"SteveB" wrote in message
...
I live on a sand dune. That is, what ain't lava boulders. Nice southern
Utah sandstone sand. I want to plant some melons by some of the tree rings
where they seep out. Lots of regular water, but little nutrients.

Question: Where I plant, should I till out a cavity and put in peat moss
and other bagged amendments? Locals here say melons grow fine on sand,
but I'd guess you'd have to at least add some fertilizer.


I live right down the road from you, and I had some luck with making small
mounds of old leaves and grass, covering that well with commercial soil, and
just planting in that. The soil helps the seed to sprout, and as the
organic stuff underneath rots, the roots go down and eat up all those good
nutrients. By the time they hit the clay underneath they were so strong
they could make it in anything. I used drip irrigation to keep the water
right at the roots.
--S.