Billy said:

Pat Kiewicz wrote:

Sand seems like it should be different. Less retentive ability to hold
moisture and nutrients, would justify a tree sending out roots
everywhere looking for nourishment.
Besides the roots, what else do you do to your sandy soil to make it
suitable for gardening?

LOTS of compost and mulch, prior heavy applications of ground limestone
and other mineral soil amendments. It's made a huge difference.
It does take a bit of water to keep things going around here, though.

It's a fossil sand dune,
and the sand goes down for 10 feet at least, probably much more.

This I know nothing about. Is a fossil sand dune still just sand or does
it have other characteristics?

It's a sand dune that used to be perched along the shore of a vastly
larger Lake Erie, shortly after the glaciers retreated. South of us the
land is lower and flatter, with much heavier soils (the old lake bed).
It's been several thousands of years since that sand was blowing.

You can still see active sand dunes along the coast of Lake Michigan,
and as you move inland from that lake there are successive bands of
older dunes (or what I have referred to as 'fossil' dunes).

This year I have to start a new strawberry bed, as the old one is
really in decline. Best be prepared for some major tree root removal
when I renovate it...

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Vegetables are like bombs packed tight with all kinds of important
nutrients..." --Largo Potter, Valkyria Chronicles

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