Some people have used colored tile grout for dirt with success. I’ve haven’t personally tried it since I have done any scenery lately.
I wouldn’t use beach sand. It usually has salt mixed with it that will help corrode any metal. I have used tea leaves as part of forest litter. I think it looks better as dead leaves that putting leaves through a blender and a lot less work. I shifted from using ground-up leaves to tea leaves on my old layout. The only down side is you don’t get the small pieces of stems that can look like sticks. I dried the used tea bags on a tray on top of the oil-fired boiler. Different tea types have some color variations. You can also save some of the bags to use as curtain material for windows. And it’s free if you know a tea drinker. Dave Heine Easton, PA
