permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

On 7/24/2010 5:47 PM, Cory Brennan wrote:
> We are looking for a very simple way to do an earthen floor at Pine
> Ridge for an outdoor kitchen/shade building we have.  The soil is
> very heavy clay (85%), with silt and not much else. We're looking for
> the easiest and fastest way to do this with local materials (we have
> access to gravel, some sand, milk, etc). We've researched a number of
> approaches, such as 6" of gravel, topped with slurry mixture, sealed
> with various items. And methods from Central America such as mixing
> blood with soil.  We'd like the floor to be stable, not get muddy if
> it gets wet.  The clay is generally pretty hard packed, but has
> recently been tilled. Any suggestions?

The answer to your question is: pond fines from a rock quarry
these are not "screenings" which are used commercially
pond fines are a waste product (to some) and a blessing to the farmer
and in your case, earth floor mechanic..

If you add 4-12" of siltation pond fines (around 200 mesh) to your 
compacted clay base, wet it down and compact it (and repeat this several 
times) you'll have a well drained dry hard floor that will not get 
muddy; you have to cover the clay with enough fines to create a 
permeable base that will drain, stay compacted and resist deforming.

Tennis courts are made of this material and its used as a base for brick 
walks and patios, and paths. This material is usually free for the hauling.

I can post pix of a mix of this material with silt loam soil in my 
unpaved driveway. I was impressed with the way it never rutted out or 
became muddy and impassable throughout successive wet winters.

...:LL