Red volcanic sand usage

Jane McGary via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Fri, 05 Feb 2021 11:26:16 PST
If Linda's sand is what we get from the bottom of a bin of red cinder 
mulch here in Oregon, a rock gardening acquaintance swears by it as an 
amendment to soils for alpines. He's a plant scientist and says it 
contains some particularly good nutrients. I agree with Bob that it 
should not have too many fines, but the bin scrapings my friend uses are 
not graded. I myself use a lot of white pumice, and I prefer the 
unwashed product because here too the fines have nutritional value.

Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA

On 2/5/2021 1:14 AM, Linda Press Wulf via pbs wrote:
> I’ve ended up with three large bags of red volcanic sand.
>
> Would it be good to add it (and how sparingly?) to my bulb potting mix of volcanic pumice and coir?  How about spreading a half-inch all over my large bed of South African plants to lighten the clay soil?  And if so, can I wait for it to integrate into the soil ( like a side dressing of compost) without my digging it into the soil?
>
> I live in the Berkeley hills, Northern California, and the bed is on a sunny slope. I spray water about once a fortnight in the dry summer.
>
>   I would appreciate any advice.
> Linda Press Wulf
>
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