[Cob] Wheat Straw Question

[billc]

At 9:58 AM -0700 8/27/07, fran wrote:
>My question is - Will the wheat seeds become a problem in
>the walls if I leave them in the cob mix?  I don't want
>wheat sprouting next spring causing cracking in the walls.

There should be no need to remove or sterilize the seeds.

Their sprouting and growing will draw water from your cob, causing it 
to dry more quickly.  It's unlikely that they'll grow enough in the 
time it takes to dry out your wall to cause any cracking.  And you'll 
have the fun of having a temporary chia-pet!

When building with leichtclem (straw-clay) it's not uncommon to ADD 
seeds to your mix.  Besides drying, the root fibers supposedly 
contribute to the matrix of fibers within the wall, making it 
stronger.  Plus the dried sprouts can increase the bond between the 
wall and whatever finish plastering you might happen to do.

Some years back when Pliny Fisk and the folks at the Center for 
Maximum Potential Building Systems (cmbps.org) were first 
experimenting with straw-clay, they built a test wall a short time 
before a German (I think) expert was due to arrive.  They were 
horrified when it started growing, so scraped all the sprouts off. 
When the German guy got there and saw it, the first thing he asked 
was "why isn't it sprouting like it should?"


-- 
Bill Christensen
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