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melissa_thefarm

The fingerprint test

melissa_thefarm
9 years ago

DH and I are busy planting in the garden these days, and this morning that's what we were up to. There was a particularly large and fine rosemary to get in the ground, and DH dug the hole, revealing pure fine bluish gray clay. Now, at the moment our sole amendment, now that we've used up all the composted hay, is old but not fully rotten hay, and DH doesn't like amending planting holes with it (it's not my favorite either, but better than nothing at all). So I asked him to get me some hay to amend with, he said no, it was soil not clay and didn't need to be amended. I removed my glove, took a clump of clay, pressed my thumb on it, and showed DH the fine lines and whorls of my fingerprint on the clay. If it takes a fingerprint, I said, it needs to be amended.
I don't know if DH was convinced, but he stopped arguing and got the hay.
Melissa

Comments (11)

  • mendocino_rose
    9 years ago

    Good luck on your plantings. I hope they thrive.

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    ..good for you.... always lots to do out there.... I don't use manure or hay, as my climate is somewhat wet and damp for so long...I find pea or beach shingle/grit is essential for drainage...copious amounts of it...lime free if possible... it really helps with plantings and ensures touchy feely subjects survive the winters....

    ..what happens in eastern U.S. sometimes finds its way over here....albeit less severe, but I'm getting prepared just in case...we're due...

    This post was edited by Marlorena on Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 15:43

  • rosefolly
    9 years ago

    I don't know what the mineral content of your blue clay is, but it sounds to me like something that definitely needs some organic matter. Many clays (not all) are highly fertile if they are lightened with compost.

    Rosefolly

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    9 years ago

    The fingerprint test wouldn't work well here. It's extremely difficult to get anything to show up on little pieces of rock interspersed with sand.

    Ingrid

  • mariannese
    9 years ago

    I also live in clay country that used to be famous for its modern pottery. Glazed tiles, roof tiles and bricks were also big business until the late 60'ies.

    We amend with coarse gravel and our own compost although there's never enough of it. Once a year we buy a lorry load of bagged cow manure and bark mulch that helps to lighten the soil. The clay eats everything fast so it's a Sisyphean task.

  • melissa_thefarm
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Sisyphean is the word...man. And like you say, the clay eats up organic matter. We have probably added a hundred tons of hay to the garden over the years, as well as turned back into the garden all the organic matter it has produced. Bits and pieces are working. The house garden, the oldest and smallest section, takes care of itself with no difficulty, and for the most part so does the shade garden and the wood below it. It's the big garden that has all the clay and the original sparse covering of vegetation that we're so slowly and laboriously converting to tolerably fertile ground.
    I think Paula's right, though: the ground can become good if it's just amended enough. I've never had it tested. I'd certainly rather garden in our pottery-quality clay than in Florida sand, for example. Or in Ingrid's soil. About what Marianne said, I have wondered what kind of ceramics our gray clay would produce. For some reason, M., I thought your soil was sandy or something, anyway not clay.

    Marlorena, we have wet winters, too, but go ahead with the hay. It makes me wonder what you're growing. I have difficulty with the warm climate roses while the once-blooming European old roses are much easier. The David Austin roses are not happy with me, and generally I grow a lot of plants that I would rank as tough varieties. For some plants our conditions really hit the spot: Italian cypresses, for example, love it here (thank goodness).

    Thanks for the good wishes, Pam.

    Melissa

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    Austin roses do well here Melissa...too well....in that if I grow one that I find I don't like,....there are always plenty more...
    ...also, quite lucky in that I have various 'regions' in my garden... the roses are on the better ground that needs little improvement.... I also have a long Meditteranean style border that demands good drainage....there is virtually no soil, just rocks and rubble.... they thrive in this and there is no need to improve that providing the right plants are chosen.... I'm trying a couple of roses in amongst here,...just to see if they can stand it...

    ..here's 'Royal Jubilee'.....on the better ground...
    quite pretty...when it wants to be...it's a strange one...

  • mendocino_rose
    9 years ago

    Melissa I forgot to say this morning that I read once that clay and straw mixed together produce Humic Acid. That's a good thing.

  • mariannese
    9 years ago

    Melissa, these are some studio wares from the Uppsala Ekeby factory in the 50'ies, considered quite modern at the time and now collectors' items, especially locally. As a student my husband worked as an extra in this plant, packing bathroom tiles.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Swedish ceramics from the 50'ies

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    9 years ago

    Marlorena, you must have captured Royal Jubilee on one of its very best days; it's exquisite. From your photos it's abundantly clear what a difference good soil and adequate rain can make.

    Ingrid

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    I love it when it's good, Ingrid... I'm still trying to figure it out...