sand, sand, everywhere!!!!!!!!

I live in georgia and built a house two years ago and my land is very sandy, I have a problem with my shrubs and grass ( mainly my shrubs) not doing well any suggestions?

Sand has everything but a way to hold water. Loam is what you need. Any compost you can collect start a pile and let it cook. I use peat in my real sandy areas with my compost to hold in the moisture. Stay away from clay= cement. Always cover sandy loam with mulch: Pine, Bark, whatever is local and use soakers hoses under the mulch. This holds in the moisture. When you see lots of worms you have created the best soil. Sand is good, easy with time to build it to wonderful loam. Nitrogen is often thin. Think about a cover crop. Beans, barley, clover,or peas are good to grow early in spring and when its dry roto it in.

But I'm trying to get my grass to grow and I have different types of flowering shrubs planted all around my yard,( which is about 2 acres.)

Your shrubs would love a top dressing of compost as a mulch. Your grass needs to have clover planted which will deposit nitrogen deeper in the soil. I have torn out my poor grasses and made soil and replanted them. 2 acres is a lot of lawn. I have thickened some areas of poor soil with a raking over of peat. Then I continue to mulch-cut the grass clippings so soil is made. Don't bag and remove.

I assume you mean that your shrubs and turf are not vigorous, or are yellow-leafed?

Soferdig is right about sand and its drainage. This can be good in all but dry times. Sometimes (like the rainy seasons it is a plus to have well-draining sandy soil. Sand has another good thing: It breathes better than other soil types, and oxygen to roots is as important as sun to leaves.

Master Gardener classes say that when you core-aerate, go around to the holes (I know, nutty, but it works) and fill the holes with loose compost to add organic matter. Worms will mix it in. I have not done it myself, but it seems the best way to amend a lawn area short of ripping the whole thing up and amending it!

Mulch the shrubs with organic matter like Soferdig suggests. Do not cultivate around them lest the surface-roots be damaged. I also strongly second the above post on mulching mowers!

Whatever you do, you will never have loam (which is only decided by what part of the earth on which you happen to sit -for the most part. Soferdig has an exception) but you can have excellent sandy organic soil. Like I said, it breathes well, and it accomodates organic matter well.

Organic material will help any problem, but your best bet is always a soil test.
K. James

thank you so much for your help I'll to to give it a shot. Maybe I'll have a little luck.

I put miracid aroung my azaleas and my gardenia and boy did they perk up wonderfully haven't had any more problems with them.

Soil test. I'll bet your are either high pH or low N. Still apply lots of organic matter. It is the key to gardening. Best of luck, hope this season is your best,
K. James

Thanks for all your help, I hope to have a yard full of grass , and all my shrubs do well this year.

A lot of the problems I read about concerning grass concern varieties of grass not appropriate to the conditions. I don't know your area, but I'd look for native grasses to plant, rather than trying to grow varieties that require extraordinary measures to maintain.

Wayne

Another shortage is Iron chelates. If yellow is the color of patches of grass I would use Ironite or another Iron supplement. It has a lot of trace minerals which sand needs. Also If push comes to shove I have airated my grass with a heavy spray of fish emultion prior to making holes. The cats and dogs in the neighborhood love it so make sure you water it down. I almost always airate in the wet spring here.