Earth plaster (or clay plaster) is a wonderful skill to master.

Once you grasp the

mechanics of it, you can alter the mix slightly to create beautiful natural walls, render
stone houses, sculpt alcoves, use it as mortar and so much more. It’s very
empowering. It’s also a fine art and requires patience, know-how and plenty of
experimentation.
It took just six weeks to build the earthbag structure of my home, but another two
years on and off to master the plaster. As I have learned, earth plaster is not simply
a matter of getting your boots on and stomping about in a trough of clay. If you want
it to look half way decent, or stay on your walls, it's a finely-honed skill.

Both your climate and your earth are going to determine how you make your plaster
so be prepared to experiment.

How to make it? Here is a rough guide.

1. If you are using your own dirt, you need to know how much clay is in it. In your
plaster you want somewhere between 15 to 30% clay, so if your earth already has
20% clay, you probably won’t need to add more. But as I said, experiment.
2. Clay is your binder. It sticks the plaster together. But too much clay will result in
cracking. Too little clay will produce a powdery weak plaster.
3. Once you’ve determined your clay content, get a pen and paper ready to note
down your first experiment.

4. Run a batch of earth through a sieve to get the stones out. Sharp edges definitely
hinder your plaster. As do thick roots or twigs.

5. The best results for us were when we first mixed wet earth, clay and straw (in a
trough or pool with our feet) then left it to stew for a few days. We covered it with
plastic to stop it drying out. This allows the straw to begin decomposing which
creates a better bonded plaster mix.

* In our case (I live in a climate which suffers extremes of humidity and aridity) after
the percolation process, we had to add both lime and sand to the mixture. This (as
we learned after the first year) prevented cracking and creates a smoother firmer
finish. However, this is not standard practice, and other natural builders in other
climates with other types of clay have found that lime caused their clay to turn dusty.
So...you will have to experiment.

We tried many different mixtures. Some without lime. Some with more clay.
Eventually, for our climate and clay type, this was the recipe we came up with.
Normally, step one ought to be enough, but we needed step two to prevent the
plaster swelling and dropping off the wall.

Our measurements were as follows (but again you need to test your plaster first).

Step one
1 part clay
3 parts earth (topsoil)
2 parts straw

Mix it really really REALLY well, and let it percolate for about a week.

Step two
Mix 3 parts of the above concoction with
2-3 parts lime (depends on your climate)
3-6 parts sand (depends on your climate)

And use gloves and protect yourself and your eyes well if using lime, because it is
caustic! It isn’t toxic but can burn.
When you get it right earth plaster is incredibly rewarding. You can make sculptures,
mosaics, mortar, alcoves and more. It gives your house a wonderful warm feel,
without the horrible damp coldness of concrete. After a rocky start I can finally say
I'm in love with the stuff.