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What sort of soil do you need to do this? I am struggling to imagine doing this with the sandy silt loam that surrounded me as a child [1]. [1] http://www.land

• po 5y ago
  You just need to use clay. When I was a kid I made mud pies. But I live in Japan now so my kids make Dorodango. I have one on my shelf here that I dug out of a river bank and made with my kids... we saved it and I shined it up by sprinkling sifted clay dust onto it and rolling it on a hard surface as it dried
• colechristensen 5y ago
  You can make your own clay out of nearly any soil with a sort of fractional settling process. Make very loose mud with water in a bucket, let it settle for a minute, pour off whatever is floating on the top, keep whatever hasnt settled to the bottom, let it settle for a few hours, recover the settled portion. Repeat if desired for more refinement. Wrap in cloth and hang for several hours to reduce water content.
  • jerrre 5y ago
    Do I understand correctly if you keep the middle portion? You remove both the water, and what settles immediately? I have a hard time visualizing.
    • deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    • colechristensen 5y ago
      After a short period of stirring you throw out whatever floats on the top and what sinks immediately. You keep the water with suspended particulate, you let that settle for a long period (but not too long) and throw out the water this time keeping what settled which will be clay. You are keeping particles which settle to the bottom after one minute and before one hour (or whatever, the minimum and maximum times are adjusted to suit needs)