Coastal Gardening – Soil

As we’ve already mentioned elsewhere in this series our garden here on the coast of West Wales experiences the extremes of most parameters that determine what will and what won’t grow. The soil is no exception. Most gardens have soil that range from a nice middle-of the road loam through towards either the heavy clayey end of the spectrum or the lighter sandy end of the spectrum. Here we simply have sand, pure, clean beach sand. It isn’t just sandy soil it is quite literally sand.

The Issues caused by sandy soils

The fact that we have a very sandy soil means it doesn’t really hold any moisture and certainly dries out quickly to the extent that it blows away. Not great as this can mean lots of watering in dry spells and also sand gets everywhere! It also means there are very few nutrients present in the soil and the fungus species that make nutrients available to roots don’t grow either. In addition and it doesn’t provide much support for taller trees to anchor themselves into.

On the plus side though it does make digging very easy indeed.

What can be done to improve sandy soil?

Surprisingly though some things will grow so I’m sure there must be a small amount of organic matter in there somewhere and with a little bit of time and effort the soil can be enriched allowing a wider variety of plants to grow. It isn’t going to be possible to change the soil, it will always be very sandy, but over time it is possible to improve it.

If money were no object then shipping in a truck load of topsoil would be the best option, but we’re living a ‘simple life of luxury‘ here so spending lots of money isn’t an option.

One of the first things I ever did in the garden was to build some compost bins and we’ve been composting all of our garden rubbish, kitchen waste and paper shredding ever since. The resulting compost is added to the ground either as a mulch at various times of the year or by simply digging it into the soil when creating new borders or adding new plants. Its taking a while, but the soil is gradually improving if only in the top few inches.

Another solution is to make use of containers. Containers allow you to control the medium and fill them with compost or soil of your choosing. You may not want a ‘container garden’ but clever use of containers will allow you to grow some plants that simply wouldn’t survive in the soil your garden has been blessed with. Container gardening obviously comes with its own set of challenges, but they are a useful way of increasing the variety of plants you can grow.

Similarly raised beds can be used. I haven’t gone this far yet but may soon create some raised beds in a hidden part of the garden specifically for growing veg. In fact I might first create a low wooden compost bin covering the area in question. I’ll then compost in it for a year or so before using it as a raised bed.

The other important thing to do is to work with what you have. It is surprising just what will grow even in soil as sandy as ours. A quick wander through the dunes will present you with a wide range of grasses, orchids and plenty of other plants, all of which are perfectly at home in sand. Other plants that do particularly well in very sandy soils are Broom (Cytisus sp.) and Lavatera (which is practically a weed here). Sun roses (Cistus sp.) should do well as should Hibiscus syriacus too although I’ve yet to try them.

To a certain extent you have to make do with the soil your garden is blessed with. You can improve sandy soil by adding organic matter allowing it to retain more moisture and nutrients. Choosing your plants carefully will also help ensure success. As with most things in our garden, it all takes time but gradual improvements over the years all add up and the more things we have growing here the better the situation becomes.


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This article is part of a series on Extreme Coastal Gardening

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Alan Cole

Alan is a Freelance Website Designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband with far too many hobbies: Triathlete, Swimming, Cycling, Running, MTBing, Surfing, Windsurfing, SUPing, Gardening, Photography.... The list goes on.