In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

wrote:

I have a loamy/sandy soil in the garden borders which has become dusty
and depleted of nutrients. Any suggestions as regards the best
fertilizer to buy to regenerate it and improve water retention? I was
thinking of well matured manure.

Adding manure, compost, and fertilizer to dust will only make things
worse, what you need is top soil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_soil

Topsoil is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top 2 inches
(5.1 cm) to 8 inches (20 cm). It has the highest concentration of
organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's
biological soil activity occurs.

Commercial application
A variety of soil mixtures are sold commercially as topsoil, usually for
use in improving gardens and lawns, (e.g. container gardens, potting
soil).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil#Characteristics

Soil texture refers to sand, silt and clay composition. Soil content
affects soil behavior, including the retention capacity for nutrients
and water.[17] Sand and silt are the products of physical weathering,
while clay is the product of chemical weathering. Clay content has
retention capacity for nutrients and water. Clay soils resist wind and
water erosion better than silty and sandy soils, because the particles
are more tightly joined to each other. In medium-textured soils, clay is
often translocated downward through the soil profile and accumulates in
the subsoil.

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%2...tural%20Myths_
files/Myths/Compost%20overdose.pdf
During home construction, topsoil is removed from the site and
eventually replaced by "designed soil." It
is almost impossible to purchase native topsoil in urban areas; it is
too precious a commodity.
Commercially available topsoil is usually a mixture of native topsoil
and a variety of inorganic and
organic materials including sand, perlite, compost, peat moss, bark,
sawdust, and manure. These
designed soils usually contain 15% OM by weight (equivalent to 30%
compost by volume). By
comparison, native topsoils contain about 5% OM by weight (or 10% OM by
volume); this level of OM is
considered to be optimal in terms of nutrient content. Obviously, new
residential landscapes contain high
levels of OM, well above what is considered ideal.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
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