Are you living in an area where the region is mostly dominated by sandy soil and you are wondering “what vegetables grow in sandy soil”? It is not a myth that sandy soil does not support the healthy growth of many different species of plants and this is due to its poor water-retention capacity and fertility.
However, that should not suppose to stop you from launching a vegetable garden. This is because there are also different varieties of vegetables that love the sandy soil and they can grow well in the soil.
In a rush? If you are living in an area or region where the soil drains water so easily and has low organic matters, you can consider growing carrots, radishes, strawberries, beans, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, squashes, onions, lettuce, parsnips, potatoes, oregano, and Rosemary.
Read on for a detailed step by step guide plus tips on how to enhance the sandy soil.
Overview
Sandy soil is one of the types of soils, which is characterized by low organic matter and poor water-holding capacity. Sandy soil does not hold and when you irrigate on sandy soil, water usually drains into the soil so easily beyond the reach of plants’ roots. And this is what males most plants die or struggle with when they are planted on sandy soil.
Water is required by plants to Carry out different physiological activities such as photosynthesis and transpiration. Water is also required to dissolve nutrients in the soil for plants’ roots to absorb the nutrients into plants’ systems.
However, some vegetable plants have a special and well-developed root system that can go deep down the soil to where the water is, and then make the water available to the plants’ systems. These special and well-developed roots are called taproots.
Generally, these vegetables that can be grown in sandy soil do not require much water and they do not like clogged soil such as clay or loamy soils.
With this information in mind, here is a list of the 20 best easy vegetables that grow in sandy soil:
1. Parsnips
This is one of the flowering plants that is grown and eaten as a vegetable. It is a biennial vegetable, meaning parsnips can grow up to years. Parsnip is a root vegetable that is similar to carrots and parsley.
The roots of parsnips are taproots and so they can penetrate deep down the sandy soil and absorb water and nutrients for the parent parsnips plant to carry out its physiological activities. Learn more from here and here.
Read also: 15 best and easy vegetables to grow in sandy soil
2. Carrots
Carrot is another vegetable that can easily be grown in sandy soil. The roots of carrots are also taproots and they well developed for water absorption from far. However, despite, the carrots do not like much water regular watering is required to keep the spot where the carrots are growing not dry. Learn more from here.
Read also: 21 Best Vegetables That Can Be Grown In Full Shade
3. Potatoes
Potatoes are also root vegetables that are commonly grown almost everywhere in the world. Potatoes also have a taproot system. They require less water healthy growth. This is because too much water can damage the tubers.
Despite, potatoes are a vegetable that loves sandy soil, do not stress them with a lack of water. You need to timely irrigate them to keep the ground a little bit moist. Learn from here.
Read also: 12 Easy Vegetables To Grow In Full Sun
4. Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the annual vegetables that grow or spend one year or growing season to complete the life cycle. Lettuce is mostly grown as a vegetable for its leafy green leaves, stems, and seeds.
The lettuce roots are also well-developed for absorbing water and nutrients from far. Plant lettuce in sandy soil but do not leave the garden without regular or timely watering. Learn more from here.
Read also: 14 Vegetables That Can Be Grown Well In Arizona Full Sun
5. Strawberries
Strawberry is a great vegetable that is commonly added in different recipes. Strawberry is another option to plant on sandy soil. But, timely irrigation is required. Learn more from here.
6. Peppers
Peppers are common vegetables that are grown worldwide. However, peppers prefer sandy soil to any other soil. So, if you are living in a sandy soil region, the pepper plant is one of the great vegetable options you can consider planting in your garden. However, regular or timely watering is required. Learn more from here.
Read also: 12 Best Vegetables That Be Grown In Clay Soil
7. Corn
Corn is a flowering plant and starchy vegetable, which is eaten as a source of starch, vitamins, and soluble fibers. Corn is commonly known as maize. It is also one of the sand-loving plants that do not require too much water. However, that does not mean should not supplement corn with water from time to time. You can plant corn in sandy soil but ensure that you always keep the ground out of dry.
Read also: How To Grow Vegetables From Scraps
8. Squash
Squash is one of the widely cultivated vegetables. It is a flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae. Squash can be an annual and short-lived perennial vegetable. Squash does not also much water and can survive well in Sandy soil. So, squashes are alternative vegetables you can consider adding to your garden if you are living in a region that is occupied with sandy soil.
