Why your lawn will not hold on sand

Sand has almost no cation exchange capacity, which is the soil's ability to hold nutrients where roots can reach them. Fertiliser applied to pure sand is largely gone with the next rain, which is why a heavy spring feed produces two green weeks and then nothing.

The fix is organic matter, and it has to be worked in rather than spread on top. Compost incorporated into the top few inches gives the sand something to hold water and nutrients against. This is slow, unglamorous work, and it is the difference between a lawn that establishes and one that gets reseeded every year.

Seed choice matters just as much. Turf-type tall fescue roots far deeper than the bluegrass blends sold for inland lawns, and depth is what gets a lawn through a shore August. Watering more often makes shallow roots, which is the opposite of what the site needs.

The short version

• Sandy soil cannot hold nutrients, so heavy feeding mostly washes through
• Incorporate compost into the top few inches rather than top-dressing
• Turf-type tall fescue roots deeper than bluegrass and suits shore lots better
• Frequent shallow watering trains shallow roots and makes the problem worse