Really sandy soil- where to start??

[omicron1792]

Will be hand performed but giving it a go.


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How big of an area is it Garrett? Where are you located? How many acres total do you have on the land? Is goal to be a destination food plot? A hidey hole kill plot?

If you give us all these factors I (and others) can help you more.

Renting equipment is easy and can be beneficial. You could rent a skid steer for a week and transform the land. You can rent a tractor and equipment too. Lots of atv implements.

If you just want the area not to be a pile of sand and want to throw some seed out and forget it my aforementioned ideas probably the best bet. I would only use high sugar or Tetraploid ryegrass. Lots of the other stuff people have mentioned could be used too. I would def throw some cereal rye and clover in there too.

If you wanted something you could plant and maintain long term I would invest a little up front and flatten the land, amend the soil based on a ph test, and go from there. You could def maintain long term with minimal equipment, but from the pics you showed I think trying to do anything fancy without moving the dirt around some and amending some (lime and fertilizer) would be a waste.

Any other opinions?

 

[Foggy47]

Your saying it's sand.....but when it's wet it's "slick". To me that sounds more like some clay in that dirt. If you dig a hole and fill it with water....how long does it hold water? On my sand....I cannot make a puddle in many places.....it just drains away as fast as I pour water on it.

I think you should back up a bit.....and determine what kind soil you have before deciding what to plant. There are some home tests.....but getting a sample off to a lab for some basic soil makeup would be in order.....IMO. ......and run that percolation test ASAP.

 

[SD51555]

I'd take a soil test and see what you can learn. If it needs lime, get the right lime (calcitic vs dolomitic), get it level and start flinging aggressive broadcast-able seeds on there and see what happens. If you can't get your hands on the answer, just start trying some $20 ideas until something sticks. White clover, red clover, chicory, plantain, flax, jap millet, rape, rye, thistle, ragweed, hairy vetch, barley, german millet, proso millet... The things that have a tendency of getting out of control. I'd even gather up some burdock seed and fling it out there. Fiber is fiber until you get up and running.

 

[FarmerDan]

I'd take a soil test and see what you can learn. If it needs lime, get the right lime (calcitic vs dolomitic), get it level and start flinging aggressive broadcast-able seeds on there and see what happens. If you can't get your hands on the answer, just start trying some $20 ideas until something sticks. White clover, red clover, chicory, plantain, flax, jap millet, rape, rye, thistle, ragweed, hairy vetch, barley, german millet, proso millet... The things that have a tendency of getting out of control. I'd even gather up some burdock seed and fling it out there. Fiber is fiber until you get up and running.

B-I-N-G-O! At least for the throwing-some-seeds-around part. I keep looking at the picture. It seems what's there in the way of soil is curious? If it's dumped there from another location, what is it? There's nothing growing there now and, in my mind, I'm asking what makes you/me/us think anything will grow there?? It's just me, but, me, I'd do some shoveling to see if I can figure out what's different about these mounds compared to what looks to be the soil type surrounding this interesting pile. Failing or succeeding that I would throw down a bunch of different kinds of seed (or just one) to see if anything will grow. Amend the soil if you like, but before investing a lot in manual labor...or renting equipment...prove that something - anything will sprout.