type and brand of course sand

last year

does anyone use quikrete all purpose sand for their garden and containers? trying to decide if it would be adequate for both?

Comments (4)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
To what purpose are you deciding to include sand? Even very coarse sand is not a recommended ingredient for a container soil mix.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
wet sand becomes cement.. and that is why it is RARELY used on pots ...

media is a water management system allowing free flow of water from the top.. right out the bottom.. retaining only that which is nee4ded for the given plant ... sand is not in that equation at all ... [unless i suppose you are dealing with cacti.. but one would think you would have mentioned that if you were ..]

large particles increase drainage.. peat is the sponge that retains the water ... again.. sand doesnt do anything but make heavy pots ...

all that said.. go buy a package of kids play sand.. if you insist on trying sand ...

i did know a guy who insisted in chicken grit.. his one gallon pots weighed about 10 pounds.. lol.. but boy did he perfect HIS system .. i frankly dont know how he moved his pots around.. surprised he didnt blow a few spinal discs ... my point being.. he made his system work ... so if you ant to mess with sand... go for it ...

try any variation on Als gritty mix.. and you will NEVER fail ... im pretty sure there is no sand in it ... he will be along with the recipe soon enough ...

ken
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tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
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The sand will have to be quite coarse. Nothing below 1/10" particle size. But you will have to also make sure that you do not use potting or garden soil with it. Otherwise it will defeat the purpose having coarse soil. Al's gritty mix contains granite grit which is equivalent to very coarse sand. Granite grit is easier to find. Chicken/Turkey feed stores will properly sized and sifted bags of poultry grit.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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What ToC said above, plus, you don't say where you live, so I can't guess what might be available. Coarse sand for horticultural applications should be coarser than builders or torpedo sand, terms that have different meanings that vary with your geography. Gran-I-Grit makes a starter size poultry grit and New Ulm Industries packages #1 size Cherrystone for the same purpose. Manna Pro packages a chick grit that will work, too. Notice: I now see they have added "pro biotics" to their products. I have no idea what that means insofar as making their products more or less appropriate for use in grow media, so you should find that out before using the Manna Pro products.

Fine sand, like play sand will take you in a direction opposite of where your most productive media will be in terms of drainage and aeration To give you an idea, these are the 2 basic media I grow in:

Either/both are very productive due to the fact they hold so little excess (perched) water and they are able to retain their physical structure for long periods of time.

Al

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type and brand of course sand

Comments (4)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

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