Make 4 lbs of seed balls - PEP BB foraging.sand.seedball

Yes, if you add some compost

Anyone have any tips for where to find clay affordably? Would it be at the local garden/hardware store? My soil has nearly no clay in it (it's "gravely loam")

Maybe at an art place?

Nicole Alderman wrote:Anyone have any tips for where to find clay affordably? Would it be at the local garden/hardware store? My soil has nearly no clay in it (it's "gravely loam")

Perhaps a friend in Georgia could mail you some clay?

That’s only partly a joke.

We had a pond dug. (“Here’s the number for a former police officer,” said the Sheriff as he handed over the sticky note.  Everyone else at the breakfast picked up on that quick. Then we listened to jokes about, “he’s probably a good friend to have... knows how to hide bodies...”)

Anyway, we attempted some earthworks and put the topsoil in one berm and the deeper soil in a different spot. That deeper soil is mostly clay. If/when I do this BB, I will see how well the clay soil holds it shape.

So, this is roundabout way of asking you to consider if you or a neighbor has had a pond or pool dug recently. The deeper soil is not topsoil. Somebody local to you would probably let you carry off a bucket of soil to experiment.  Keep note paper with you and if you see big equipment parked in a yard, give it a try?

Look up pottery suppliers. Even if there aren't any near you they all ship and have a choice of buying smaller amounts of clay. I'm in FL and have often used Davens in GA or Axners here in FL.

Nicole, it's been a while since I've been out there, but what about collecting clay from near moto-trails in capital state forest (Olympia)?

Nicole Alderman wrote:Anyone have any tips for where to find clay affordably? Would it be at the local garden/hardware store? My soil has nearly no clay in it (it's "gravely loam")

I once got 20 5 gal buckets or so of clay from a B.L.M. (Bureau of Land Management) site for very little money.  It mainly just cost me the trouble of going to the office and then digging up the clay.  I believe I just had to pay for the permit at the field office.  National Forests may be an option too, but you'll have to check with them.  I do know that you can get permits to remove plants and such.  Oh, and the people at the offices will often get a map out and show you where to go, how to get there, etc.  They are very helpful!

Nicole Alderman wrote:Anyone have any tips for where to find clay affordably? Would it be at the local garden/hardware store? My soil has nearly no clay in it (it's "gravely loam")

Try cat litter.  When we sift it out there are balls just the right size made with liquid nitrogen fertilizer.  I add them to my compost bin for trees.   Any way it is probably the easiest source of clay that can be mixed easily with compost. If you do not have your own I am sure there is a neighbor that would be glad to give you some to upcycle.  Possible disease vector so not appropriate for vegetable seed.

I love cats, but cat littler (used) is nasty stuff. You can buy pure clay at less than $1 a pound, no chemicals and no disease. May be worth considering?

Oooooh! So bentonite clay will work for this? We once bought it at the local feed store to use as kitty litter (now the cats just use wood stove pellets and we compost it away from all the growies, because I don't want their ucky poo in my food!). Knowing so little about clay, I didn't know that bentonite worked liked other clay. I recall the pure bentonite kitty litter was really cheap in the store (I think it was less than $10. But it was 8 years ago, so I don't have the best recollection). Looks like I'll be getting some on my next trip to the farm coop!