badman62

i find grass clippings as mulch is great as long as they dont mat up and start to smell
then they are producing anaerobic bacteria. not good for plants.

Sand has worked pretty well for me in containers.
i use different amounts depending on how fine or coarse it is.
i would rather use the coarse stuff, but my backyard is mostly fine sand with a little silt and clay. i get excellent growth of temperate as well as tropical fruits.
i dio use a lot of mulch and compost though
im not big into chemicals
just about everything i grow natural, except for a little fish emulsion.


banana is in the same family as grass, as is papaya and bamboo
they are all bacterial based
as opposed to fungal based plants (woody)

with bacterial based plants, you can use grass as fertilizer
you can also use sugars like molasses.

both are much better for the soil than chemicals
the both attract worms, where, chemicals burn them.
worms work free 24x7, aerate the soil and give you free fertilizer.