two leaves are accross each other. In a few days two branche will grow above each of those leaves. Again, let those branches grow about 10 inches and repeat the process. Given you have a good growing condition, your basil will have many branches. You dont just pick the leave off of basil. If the seeds that you planted germinate, you have to thin them. lets say only have one or two of them between your previously planted basils. The seed package should give you some guideline. But try to find a sunny spot. Probably cilantro grow better where you have described. I see you are in zone 5. Probably you will have to wait til the end of May?? or after mothers day??to plant basil. You have to know when in your area the danger of frost is over. Basil will not grow if it is cold and a light freez can kill it. But you can plant cilantro , both plant and seeds in your garden, RIGHT NOW, TOMORROW.

Are there pictures of this so I can see what you crazy people are doing? We don't have a picture gallery for this forum, and Gardenweb asks that we avoid linking to other sites in the FAQ that might go dormant later. However, search for "pictures" or "pics" in our forum, and see if any of the discussion threads have pictures included! We usually have at least a few.When should I plant...? Can I grow ...? What is this pest / disease / plant? These questions are best directed towards the regional forums or those about that type of plant. The FAQs in those other groups will often have the answers to these questions for you, and if not, gardeners in similar situations are in a better spot to help you out on issues not specific to raised beds and intensive planting. Try the Vegetable Gardening forum, the Organic Gardening forum, the various regional forums, the Pests forum, or your county extension service. You can find the list of all the GW forums here.How do I learn more?A web search for any of the following phrases should help you tremendously. Put quotes around the phrases for best results: "square foot gardening" "Mel Bartholemew" "intensive gardening" or "French intensive"Mel Bartholemew's Square Foot Gardening book and website are highly recommended for a good, basic introduction to one intensive gardening method. There are others, of course, and you will find them as you search and learn more. If we haven't answered your questions here, post and we'll do our best to make something up! Permission gained from Mel Bartholemew to share his ideas and material when his name, website, or book is mentioned, June 2003. FAQ compiled and formatted primarily by fuzzy and Ray_Scheel.

Hi flowersaremusic, Apparently there is quite a bit of variation in zone 5. They may be revising the zone maps to account for climate change. The map I see divides zone 5 into zone 5a (the upper cooler part) and zone 5b (the lower warmer part.) Here in east central Kansas we have been having Spring-like weather. We got no snow and very little rain for February. I will make successive plantings of zinnia seed in-ground starting in mid April (a bit risky) and my zinnias will be a bit slow to germinate because the soil is still cool in April. But I will have a good stand of zinnias by mid May. Our killing frost usually comes late in October. My zinnias start to bloom in about six weeks after they come up and continue blooming until Frost. So they are in bloom in part of June, July, August, September, and part of October. Your Zone 5 does seem much more arctic and short-growing-seasoned, for maximum enjoyment of zinnias. " If my soil heats up by June, I will direct sow. I do have an all day sunny spot, about 5'x12', that was dedicated to irises, but they have all been moved. " You might take a chance on planting some zinnia seeds in-ground in May. That is assuming you aren't expecting any killing freezes in May. " I'm a bit confused about amendments. I've read zinnias do not like rich soil..." Zinnias are fast growing heavy feeders, and they do like rich soil, provided that it is well drained. Their roots need a lot of oxygen as well as soluble nutrients. I add sand to our native silt soil to help the zinnia roots breathe. I also apply foliar feedings of Miracle-Gro Tomato Food (for extra Magnesium) to supply plenty of nutrients. I notice you have felled a lot of trees to improve your garden's sun exposure, and that is commendable. I did the same when we lived in Maine. And you mentioned wood mulch. Just be aware that wood mulch in contact with soil tends to deplete the soil nitrogen supply to feed the wood-eating soil microbes. I use a sand mulch to prevent pillbugs (sow bugs or roly polys), earwigs, slugs, and snails. All of which hate and avoid sand. Since you went to a significant effort felling trees to improve your outdoor garden, you might justify some effort to improve your indoor gardening. You could purchase a few inexpensive T8 fluorescent 4-foot shoplights for the lighting you need for an indoor growing space. I am a zinnia hobbyist, so I grow zinnias year round, both outdoors, and indoors when the weather outside isn't conducive to gardening. This picture was taken in January.My growing setup is in our basement in the utility room. I have some chrome wire shelving and fluorescent shoplights in there. I start my zinnias in 3.25-inch clear square "orchid pots".You can see the roots through the sides of the pots when they need to be re-potted to larger pots.I adjust the height of the fluorescent shop-light fixtures to accommodate the growing plants. You could get indoor seed-starting capability for a lot less effort and expense than felling trees for your outside garden. Obviously the light on the kitchen table won't do the trick. But T8 4-foot 2-tube fluorescent shoplights are reasonably priced, and they put out a lot of light. ZM