Improving sandy soil in my 1 1/4 Acrein south central Florida without importing Organic mater (Any m

Hi! New here! I've been looking for a way to improve my sandy...extremely sandy soil in my recently acquired land. Most of the articles I've read ask for adding manure, compost,. clay...blah blah... Thing is, I didn't need anyone to tell me that...pretty obvious. So I thought about growing my own Organic mater on site, aka green manure/cover crop. The thing is I couldn't find any specific article about my area. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Welcome to permies.com Damian!

I advise going to the Plants For a Future Database and entering your hardiness zone and soil type (light/sandy) for a general search of what could potentially grow in your area. Then, add on whatever other filters you need so that you can find what you are looking for. You can find your plant hardiness zone on the USDA website or from the image below:


One very delicious plant that could add organic matter to your soil and provide tasty food for you is sea buckthorn:


I think another place to look for information about growing plants in your area would be the Edible Landscaping Guide by the University of Florida. They do list adding organic matter onto site, initially, in one of their sub-articles, but that could be replaced with cover crops that you find and like online.

Thanks Dave!! I'll explore the links you suggested and let you know what I find (or my new questions... :/ ) Thanks again!

You're welcome! Also, if you look at the bottom of the page, there are links to threads similar to yours which may also be useful.

These folks are in North Fort Myers, Florida. They've got a lot of first hand experience. Maybe they're close-ish to you - http://www.echobooks.net/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?display=about

thanks Mike!! I'll check it out!