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Gardening in Oily Sand: Improving Water Penetration

Question: Only soil source is oily sand from house construction. Entire neighborhood same. Moonbeams and Rose of Sharon transplanted. Little water reaches roots. Buying new soil not feasible. Sept 2009.

Solutions

At planting, mix ≥1/3 ground pine bark with native soil to improve air/water movement, root development, microbial activity.
Look for Ferti-lome Aque-Duct (soil detergent) at independent garden centers—helps water penetrate. Spray root zone 2x/year.

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