Read also: Learn How To Grow Cauliflower From Scraps
9. Zucchini
This is another form or species of squash. It is another vegetable that can grow well in sandy soil. The plant has taproot system for growing in soil like sandy soil. Sqaush does not like plenty but requires timely or regular watering.
10. Collared Greens
Collared greens are common vegetables that are similar to cabbage and broccoli. Collared greens are grown as food for their large, edible, and dark green leaves. Collared greens are great vegetables to be grown for those people who are living in area dominated by sandy soil.
11. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are also among the common vegetables that are grown worldwide for their edible fruits. Tomatoes are annual vegetables crops that do not require plenty water and they grow well in sandy soil. But, for any other sand-loving plants, regular watering is highly recommended for the tomatoes garden.
12. Black Locust
Black locust is one of the legume crops like beans and peas. However, despite black locust is a perennial tree, you can grow the plant as a shelter around your yard while enjoying from vegetable seeds and adding organic matters to your garden sandy soil.
13. Thyme
Thyme is a perennial herb and vegetable. It is very aromatic and widely used as a spice Ind different recipes and soup. Thyme has a fibrous and creeping root system and this root system gives thyme ability to grow in sandy soil. But, ensure that you irrigate thyme regularly to avoid water stress.
14. Asparagus
Asparagus is a perennial grass and vegetable. It is also known as garden asparagus. Asparagus is also another vegetable that can grow in sandy soil. So, if you staging in sandy region, asparagus maybe a great option to be added in your vegetable garden.
15. Radishes
Radish is one of common additive in many delicious recipes such as salad dressings. Radishes are edible root vegetables that are most grown in Asian countries. The root of radish is also developed to grow in places where is not plenty of water. Therefore, adding radishes to your garden can help boost garden with different varieties of vegetables.
16. Oregano
This is a herb and vegetable from the mint. It is used many years by people to boost the flavor of dishes and manage various body conditions. Oregano is another great vegetable that grows well in Sunday soil. So, adding oregano is also a great option before your garden soil become enriched with organic matters.
17. Rosemary
Rosemary plant is one of the members of mint family. It is herb and vegetable, which is used to culinary condiment to boost the body aroma. Rosemary plant also provides various health benefits to the body. Rosemary also does not require water and so it is a good herb to be grown in sandy soil.
18. Beans
Bean is one of the legumes that is eaten as a vegetable. But, the bean is of different varieties such as red, green, and white beans. The most bean that is grown as vegetable is green bean. All beans require less water and require sandy to loamy soil. You can grow them in your backyard with other sand-loving vegetables.
19. Onions
Onions are also common vegetables that are widely cultivated for their vegetable roots. The leaves are also good for making soup and in salad dressings. Onions are good vegetables to be grown in sandy soil.
20. Garlic
Garlic is just like onions. However, onions are larger than garlic and they less aromatic when compared with the aroma of garlic. Both garlic and onions are commonly used as spicy vegetables and to blend bad odour from fish and meat. You can grow them together with other vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce in sandy soil.
How to enhance the quality of Sandy Soil
What if you want to grow an exotic or foreign vegetable, which is not suitable to be grown in sandy soil? In this case, you need to enhance the quality of the sandy soil.
Tip: Learn how to prepare a garden spot from scratch
You can improve the quality of a sandy soil by gradually adding organic matters such as cow manure, compost, and burying of carbon riches scraps such as shredded cardboard, chopped straw and hay, shredded tree branches, and garden waste in the soil. All these organic matters can help increase fertility of the soil by increasing nutrients in the soil.
Adding organic matters can also help increase the water-retention capacity, useful soil microorganisms and decomposers (such as earthworms) to the soil.
Alternatively, you can buy riched soil from nurseries and garden centers. This type of soil is already tailored to help improve the quality of sandy soil. What you only need is to add the soil to the sandy soil and mix them thoroughly.
Beginner to gardening? Learn how to start a garden from scratch
Conclusion
Growing vegetables at your backyard or any space you have is a great way to save some extra money that you usually spend on buying vegetables.
But, if the place or region you’re staying is occupied mostly by sandy soil? In this article, I carefully selected 20 best and easy vegetables that grow in sandy soil. I hope the article will be useful to you. Let me know if you have question.
