No! NEVER add sand to anything - you’ll get CEMENT!
For drainage issues add Perlite. (NOT Vermiculite, which holds water.)
Also, if your soil is too rich, that’s the reason you’re getting small beets - or anything you’re growing BELOW ground. (Carrots, radishes, potatoes...)
Root crops need Potassium and Phosphate, and little Nitrogen. And the Nitrogen is what’s contributing to your big greens above soil. You want a 0-10-10 or a 5-15-15 composite for root crops. Potassium and Phosphate. Zero or very little Nitrogen.
And I cannot stress this enough: stop worrying about the composition of your soil, unless, of course, you’re growing in rocks. In that case, I have no advice for you, LOL! ;)
Concentrate on fertilizing/feeding your SPECIFIC plants based upon what they need. You will never, EVER get your soil perfectly balanced for anything and everything. Ever. Trust me on that. Never. Ever. Ever.
For raised beds, they should be made up of 1/3 the soil you’re stuck with (or top soil or clean fill), 1/3 compost and 1/3 peat. Works like a charm. Fertilize your plants with what they NEED to thrive. The ‘soil’ is just giving them a place to live and put down roots. :)
No sand! It is impossible to re-create ‘sandy loam’ unless you already have it where you live - like the entire middle 1/3 of the state of Wisconsin which grows potatoes, carrots and onions second only to Idaho - which also has naturally occurring ‘sandy loam.’ You need a Glacier to grind it up perfectly over MILLIONS of years; what do we get? 80-ish years if we’re lucky? Ain’t nobody got time fo dat! ;)
If you promise me anything, promise me that you will never, ever add SAND to your soil. :)
From now on I am going to randomly drop the word SAND into ally posts just for you.
Thanks for the advice.
Will change up my fertilizer for the root veggies
What’s that bat guano stuff good for? Guessing fruit since a lot of bats like fruit.