Beach sand

If beach sand were added to an organic soil mix would it be to salty?
Taken from above or near the tide line.
This is from an area with heavy glacial silt.

I use beach sand from the Oregon coast in my soil with no noticeable negative effects. The sand I use is not a huge fraction of the soil, probably 2% at most.

My dad used to grow huge plants he'd swear by in river sand back in the early 70s. Id definatly give it a try maybe be careful how much you mix until it's dialed like you want it. I guess it depends on were you get it from if it's go salty?

The one time I did it, I took sand from the beach in Pacific Beach.

I rinsed it before planting seeds in it.

It must have been good sand because the seedlings got about 18 inches high.

All they got was water. Under a tiny little 1990 vintage Metal Halide.

Here is an impressive link to a thread in organic hydroponics regarding salt as a fertilizer: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=81260&highlight=salt

I've experimented with lower PPM of nutes and added 1/4 tsp/gallon of good quality sea salt. No harm was done and I think it improved the secondary characteristics.

The last few grows I did (cannabis) and especially out in the vegetable garden I would add glacial silt. I would collect along the banks of a river/creek that mixes with ocean water when the tide comes in. I would categorize it as a brackish silt. All my plants respond nicely to it.

Hmmm. Once I grew in some lagoons in San Diego. It was fun. Didn't get much weight.

Still fun. Once I saw an owl. It was watching me water my seedlings.

Once I came out of the woods with a backpack and some park manager interrogated me. I told him I was just going for a walk and camping out.

Seems like the salt might be a little rough on seedlings. Might be good to plant clones. Also, to watch how the water behaves at extreme high tides, to figure out what soil is more fresh water.

Most of the time I visited my plants after work but sometimes, before work.

Your co-workers look at you differently if you're sitting in a meeting and a tick crawls onto the conference table.

Rinse it with lots of clean water. Salt is really soluble and will wash out.
If you have an EC meter you could test before and after the water rinse.

Yea, rinse the sand of any sodium. People swear by it for a reason, it adds silica to the soil for your plants and lets them grow more robust stems and branches.

St. Phatty said:

Hmmm. Once I grew in some lagoons in San Diego. It was fun. Didn't get much weight.

Still fun. Once I saw an owl. It was watching me water my seedlings.

Once I came out of the woods with a backpack and some park manager interrogated me. I told him I was just going for a walk and camping out.

Seems like the salt might be a little rough on seedlings. Might be good to plant clones. Also, to watch how the water behaves at extreme high tides, to figure out what soil is more fresh water.

Most of the time I visited my plants after work but sometimes, before work.

Your co-workers look at you differently if you're sitting in a meeting and a tick crawls onto the conference table.

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Man you'd love it here, I'm out last yr guerilla growing and got somewere back in these mtns....Well I was already scared I was in a Black Bear trail because it was like torn up I knew it was more than deer. We'll im cutting through a thicket and I see a Black thing running at me!!!! I damn near took a heart attack it was the family dog lol, she must have followed me I was at least 2miles back in the hills from my home. One things for sure I take her with me every time I go in the mtns, or at least every time I can make her go. I lived around Chicago for yrs but moved back here/home. The mtns and hiking in them gets old fast, there's nothing I probably haven't seen in the mtns growing up in the Appalachian mtns. It's gets so thick with all the trees, it can be hard to grow unless you clear out some trees or find somewere they have fallen. There's sometimes I'll see cool animals you don't see much, but over the last 25yrs the deer population has sky rocketed. There almost so tame around my house I can get close and they don't run. I seen a Black Bear crossing the road one morning on my way to the doctor with a couple of cubs, now that was exciting.....were in the car of course!!!

I am re-doing my garden and finally have the soil to a nice consistency. What is the purpose of the sand? My soil has a lot of red clay, and I have put construction sand in before. The stuff is inert though, isn't it?

Troutman has mentioned an EC Meter. Or get yourself a Soil pH Test Kit from the hardware and test any soil samples you make. You're gonna need a pH test kit if you make yr own soil ...