Choices! What will it be? #26 Clay

_{designed using canva}

It was our pots, beds, babies and plate when we were lads. We would buse it in making big hard balls we'll use in playing. It has been overemphasized in agriculture as a type of soil, suitable for planting, construction and pottery services. It is a name of a person and can be very sticky when soaked in water. We do use It as our stew when we were small and then use white sand as our rice. So hilarious. What could this be? A powerful 4 letters word.

Clay as we all know is a natural occuring material composed of tiny mineral particles which we call sand but is generally known as a type of soil. It's fine-grained and not as rough as the sandy soil which follows it. Its colour is identifiable as orange and sometimes mixed with black particles. It's found everywhere mostly beneath the top soil.

It has this fine texture and consists of water, silica and alumina along with a lot of mineral impurities. It does retains water easily and can be very sticky when it rains making someone slip off. Unlike sandy soimIt tends to have some sort plastic in it which makes it a valuable material for potters to use in creating and recreating ceramics. It allows the soil to be molded into various shapes and sizes.

This clay soil has been used over the years for this purpose all thanks to nature. It was also used for building houses as it was the only soil when used normally without mixing with cement can produce strong mud houses. It has this cohesiveness that makes it an important material used for construction..

This type of soil is used to plant certain types of crops that doesn't have fibrous roots. Farmers have tested and have investigated how this soil behaves, its characteristics and what type of crop is planted here. Knowing the characteristics of this clay can help you even if you aren't a farmer.

There are various characteristics of clay soil that influence agriculture and construction. Do you know there are different types of clay? I'll open this secret soonest. Here are the characteristics.

• Clay as a soil has very fine particles that are smaller in size, even than those in silt and sandy soils. It also has this slippery texture and smooth surface compared to sand that's rough when felt on the thumbs or palm.

• It has this moisture retention capable of holding water for longer periods that's why if you check when rain falls, water remains on clay until sun heats it up than on sandy on loamy which drains water quickly.

• Concerning its drainage system, it has slow drainage compared to others which leads to waterlogging.

• Its major characteristic is that it becomes heavy and sticky when wet and when dry, it becomes hard and compacted. Compared to other soils like loamy that has good workability and is very much rich in nutrients, sandy that is mixed with cement used to build houses, clay

• It has this ability to retain nutrients well and has good thermal properties in regulating the temperature of the soil.

• It is very susceptible to erosion. If you look carefully especially in holes for soak away that isn't covered, when rain falls, it breaks the soak away continuosly which can be very dangerous. Little wonder construction workers don't like dig soak away during rainy seasons.

• When clay becomes hard, it usually cracks which may lead to water entering those holes. If you check the mud houses we see in the villages which aren't prevalent again, you'll see the cracks on the walls of this mud houses.

• It has an alkaline pH. This question is usually asked in waec of which most people do fail it if not properly considered.

• It's Very much effective in preventing erosions that's why most construction workers use this clay soil to fill in slopes in villages to manage before actually making it tarred. That plastic and sticky property it has doesn't allow it to be washed sway.

• It used to create ceramics and pottery because of its sticky ability to be shaped into any size and fired at any temperature without experiencing side effects. Why are these clays fired? So as to enhance it durability making it more strong .

Pixabay

• It's used to line pond and reservoirs because of its ability to hold water. It can also be used traditionally to seal holes in objects especially post for frying garri etc.

• It's used by many sculptors and artists to create impressions by sculpting objects and things.

• It was used as a traditional building equipment. I don't know if it's Still used today as one in interior villages to save cost.

Pixabay

• It is essentially rich in nutrients such as calcium and potassium and is used in planting most crops like cucumber and the likes of them.

I told you I'm going to share a secret and guess the secret, the types of clay we have...... We have Kaolin Clay or white Clay, Bentonite clay, Ball clay, Fire Clay, Rhassoul Clay, Terracotta Clay. In conclusion, clay isn't just a soil but a valuable soil. Sometimes we don't know the value untill we delve into knowing more in posts like this.

I invite @deetalka6, @emmy01 and @wilmer1988

Cc,
@patjewell