Hello! I live in georgia and was wondering if I can use the red Georgia clay that is so prevalent in this area? This is the kind of clay that makes our rivers turn red when it rains and will stain your clothes orange.
Can I use only Georgia clay since I wouldn't be using the type of clay you use for pottery? I would just be digging it up from the yard. Could I get away with only a 1/4 inch layer of pure ga clay with 2 inches of fluorite over that?
Also, assuming i can't use Georgia clay place of garden center topsoil, can I use silt from a pond? We have a cabin on a small lake that's being filled in with silt from erosion upstream (construction). There is a lot organic matter in this silt since the lake has basically become a bog. Would using this organic rich silt be preferable? It doesn't appear to be clay-based because it's dark brown and clay isn't common at our cabin.
The silt seems to be extremely low in nutrients and minerals, and seems to be primarily organic matter because sphagnum moss and pitcher plants grow well in it, and sphagnum moss and pitcher plants can not tolerate nutrients or minerals. I'm unclear as to whether it's desirable to start with soil that's mostly organic matter so that you'll end up with more mineralized media in the end, as opposed to substrate that is mostly inorganic to start with. This stuff is thick silty muck.
Can I use only Georgia clay since I wouldn't be using the type of clay you use for pottery? I would just be digging it up from the yard. Could I get away with only a 1/4 inch layer of pure ga clay with 2 inches of fluorite over that?
Also, assuming i can't use Georgia clay place of garden center topsoil, can I use silt from a pond? We have a cabin on a small lake that's being filled in with silt from erosion upstream (construction). There is a lot organic matter in this silt since the lake has basically become a bog. Would using this organic rich silt be preferable? It doesn't appear to be clay-based because it's dark brown and clay isn't common at our cabin.
The silt seems to be extremely low in nutrients and minerals, and seems to be primarily organic matter because sphagnum moss and pitcher plants grow well in it, and sphagnum moss and pitcher plants can not tolerate nutrients or minerals. I'm unclear as to whether it's desirable to start with soil that's mostly organic matter so that you'll end up with more mineralized media in the end, as opposed to substrate that is mostly inorganic to start with. This stuff is thick silty muck.
You should be good to go 
