Compost over sand

[Nan]

Apologies if this has been addressed somewhere but I couldn’t find an answer; I’ve just moved into a flat with a small back garden that is currently almost all paved over. I’ve started pulling up the paving stones and have found they come up easily and underneath is a couple of inches of gritty sand and then soil under that.

My question is, is it necessary to try to remove any of the sand before putting compost down on top, or would the sand get worked in eventually and/or be beneficial?

I’m an almost-beginner gardener so this is probably a fairly elementary question but thanks for the help, if anyone can offer any.

[Don Foley]

Hi Nan,

I think you should first determine what kind of sand it is. You should also establish what kind of soil you have underneath. Both of these questions are important considerations in determining how you should procede.

Don.

[Nan]

Hi Don, thanks for responding.

The soil underneath the sand (and in an adjacent border) seems quite sandy/silty anyway and doesn’t hold together easily when you roll it. I’m guessing that means it’s not a good idea to incorporate any more sand into it?

Hope you don’t mind me asking but is there a way to tell what kind of sand it is? It’s gritty, not fine and smooth, and I assume it’s the kind of sand you use to lay paving. (A bit of googling tells me gritty sand for use in paving is usually also the kind you use in concrete?)

The garden is in a back garden in east London so I wouldn’t expect the soil quality to be great (it’s a bit stony as well).

If you’ve got any further thoughts based on this it would be great to hear them.

[Author]

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