Soil Amelioration Sand (Fine)

Soil amelioration sand is a washed, hydrosized sand designed to STRI recommendations for the amelioration of soil.

Soil amelioration sand is designed to create a well structured soil with air-filled soil pores, as recommended by STRI for sports pitches... but it works nicely for vegetables too! Gardening books often say 'use sharp sand'. Sharp describes an angular grain shape.  Unfortunately, using just any old sharp sand won't solve your problem, and could even make it worse, if it contains too great a proportion of fines. We think you need a sand that improves the aeration of the soil - that creates air spaces to allow roots and micro-organisms to respire, easy penetration of small plant roots (that range in diameter from 1/16mm to over 1/4mm), and rapid drainage in wet weather.

We would suggest using 25mm or so at a time, and fork or rotovate it in. Once the sand and soil is well mixed, you can test your soil to see if you are approaching the right texture. To calculate the quantity you need, use the formula length (in m) × width (in m) x 1.6 = tonnes (1 tonne is 1000kg). A 1000kg tonne bag, for example, will comfortably cover an area of 25sqm of 25mm depth.

Soil amelioration is normally done by blending 2 parts sand to 1 part of soil, the aim being to arrive at a loam (for an exact blend for your particular soil, professional advice should be taken).  Ratios can extend to 7 parts sand to 1 part soil. 

Our soil amelioration sand has a pH of approximately 8.0. Store in a dry area until needed.

Available in one tonne bags (at 1000kg a fraction smaller than an imperial one ton bag, which would be 1016kg). Small 20kg samples are also available (please ring).