But… if it’s like this everywhere on that side (which I suspect), as the tree grows the roots are going to be constrained by sand all around. I am going to have to dig out like a 5’ diameter hole (and however deep it goes)?
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Roots do usually tend to seek out the soil that they like. Are plums particularly shallow-rooted? If not, probably ok.
You won’t have to worry about water getting down to deep roots if there’s a gravel layer.
Plums are typically shallow roots in general (with some deeper anchoring roots, but most of the feeder roots are shallow…)
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So today was hilarious! Hubby mowed the back yard. Our property is a weird trapezoidal shape on a curve on a hill with a City green space in behind us. We aren’t supposed to touch the green space. It’s full of weeds. The past owners did try and control it a bit. In fact, they encroached on it. The Northwest corner triangle of our back yard is, in fact, City property.
Well! Today Hubby decides to mow the backyard. It’s actually a meadow on clay soil. Previous owners have never taken good care of it, and it’s dubious if it ever actually had “real lawn grass” on it. After Hubby finishes I say thank-you and look out the window, just to admire it. I just about burst out laughing!
Hubby has decided to be precise about boundaries. He mowed right up to our property line and left the City portion of the backyard unmowed! . It looks really weird to have 2/3 of the yard mowed and this triangle in the northwest corner with foot high weeds and wildflowers.
For his part, hubby has decided he’s not responsible for taking care of City property. I’m chuckling. I told a friend today that was where we would plant plants that were gifted to us…Plants that cost us nothing to buy or maintain. Though I may sneak into that corner and fertilize occasionally when Hubby isn’t home.
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I mean… Its coarser than the sand im growing plums and nectarines in, but its definitely still sand.
Are you really growing plums and nectarines in straight sand?? 
Silty sand, with amendments on top like compost and mulch added as it breaks down. I will get a picture later.
I probably wouldnt remove that sand, just add stuff to it.
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:I am very lazy (more like, overwhelmed with the number of things I need to do) but I also don’t want to kill an expensive tree… 
I would at the very least mix it 50/50 - it’s literally just sand. (With maybe a small amount of topsoil on top that the grass is growing in.)
For now the plum is still in its pot (being sad) and there’s a hole in my lawn. I’m too tired to deal with it tonight.
ETA: Wait. Actually, I think it’s a bad idea. It isn’t sandy soil like you have. It’s sand, like beach sand. There’s no nutrients in it, no organic matter, no mycorrhizal networks, no insect life, nothing. It’s worse than the subsoil I have in part of my yard (a different area) that was brought up when they dug the well last year (and then just left it).
Arrg! I don’t know!
I guess I am digging out a bunch of sand tomorrow. I can definitely replace it with some soil and compost from another part of the yard that is lumpy. And introduce a billion weed seeds into the Kentucky bluegrass. Ce la vie, I guess.
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No gravel. I dug down about 8 inches until I hit subsoil. (It’s hard to see in the photos because it’s almost the same color, but it’s definitely subsoil and not sand.)
It’s like 2-3" of topsoil (mostly enmeshed in the grass roots) on top of 4" of sand.
The current hole is 18" square and larger than the pot. I was thinking maybe I go out 6" further all around, but already the bin with the sand is too heavy for me to move, and that will add 200% more sand. I don’t know if I have the patience? It would give the roots a lot more area to expand though. And it wouldn’t actually be so bad if the roots were constrained on the front path and driveway sides.
(Bottom bin only contains sod.)
The kicker is that I can use this sand for the new path around to the back of the house… But I am not ready to build it yet. I guess I am making a big sand pile, and family members will judge me.
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Our raised beds arrived! We are filling them using a combination of no dig, Hugelkultur and lasagna gardening. Hopefully it will work and we will have great soil for years to come.
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They look great!
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Planted my new raised bed today: tomatoes (Roma and Black Cherry), peppers (cowhorn, bell, and Hungarian wax), sweet basil, and chard. Oh, and dwarf marigold in the corners to ward off at least a few pests. I’m six weeks late planting my seedlings out here, but long growing season for the win.
Also planted some mammoth basil in a giant pot, but it looks a little pitiful this year, so I hedged my bets with some more of the sweet basil starts.
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My house used to be on Veseys’ catalogue mailing list (two owners before us as far as I could tell). Always so inspiring.
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So on last Friday I started reassembling the pile and on Sunday when I finished in the evening it was 70 degrees (air temperature).
On Monday evening it was 100, on Tuesday evening it was 110, and yesterday evening (and this morning) it was sitting at 120.
This evening will be 4 days since reassembling the pile.
I was really hoping for it to be a hot pile, and though it is technically active right now, it would need to be 130+.
So do I start over (essentially) and add even more greens (which I have plenty of now that it is summer)? Or do I just let it be a cold pile? I was hoping for a hot pile because this one has weed seeds. Since it was partially composted already, clearly I misjudged how much greens I needed to add to get it up to temp (enough fresh grass should get it rip roaring).
Oh, it got surprise rained on again yesterday, and it was not covered (no rain in the forecast, and yet).
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Given the rain, I’d give it a day or two to see if it gets up to temp before going to all that effort.
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I’d leave it another two days. Check the temp and if it’s still up over 120, aerate it with a rebuild with more greens in layers and water between each layer. Get it going real hot.
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