you will be watering a lot
Guerrilla growing in sand - making it work
- Thread starter Thule
- Start date
I've done peat in the past, worked great.
The objective here though is to make it work with as little soil as possible. I'm doing all my serious projects in top quality soil but that involves lots of heavy carrying. What I want is to be less dependent on super market soil. I'd like to have a few experimental "zero effort" plots next to the good ones, just for small reproductions and test grows, nothing fancy.
What I want to know is, is correcting the PH with lime and adding lots of NPK rich organics like chicken shit is enough to keep them alive and even happy. They'll be getting no more than 15 liters of soil. I might as well use the strongest stuff I can find and that is straight compost.
Weight is an issue. What I can use to ammend the sand is chicken shit, guano, coal and and organic peat pellets enriched with PK rich rock dusts, it's great stuff.
I usually don't have to water, it's rainy enough and rarely gets hot. Last summer was as hot and dry as it gets and I watered twice.
"Which one is better dolomite lime or lime marble? "
Dolomite provides magnesium.
Dolomite provides magnesium.
thatonedude
Member
you mean a wheel barrow?
and how much you have to water will depend on how deep the water table is. some sand stays wet just inches below the surface all the time, and the roots will be able to travel deep easily in sand.
I used to bring in a grocery sack of composted steer manure and a sac of clay for each hole mixed with the sand. always worked well for me
Take my advice with a grain of salt but big thick leaves work great but of course would decompose . if you used shreaded bark it will take longer to decompose than if you used normal sized chipped wood. Water retention would be less than the bigger eood chips but would stay coarse throughout your grow because of the lack of surface area needed to continue to compost in the hole . I grew in 115 degree semi arid terrain with hust citrus leaves, branches and perlite. Only used 25 percent of worm castings.
Make char out of the pine thats old and dry and mulch with the pine needles and whatever vegetation is available. The char will take care of the acidity and is very lightweight if packing it in... but you will still need humic material to get started.
Kygiacomo!!!
AppAlachiAn OutLaW
this is what i do..if im growing in a area like that..i take a 5 gallon bucket and go to a tree here that has been blown over or uprooted and get my dirt from under there or from under a fell over tree and the the dirt under it is some the best ever and u dont even have to buy it...i pack it in a gallon contain and go to my grow dig a whole widen it out really wide and about 18-30 inches deep..i will be introduceing now plant success soluble into my already organic soil from the forest..i did a test one year with this dirt and nothing but top soil from mircle grow and micrle grow potting mix(this is general stuff in my are all use it)..and the one with the dirt i went and got from hills did hell of alot better in ever shape ay and form..
genedigger
Member
that site looks hardcore!ive planted in sandy soils near evergreen trees.i went to spots in late winter and spread woodashes from a woodstove 6 inches thick over the area where my plants would go[i have all the woodashes i could ever use].i come back in early may with bags of compost and a shovel and more ashes.i dig my holes and turn up the ground and add my compost and a bit more ashes.in a few weeks i come back with my plants.the soil wasnt as sandy as that soil you have there but it was pretty shity.some spots had spagnum moss a foot thick over the ground.the most important thing imo is to plant strains that will try to tolerate that soil.ive actually had very good results growing out a few hundred bagseed and planting those in a crappy area like that[the sides of roads use to be a favorite of mine].ive had some bagseed plants that did amazing with almost no amendments to the soil.it still is a lot of work growing outdoors in areas like that.i definetly never got monster yields doing it in shitty spots but good tasting bud can be achieved.
I'm probably going to try a few different methods, I don't want to waste too many seeds on methods that might not even work. I have quite a few spare seeds from a hermie daddy so I'm thinking using those to experiment and then do a few small patches properly. Not having to feed during flower would be optimal. I'm strongly moving towards biochar.
I also have access to all the fall leaves I can carry, I stumbled upon a massive pile at the nearby garden. Any ideas on how to use them? Spread evenly? In layers?
What if I make a raised bed with lots of decomposing leaves at the very bottom, wouldn't that in theory help keep the soil warmer during cold spells? I know the stuff can literally get hot but if I make sure it's deep enough? Any knowledge about this method?
I also have access to all the fall leaves I can carry, I stumbled upon a massive pile at the nearby garden. Any ideas on how to use them? Spread evenly? In layers?
What if I make a raised bed with lots of decomposing leaves at the very bottom, wouldn't that in theory help keep the soil warmer during cold spells? I know the stuff can literally get hot but if I make sure it's deep enough? Any knowledge about this method?
Nice man, this can def be done. Let's take into a few considerations first -
Sandy soil doesn't hold moisture, so moisture retention will be the focus here for the most part. Things like vermiculite, moisture crystals, and organic material (compost) will do great justice here. Organic matter holds 70% more moisture than soilless mixes do, so keep that in mind. Ideally, a mix with 1 part sand - 1 part peat moss - 1 part compost would be perfect for any setting, so strive for these ratios. I'd haul in a few bales of peat moss if you can, and if it's a semi-long distance then consider taping up a quick duck tape backpack to hold the bale on your back with. Wrap it in a blanket or something if you're at risk of being seen, or even put it inside a black trash bag like I do. Here's what I'm talking about:
Take a tarp with you, and dump all the sand onto that after digging your hole. Then add the rest of your peat moss/compost/amendments and toss it around a bit then re-fill the hole. You may need to throw some sand to the side actually in order to keep that 1-1-1 ratio since hole would be 3x the volume if you didn't lol
Sandy soil doesn't hold moisture, so moisture retention will be the focus here for the most part. Things like vermiculite, moisture crystals, and organic material (compost) will do great justice here. Organic matter holds 70% more moisture than soilless mixes do, so keep that in mind. Ideally, a mix with 1 part sand - 1 part peat moss - 1 part compost would be perfect for any setting, so strive for these ratios. I'd haul in a few bales of peat moss if you can, and if it's a semi-long distance then consider taping up a quick duck tape backpack to hold the bale on your back with. Wrap it in a blanket or something if you're at risk of being seen, or even put it inside a black trash bag like I do. Here's what I'm talking about:
Take a tarp with you, and dump all the sand onto that after digging your hole. Then add the rest of your peat moss/compost/amendments and toss it around a bit then re-fill the hole. You may need to throw some sand to the side actually in order to keep that 1-1-1 ratio since hole would be 3x the volume if you didn't lol
That's.... a pretty epic backpack and duct tape project rolled into oneI'd rep if I could
Thanks man, I was looking into one step further and getting a frame backpack....
http://www.amazon.com/ALPS-OutdoorZ...12105&sr=8-1&keywords=backpack+frame+only#Ask
Probably a little more comfortable, I might invest in one this year to see if it helps with the back strain.
