MANURE meaning compost is an old term from back when compost was mostly made
from manure. I have a great 3" thick book (it is lent out at the moment so I
can't quote it unfortunately) from the 1940's that explains how to compost
plant materials (types, ratios, sizes of piles, etc.) for from small guys to
huge farms. Since most of what they were using back then WAS manure, they
still called the finished compost "manure" even though it was vegetative in
origin.

LOAM is defined as equal parts sand (larger particles), silt (smaller
particles) and clay (tiny particles so small they hold an electric charge
and literally stick together). Loam properties do include the ability to at
least slightly hold a shape when moist as well as breaks up into small
chunks easily when dry. As a soil type, other than sand, it is really the
only one that holds air and, like sand, plays well (doesn't clump up) with
other particles in your soil making it of possible use in Bonsai mixes.
Unlike sand, with the different particle sizes making up each little piece,
it does hold some water. USDA Soil Conservation Service gives this rather
technical definition: 7-27% clay particles, 28-50% silt particles, and less
than 52% sand particles. So you would not say you had 50% loam and 50% clay
since loam is a mix; rather that would be clayey loam -- or loam that stuck
together more than it should which would be a real stinker in a bonsai pot!

hth,
John
in Houston...and a former Soils Specialist in a region where everything but
the sand is "clayey"

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