The Message Board

Help!! Need sharp sand in Sydney!!

Posted 698 days ago

Please help as I am at my wit's end! The horticulturalists at Swane's nurseries don't know what sharp sand is and don't sell it. Every other nursery I try the staff don't know what sharp sand is. Every landscaping suppliers I try don't know what sharp sand is, and although building suppliers have sharp sand, it is not agricultural grade and is not sold in smaller amounts i.e. 4 or 5 20kg bags.

To check that I wasn't going mad, I did an internet search and here's what google says about sharp sand;

'Quartz sand that is recently weathered from granite or gneiss quartz crystals will be angular. It is called grus in geology or sharp sand in the building trade where it is preferred for concrete, and in gardening where it is used as a soil amendment to loosen clay soils'

The last part is the reason I desperately need sharp sand for my garden. My soil is pure clay and whilst I have an abundance of good aged manure and mature compost from a thermophilic pile, this will do very little towards improving the texture of my soil and thus its air and water retentive properties. I need to prepare my beds now as I like to let them lie fallow over winter and hoe and weed them up till Spring.

I am in the Pennant Hills area of Sydney. Please help me find a source of agricultural grade sharp sand please.

Thanks

Bill