Sandy killed my garden

[Chris]

Hi all

I live 1 block from the ocean in Rockaway, NY. My entire property was inundated with about 7 feet of salt water by Sandy. My lawn is dead. My azaleas are dead. My butterfly bushes and my lilacs and my day lilies are dead.

Now that I have a decent start on getting my house fixed, I would like to ask advice about what to do about my garden and lawn. My main concern is soil remediation- my property is all sand and given the proximity to the ocean, it's usually salty but it's got to be severe now. We've got good drainage and we've had snow and rain since then- will that have gotten rid of the salt and any contaminants?

All advice appreciated.

Chris

[mj]

Anything that spreads will hold soil. Isn't Fescue the only grass that grow= s there? As far a shrubbers goes Hollies don't like sandy soil. I believe s= ome of the Big Box stores actually have someone to come out and give advice= . Of course you would have to buy all the stuff there. Sorry for your destr= uction but enjoy the clean slate :) MJ

[Brooklyn1]

I would choose coastal plants that grow there naturally.

[Billy]

"Google" salt resistant garden plants, i.e.

Ask for advice at a local nursery.

[songbird]

i'd wait until the warmer weather comes along and see which start to regrow.

you might have some plants that are still alive.

songbird

[Don Wiss]

house many decades ago is listed: the Northern Bayberry. Have one of these and you'll never have to buy bay leaves again.

Don.

(e-mail link at home page bottom).

[Nancy Young]

I got an email from my local nursery that mentioned putting down gypsum to counter the saline if your property was flooded with seawater. It doesn't affect the ph.

nancy

[Brooklyn1]

But of course, salt is highly water soluable... precipitation constantly desalinates seashores. A couple of heavy downpours will bring your soil back to its previous/normal salinity

[David Hare-Scott]

Maybe. It depends on the soil. If the soil is very sandy then the salt will leach out fairly quickly, this is common in beach-side suburbs and villages. It is possible the soil contains significant clay or organic matter in which case it will bind salts (including sea salt). In that case the Calcium in gypsum will be beneficial as the it will displace Sodium from binding colloids.

D

[Brooklyn1]

Read more carefully, the OP said the soil is all sand.