Came across a bit of cool info...

I was in a museum the other day...the Wilkon & Sons Tiptree Jam Museum in Essex in fact.

There was a display of one of their original farm managers, John Joseph Mechi. In the display cabinet was a copy of his, "How to farm profitably : or, the sayings and doings of Mr. Alderman Mechi", printed in 1859. The page it was opened to was very intriguing - just too bad I couldn't open the cabinet to peruse the whole book...

Apparently in the days of yore to substitute manure in the fields for fertilizer they used "Burnt Clay". Specifically the 'red clay' after tilling was put into a fire much like making charcoal and then crumbled over the fields. Remember back then farmers didn't keep such large herds cramped into small areas, so manure was a more precious commodity for the individual farmer.

Intriguingly its also the same "Red Clay" that Masanobu Fukuoka extolls for his "Seed balls" and specific soil amendments. Tweet