On 11/08/2012 18:51, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Aug 11, 3:54 am, Jeff Layman wrote:
You are confusing "growing" with the act of digging or cultivating. For
the latter, good loam or even sandy soil wins every time, as the job is
easy. But once in, plants grow much better in clay without a lot of
additional help such as watering and use of fertilisers.

--

Jeff

Cites, please? I am interested in following this up.

TIA

HB

Try he
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?pid=179

Selected quotes:
"Clay soils have over 25 percent clay. Also known as heavy soils, these
are potentially fertile as they hold nutrients bound to the clay
minerals in the soil. But they also hold a high proportion of water due
to the capillary attraction of the tiny spaces between the numerous clay
particles."

"Sandy soils have high proportion of sand and little clay. Also known as
light soils, these soils drain quickly after rain or watering, are easy
to cultivate and work. They warm up more quickly in spring than clay
soils. But on the downside, they dry out quickly and are low in plant
nutrients, which are quickly washed out by rain. Sandy soils are often
very acidic "

IME there are certain areas of sandy soil in various parts of the world
all well-known for nutrient problems. I believe the Pine Barrens in NJ
have a very select flora, and most certainly the lateritic sands of
Western Australia are extremely low in phosphates. So much so, in fact,
that if normal (balanced) fertiisers are used on Proteaceae from this
region you might just as well have given them a herbicide!

--

Jeff