Bob and I used to do a radio show Washington D. C. answering gardening questions. One day we were in a discussion with a gentleman who insisted that adding calcium would loosen up compacted clay soils. We worked hard to convince him that the only thing that would work is to break up the soil and mix in organic amendments (leaf compost for example)at a rate of 3 to 4 inches per foot, before planting.
Not to be discouraged, he cheerily said he was going to do what his farmer daddy used to do, and get dynamite to loosen the soil--mentioned he had a friend who had some old dynamite and hung up.
There was some dead air time as Bob and I sat there with our mouths open in disbelief. For weeks after I was checking the newspapers for any reports of someone's neighbor using dynamite to blow up their yard! Mostly I remember how happy he was that he had his own solution to his problem...
