previous
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • Meet Our Mini-Magazines
    Meet Our Mini-Magazines
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
  • Fine Gardening's Tip Off!
    Fine Gardening's Tip Off!
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
next

The dirt on greensand

Q: In her story “A Sanctuary in Every Season” (Fine Gardening #54), Pat Bullard mentions greensand as an ingredient in a mixture that will help break up clay soils. What is it, and how does it work?

John Owens, Glen Heal, FL

A: Nancy DuBrule, a garden designer in Northford, Connecticut, replies: Greensand is a naturally occurring, green mineral powder with the texture of fine sand. The most common type is mined in New Jersey and therefore called Jersey Greensand. It is primarily a source of potassium, but it also contains iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and up to 30 trace minerals that are necessary for plant health.

In organic gardening, a popular saying is “Feed the soil and the soil will feed the plants.” Feeding the soil actually means feeding the life in the soil. Greensand, which is not soluble in water, has valuable nutrients that are released to plants only after being digested by the microorganisms in soil. These microorganisms also break down organic material. The result is a rich, well-balanced, black-colored soil teeming with earthworms.

I have been using greensand in my landscape business for many years. At first many of my customers were puzzled because they had never heard of it, but the results speak for themselves. Gardens that have greensand added at the initial stages of soil preparation have plants that are much more vigorous, with strong stems and abundant blossoms.

From Fine Gardening 60, pp. 16