[catweazle]

im digging the ground at the bottom of my plot for some raspberry canes and apple trees but drainage is poor in the winter.

i was hopeing to improve it with sand but horticultural sand seams hard to come by round here.

would builders sand work to break up the clay without harming the plants?

many thanks CW

[compostqueen]

I used builders grit sand mixed on my plot and it seems fine

[Ice]

Use sharp sand if you can get it.  Builders sand is too fine and can contain salt as it is often harvested from the sea.

[savbo]

from a mistake I made when trying to improve our lawn I found that builders sharp sand has more fine silty stuff in it than horticultural sharp sand but is much much cheaper!

[catweazle]

thanks for the answers sharp sand it is

[richyrich7]

im digging the ground at the bottom of my plot for some raspberry canes and apple trees but drainage is poor in the winter.

i was hopeing to improve it with sand but horticultural sand seams hard to come by round here.

would builders sand work to break up the clay without harming the plants?

many thanks CW

Sand will help but if it's heavy clay a dressing of lime will also help, plus dig in as much organic matter as you can it it will all improve the soil structure, and double dig that area.
Kind of a mixed bag approach I find is usually best.

[BabbyAnn]

It might be useful to know why drainage is poor first as digging in sand will usually only improve the top layer but anything deeper such as where tree roots grow will still be affected.  A hollow or incline down to that area is where water is going to pool during wet weather so sand alone might not be enough.