Is there something I don't know about clay?

[john9159]

A plot holder recently brought clay onto his allotment plot which appears to have been dug out of the ground elsewhere.
As yet this has not been dug in but it sure looks like he is about to.
What I would like to know is - what use is clay on a plot?
In addition, the person concerned imports vast amounts of what I would call trash for eventual use as compost - plastic in the form of bottles, crisp packets, sweet wrappers and more and also plastic which he seems to shred especially for the plot.
All this is dug into the soil much to the Society's dismay.
He has been a plot holder for about 40 years and has thus far been (somehow) treated with immunity by the council.

Please enlighten me.

[Nicos]

Is he thinking of making a wildlife pond?
Clay has been used for decades and beyond to line hollows in the ground to create ponds.

Just a thought.....

[super trowel]

I don't know, but we use to have this old chap on our plot.
Every week (when I saw him) he would bring books to his plot.
Wrap them with cling film then bury them!!?

He gave up his plot before I had chance to ask what he was doing.
The best thing is watching the new plot holders face as they are turning the soil over.
And every other time they stuck the fork in, pulling a book out

But would love to know the logic behind it, even if it was just some misplaced marballs :P

[Two_Sheds]

Please ask him about the plastic, I'm intrigued.

We have sometime in the staffroom who puts plastic forks, polystyrene boxes and clingfilm in my compost bin ):

[elizajay]

Please ask him about the plastic, I'm intrigued.

We have sometime in the staffroom who puts plastic forks, polystyrene boxes and clingfilm in my compost bin ):

Do you think they read that you "compost everything" ?

[Two_Sheds]

Lol

No, there's a very clear sign above the bin saying "no plastic" but still it goes in

[zazen999]

A plot holder recently brought clay onto his allotment plot which appears to have been dug out of the ground elsewhere.
As yet this has not been dug in but it sure looks like he is about to.
What I would like to know is - what use is clay on a plot?

Perhaps all that plastic means he has no nutrients any more? Just ask him!

Is the soil particularly sandy where you are?

[zazen999]

All this is dug into the soil much to the Society's dismay.
He has been a plot holder for about 40 years and has thus far been (somehow) treated with immunity by the council.

On this note - surely the society need to take action here. Only you can so you owe it to the soil to do so. That plastic needs to be dug back out again and disposed of correctly.

I have 1 plastic cup half buried in a corner of my plot - it said 'compostable' and I'm seeing how long it will take. After nearly a year absolutely no sign of degradation at all.

[donnakebab]

I agree with Zaz. I think he needs to be stopped because it's going to ruin the plot for the future. I'm sure most sites have specific rules about what you can bring on to the site.

Our site made everybody get rid of old carpet used as ground cover or the lid of a compost heap a few years back. Mostly synthetic now so not biodegradable.

[zazen999]

Sure there will be an uproar but it won't have disintegrated thus proving your point.

[Kaiya]

I have 1 plastic cup half buried in a corner of my plot - it said 'compostable' and I'm seeing how long it will take. After nearly a year absolutely no sign of degradation at all.

I put those compostable bags (green ones, used for the kitchen caddy) in my dalek. 6 months on and I could still probably re-use them. I've kept them in there when I moved the bin, just to see what will happen. Maybe they need higher temps.

We have biodegradable cutlery made out of potato starch at work. I wash and re-use them - they too seem to last forever.

Maybe he's treating plastic as inorganic matter to lighten the soil? And maybe then make it heavier again with the clay... or maybe not. Very odd!

[Two_Sheds]

I had to pull dozens of "degradable" Tesco bags out of the school compost: not a pleasant task.

Even the photo(light)-degradable ones aren't very good: biodegradable carrier bags - YouTube

[mothhawk]

What's the stuff made of that farmers plant their sweetcorn under these days? That seems to disappear by the end of the season.

[oldie]

Farmers can buy huge rolls of paper mulch fabric. It is like thick brown paper and does degrade over a season. Here is a link to a corn starch one:- Hytimulch Bio-Degradable Weed Control Film

[Thelma Sanders]

If the soil is very sandy you can dig clay in as a soil amendment - the opposite of adding sand to a clay soil