What is sharp sand please?

[shirlthegirl43]

I bought some silverskin onion seed from ebay so that I can grow my own and pickle them. Dr Hessayon says that these need to be planted in sandy soil. My soil is a dark brown (deffo not sandy) and I think quite loamy. I have a quantity of builder's sand left over from laying a patio a few years ago - can I mix this with my soil and plant the seeds in that or do I need to get sharp sand? Sorry if it seems a stupid query but I just can't get my head round the differences in sand - all looks golden and fine to me!

[SueA]

Hi Shirley, as far as I know builders sand is a type of sharp sand, it just means coarse & jagged as opposed to fine & rounded.I don't think it would make much difference which kind of sand you use as you just want to make the soil more free draining, I've used a bag of playpit sand once & it made no difference.

[Cutecumber]

I expect that the finer and softer the sand the more expensive it is, too!

While you wouldn't want to use builders' sand in a playpit, ideally (it isn't very pure and stains things) I am sure it's ok for the soil. Go for it.

[shirlthegirl43]

Thanks folks. It was getting on my nerves sitting on the bottom patio so it will be great to make a carrot and silverskin bed!!

What sort of proportion sand to soil should I go for to get nice carrots? I guess the silverskins won't need a lot of depth!

[johnty greentoes]

I was told that builders sand can have stuff added like salt. Having said that I just buy the stuff called sharp sand. Also my local beaches are covered in it...

[Nicos]

Isn't sharp sand more gritty than builders sand? Think it's washed too.
It's supposed to be the best one to use for drainage, and also used as a top dressing on lawns to help drainage.

[shirlthegirl43]

Now getting totally confused. My garden soil drains nicely - maybe there is no need for me to add anything to it

[Palustris]

Sharp sand is a term used to describe a certain kind of sand where each individual particle is jagged. Obviously they are fairly small so hard to see. There are two easy tests to see whether or not a sand is' sharp' Rub some between your fingers near your ear, if you can hear it grating then it is sharp. the other test is even simpler. If it makes a decent sandcastle then it is NOT sharp sand. Builder's sand is 'soft' sand in many cases, especially the type used as bedding for paviors and slabs. It packs down into a solid mass because the particles arre smooth and thus all spaces between them can be removed by pressure. This kind of sand is useless for gardening purposes.

[shirlthegirl43]

Hmm, rubbed some by my ear and it seemed to crunch - it has bits of grit in it too. However, it sort of made a sandcastle - a bit crumbly. maybe I should just plant in the soil I have

[Flummery]

I wouldn't use beach sand. Apart from the fact that you shouldn't be removing it - erosion (I live near the East Coast - ask me about erosion!!) it is as salty as heck. The Romans salted people's fields to stop them producing their own food -it was a serious punishment.

[nick the grief]

Hi Shirl,

Was it used for mortar or concrete? If they uses it for mortar ( it's usually areddy colour round here) then its soft sand and will do more harm then good as Palustris says, it will fill the voids in the soil and won't allow air in. If it was used for concrete ( and looks like a larger version of budgie grit) then it's OK to use. If it's got pebbles in it then it's called Ballast and you don't want to use it ( unless you seive the big stuff out).

As to beach sand, it's not only erosion it's actually illegal to remove sand, gravel or boulders from the beach without a special licence

[Snadger]

IF you have good dark loam and have grown good onions in it before, I would forget about using sand in the onion bed!
By adding sand it would mean you would be forever watering and feeding as sand is greedy for fertiliser and allows water (and fert!) to percolate faster!

The sand used to assist drainage is triple screened and is USGA rated. It's even grain sized to allow water to percolate through spaces.
It also costs an arm and a leg!

Use the sand you've got where you intend to plant carrots!

But who am I to question the words of the great man, Dr Hessayon???

Sod it, just tell him Snadger says so!

[shirlthegirl43]

Thanks Nick and Snadger. Will leave the sand for the next bit of patio we lay (planning a round pation between the rear of the shed and the greenhouse) and have a go at the onions in my raised bed and continue with carrots in buckets.

[terrier]

Nothing like a bit of free advertising,eh!

[lynda66]

i found 3/4 of a bag of builders sand in the corner of my garden, didn't have a use for it so dug it into my herb bed ..... it hasn't killed them .... actually it's probably the healthiest looking bed in the garden ( though i did add 4 growbags, a box of chicken poo and a big box of bonemeal before i planted)