Loam is composed of sand and clay. The substrate was created by natural weathering of primary rock. Stones were worn away by glacial movements. In the garden, a sandy loam soil has valuable properties.
Clay can often be found in the soil in our country
Clay deposits in Germany
Loamy soils can be found throughout Central Europe. They are typical of former glacial valleys and end zones of ice age glaciers. In Germany there are hardly any regions without clay. Clay soil dominates in the foothills of the Alps, the Magdeburg Börde or the glacial valley of the Elbe. The areas with the lowest proportion of clay in the subsoil include the low mountain ranges as well as the central Rhine and the edge zones of the Alps. In the heaths, the soils are very loose and sandy. They have vanishingly low concentrations of clay.
Soil test for clay content
Wait until the next rain to determine the soil type. If puddles form on the surface that do not drain away for a long time, the soil is clayey. The material has a compact structure and hardly lets water through. You can palm some garden soil when wet to determine the soil type:
- Clay: can be formed into a smooth and sticky sausage
- silt: smooth sausage whose ends cannot be joined
- sand: crumbles into crumbs when attempted to shape
buy clay
Gravel pits are the first point of contact for natural clay. They offer the excavated material for around ten euros per ton on average. The costs vary by region. There is construction clay at the Naturbauhof.
pit clay
This raw material includes clay soil that has been extracted from the pit and has not been processed. In this form, the substrate is used as a base material for earth building techniques or in the manufacture of earth building products. It occurs as a by-product in gravel pits.
earth
Mine loam that has been prepared and freed from stones is referred to as construction loam. This can be used directly for building or in the garden. In this form, the earth-moist material is filled into big bags, which, depending on the manufacturer, contain between 500 and 1,000 kilograms. Clay powder was additionally sieved, dried and ground. It is available in bulk packs or 25kg bags and can be used like lime or cement.