Cob: Rice Straw

[goshawk at gnat.net]

I mix my mud in a cement mixer and thus must make it a bit wet 
for cob. I pour the wet mixture into a child's swimming pool. Then 
as I need it I add the dry straw which soaks up the excess 
moisture and I have great cob. I don't add the straw at once as 
often I leave the mixture for as long as a week or more (covered 
and kept moist) and when if I were to have included the straw it 
starts to smell after a few days of being wet. 





On 27 Oct 99, at 18:12, John Fordice wrote:

> Rosemary,
> I see no reason or particular advantage to  soaking the straw.  Normally we
> use the straw dry & it has a moderating effect on the mix - that is it soaks
> up some of the water in the mix - there is an advantage to this, as it allows
> a wetter mix in the beginning which is a bit easier to stomp the straw into.
> I did make the mistake of using cheaper construction grade bales one time &
> that straw was so hard & stiff that it was unpleasant / difficult to stomp
> into the mix & also nasty to build with.  So in that case, we did wet the
> straw prior to mixing & it did make it easier to use.
> 
> So I guess the answer is, if the Timor rice straw is like that from
> California, then there is no need to soak it.  But if the straw there is hard,
> stiff or otherwise difficult to use, soaking might be a help.
> 
> In other words, check it out & do what the situation demands.
> 
> john fordice
> 
> 
> 
> Rosemary Lyndall Wemm wrote:
> 
> > Would it help to soften the rice straw if it were soaked for a couple of
> > days?  The villagers where I lived in Flores soak various leaves and stalks
> > before weaving them.
> >
> > - Rosemary LYNDALL WEMM
> 


Pat Newberry
http://www.gnat.net/~goshawk