A soil question
Laura & Dave (Sat, 15 May 2010 12:55:31 PDT)

Hello all
Perhaps some of you can explain something regarding soils to me. I
was looking up culture for potted "Ipheion sellowianum" (yes, I know
that it may be called something else now), and I have once again run
across the phrase "a clay soil, rich in organic matter". When I think
of clay, it is the type found for making into pots, bowls, plates and
chalices. There is no organic matter, that I know of. When I've dug
around in the ground in Southern Ohio, at my in-laws' place, there seems
to be a layer of organic matter on the surface, in various stages of
decay as one descends into the soil, and then a fairly homogeneous layer
of clay, reaching down to bedrock. Is the organic matter spoken of in
the clay in a micro particle state in the clay? Or is the organic
matter at the molecular scale; that is, only organic molecules?
Does one duplicate this soil by putting compost into clay, and knifing
it in, kinda like making biscuits with shortening and flour? What
substitute soil type fools the plants into thinking that they are in
their ideal conditions?
I've come to the conclusion that soil is the key to understanding
plant growth; if you reverse the way one looks at plants, with the main
organism underground, and an attached solar collector, ventilation
system and reproductive organs all stuck up to wave around in the
weather, you see what I'm thinking.
However, the study of soil is a difficult subject, and I'd welcome any
help here that I can get!!

Thanks
Dave Brastow, Tumwater Washington (7A)