Gardening - Clay, the Unsung Mineral Beneath Your Feet
Cultivating Life by Sean Conway
Clay-heavy soil shows telltale cracks as it dries after rainfall
The earth provides us with a lot of raw materials.
Some are beautiful and precious, such as diamonds, rubies and emeralds. Others, such as iron ore and granite, are the building blocks of modern construction.
One raw material that we don't think much about, however, has been used for centuries in everyday living, and still is: clay.
For those who use it to earn a living, such as potters, an abundance of clay in the soil is vital. But for those of us trying to grow a garden in it, excessive amounts can be a real challenge.
When we think of clay, we usually think of ceramic tiles or bricks, or perhaps the ever-squishable Mr. Bill of "Saturday Night Live" fame. What we are often unaware of is that clay, to a greater or lesser extent is present beneath our homes, back yards and gardens.
The amount of clay in our soil has a lot to do with how well the soil drains, and how well plants will grow in it.
Most soils are composed of sand, silt, clay and organic matter.
Good garden soil contains a balance of these components, but when there is an overabundance of one or the other, many plants simply will not grow -- or grow well -- in it.
How can you tell if your soil contains too much clay?
On this week's episode of "Cultivating Life," soil expert David Bulpitt recommends the following simple test: Take a handful of ordinary garden soil and add just enough water so that it sticks together and has the consistency of very moist cookie dough.
Using your forefinger and thumb, pinch a ribbon of soil together, feeding it forward in a continuous strip.
If the soil crumbles and will not create a ribbon, you have low clay content.
If, on the other hand, you are able to form one long, continuous strip from the whole handful of soil, you likely have high clay content.
If you have high clay content in your soil, you probably have noticed that the soil drains poorly after a rainfall -- if it drains at all -- and that in the heat of the summer it becomes cracked and hard as a rock, resembling a cartoon depiction of Death Valley.
There are ways to improve overly clay-laden soil.
Adding copious amounts of organic material such as compost or rotted manure will improve the structure of your soil, allowing water to pass through freely and providing a higher concentration of necessary oxygen around plant roots. Mounding the soil up before planting in it can also help by allowing water to drain away from root zones. While many garden plants refuse to grow in heavy clay soils, some such as Echinacea (aka purple coneflower), black-eyed Susan and the common daylily tolerate it well.
Not having enough clay in your soil can be problematic as well.
Just ask any gardener who lives near a beach. Clay not only holds moisture in soil, it also contains minerals and nutrients necessary for optimal plant growth.
No matter how much clay may be in your soil, it's unlikely you'll be tempted to mine it.
But it's worth noting how key the accessibility of clay was to the development of civilization. Pottery is one of the oldest human technologies, and although pottery manufacture has become technologically advanced, some artisans continue using techniques that have been around for hundreds -- even thousands -- of years.
As with all raw materials harvested from the earth, clay requires skilled artisans to bring its beauty to the fore.
This week on the show we also visit Potters Pam and Vernon Owens from Jugtown Pottery in Sea Grove, N.C., who are two of the many generations of potters that have made their living from the clay-rich soil in their town.
For them, the earth beneath their feet provides a satisfying livelihood, and although they are not harvesting precious minerals, what they create from raw clay has a beauty all it's own.
Gardening - Not Too Late to Plant Vegetables
Cultivating Life by Sean Conway
If you're just realizing that summer is here and you never got around to planting a vegetable garden, don't despair. While it may be too late to plant cool season crops such as peas, lettuce and broccoli, it is still not too late to plant heat-loving vegetables.
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Sean Conway's television series, "Cultivating Life," airs Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. ET on WGN America. His new book, "Sean Conway's Cultivating Life" (Artisan Books, 2009), describes 125 projects for backyard living.
(c) 2009 DESIGN LINE DISTRIBUTED BY Tribune Media Services, Inc.