Sand pit to garden

 


We have recently moved into a new house and have removed a substantial
above-ground swimming pool.  What we have left is an area about 10ft by
20ft
which is a depression of about 9 inches below the lawn.  At the
bottom of the
depression is about another 9 inches of sand that
originally served to give the
pool a soft bedding.  Effectively we have
a rather flat golf sand bunker but not
being a golfer we're keen to
flatten it back to lawn or something more
productive (e.g. a flower
bed).

I could just get load of topsoil tipped into the depression and forget
about the
soil but not being any kind of soil expert I'm sort of nervous
that having a
large area of sand under the soil may not be a good idea.
Not being an expert
I'm also only really able to describe the current
soil type as "normal".

Does anyone have any idea or experience of this sort of thing?  Should I
just
bite the bullet and have it all dug up?




--
Surrey.Winder

 

Surrey.Winder wrote:

I wouldn't leave the sand there and cover it up as it will not provide a
good foundation for anything but the most shallow root systems.  Probably
the best solution is to bring in loam and amendments and till it all
together.  You would be aiming at heavier loams with some clay and adding
organic matter and possibly some other amendments if the pH was way out or
the soil was otherwise deficient.

You are aiming to end up with quality soil of good tilth that will drain at
an acceptable rate.  You don't want this area to become a pond in wet
weather so you will need to investigate the drainage.  You need to know
during heavy rain where surface water comes from and where it goes to and
what effect your earthworks will have on that.  To take an example of a case
to be avoided, if your basic soil doesn't drain well and the pool area is
low and level then the sand pit will become completely waterlogged during
extended rain, this is likely to kill your flowers.

David

 



What David is trying to ask is, is the adjacent soil clay?
Sorry to butt in, it's all yours David\;O)
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

 

In article


If the adjacent soil isn't solid clay, why not just have a back-hoe
blend it a bit with the native soil, along with 5% organic material.
If you could smooth out the depression of the trap, that may be all you
need to do.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

 

On Mon, 7 Jun 2010 16:54:38 -0400, Surrey.Winder


We did this about 10 years ago, but turned the bed into a flower and
vegetable garden.

We got a load of cheap, but clean topsoil, then amended it ourselves
with manure, compost, peat, mulched grass clippings and fall leaves,
turning it all in frequently.  It may help if you can rent a tiller
for the early stages or enrichment to incorporate the sand into the
add-ins.

What you have to add in may depend on the underlayment of the sand pit
and the composition of the surrounding soil. You may be able to
consult with your local extension service for advice, too.

It took a couple of years to get the soil to where were happy putting
veggies and fruits into it, but today it is full of worms and is
wonderfully friable and productive.

Boron