[/quote]

Hi All,

I finally managed to plant out my Topper shallots on Monday 23rd of April. However due to having to order them very early because they go out of stock quickly, I only had 40 viable bulbs worth planting.

This I hope will be a one time buy, I will keep the best of my harvest for next seasons planting. This is how I believe we must conduct our crop production methods in future. We must do as the French do, and seed save the best of what we harvest to enhance future crop potential.

My main crop potatoes should be ready to show through in about 10 days or so and have my 1£ cloches ready and waiting to cover them.

Now as always I don't spread compost or manure around my plot I put it where it is most needed, under the crops which I grow. It is finicky, but I believe gives good results. It also ensures that weeds don't prosper from this food resource

As in for garlic, onions and shallots I use a bulb planter. I bore down 6 inches deep and half fill the hole with my charcoal recipe, I then fill with earth to within an inch of the surface and sprinkle some VAM granules into the hole, this done I then plant my bulbs. This ensures that the first thing that the roots come in contact with will be the VAM's.

I have 4 Blackberry bushes which for some strange reason are located 2/3 of the way down my plot, this effectively cuts off 20 feet of growing area. These I will dig up and re-plant once they have fruited. in a more suitable location, freeing up this area for greater crop production.

I will not plant out my climbing beans, sweet corn or other tenders until after the first week in May. We always get a frost at sometime during the first week in May. I have been an allotment holder for 10 years and this always happens at our association. My greenhouse is bulging with tenders waiting to be planted out.

The problem has been that I had to de-weed my new plot to my satisfaction. It has always been my way to thoroughly de-weed as much as possible in the first season. This I feel paves the way for an easier life in preventing perennial weed infestation in successive seasons. My previous plot was riddled with Horsetail and Bindweed which I fought with. However it became a thankless task, but my new half plot has relatively few of these ancient weeds which makes things so much easier.

with all the deep digging done this season my planting will be weeks earlier next season.

It has been wet, windy and very cool up here for the last couple of weeks. The low pressure is just sitting over Scotland and shows no intent to move on!!!

Uriel

The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open

[/quote]

Hi All,

It is said that charcoal dug in the soil sequesters carbon, carbon dioxide and other noxious elements from the atmosphere. Now when you think about this, why does this happen.

There are a multitude of reasons why this should be, however they are all related to how Mother nature works. I know that I keep harping on that it is all about simplicity and balance, simply because, that is I believe the truth of the matter.

Mother nature does not do science, she does balance and symbiosis within her eco-system if you don't understand this then it is my belief that you would be wasting your time trying to re-create a TP type soil.

It is only through thinking simplistically that these truths become evident, having been involved with this project for coming on 5 years, I believe this to be true!!!

This I believe is how these ancient natives came to know how TP worked. They saw Mother Nature as a Goddess who provided them with all that they needed to live their lives. They saw TP as a gift from the Goddess and tried to understand how it worked.

Getting back to the ability of charcoal to sequester carbon and carbon monoxide and other noxious gasses from the atmosphere. What happens to the sequestered carbon and carbon monoxide and other noxious elements?

Mother nature does not sequester these elements just for the sake of it. There is obviously a reason why she does so, now I have drawn certain conclusions as to why this happens.

It is in the best interests of Mother nature to maintain balance within the ecology of the planet. Therefore there must be a way of breaking down noxious carbon monoxide and other manmade gasses and poisons into less harmful substances.

The prime candidates for such a task would be micro-organisms and as we know bacteria are the perfect instruments to perform such a function. They have the ability to alter their DNA structure to take advantage of any and all new food sources.

It is almost like a form of chemical composting where they break down these noxious compounds into continually less harmful substances which can then be used by the soil. Now, remember that it was these life forms who originally created soil, it is therefore well within their sphere of influence to perform such a task!!

Let me put it this way if all of the noxious substances which filled the atmosphere of this planet hundreds of millions of years ago had remained in their original state there would be no life on this planet!!

Therefore I believe that bacteria were instrumental in breaking down these toxic substances. They are impervious to the extremes of high and low temperature, and therefore have the capability to render down these noxious elements and substances into a form which permits life to be a reality on this planet!!!!


If this sounds like gobbledygook to you, then please feel free to ignore it!

The mind id like a parachute its totally useless unless open

uriel13

[/quote]

Hi All,
It is said that charcoal dug in the soil sequesters carbon, carbon dioxide and other noxious elements from the atmosphere. Now when you think about this, why does this happen.

There are a multitude of reasons why this should be, however they are all related to how Mother nature works. I know that I keep harping on that it is all about simplicity and balance, simply because, that is I believe the truth of the matter.

Mother nature does not do science, she does balance and symbiosis within her eco-system if you don't understand this then it is my belief that you would be wasting your time trying to re-create a TP type soil.

It is only through thinking simplistically that these truths become evident, having been involved with this project for coming on 5 years, I believe this to be true!!!

This I believe is how these ancient natives came to know how TP worked. They saw Mother Nature as a Goddess who provided them with all that they needed to live their lives. They saw TP as a gift from the Goddess and tried to understand how it worked.

Getting back to the ability of charcoal to sequester carbon and carbon monoxide and other noxious gasses from the atmosphere. What happens to the sequestered carbon and carbon monoxide and other noxious elements?

Mother nature does not sequester these elements just for the sake of it. There is obviously a reason why she does so, now I have drawn certain conclusions as to why this happens.

It is in the best interests of Mother nature to maintain balance within the ecology of the planet. Therefore there must be a way of breaking down noxious carbon monoxide and other manmade gasses and poisons into less harmful substances.

The prime candidates for such a task would be micro-organisms and as we know bacteria are the perfect instruments to perform such a function. They have the ability to alter their DNA structure to take advantage of any and all new food sources.

It is almost like a form of chemical composting where they break down these noxious compounds into continually less harmful substances which can then be used by the soil. Now, remember that it was these fife forms who originally created soil, it is therefore well within their sphere of influence to perform such a task!!

Let me put it this way if all of the noxious substances which filled the atmosphere of this planet hundreds of millions of years ago had remained in their original state there would be no life on this planet!!

Therefore I believe that bacteria were instrumental in breaking down these toxic substances. They are impervious to the extremes of high and low temperature, and therefore have the capability to render down these noxious elements and substances into a form which permits life to be a reality on this planet!!!!


If this sounds like gobbledygook to you, then please feel free to ignore it!

The mind id like a parachute its totally useless unless open

uriel13

[/quote]

Hi All,

I have now lifted the last of the leeks from my garden. I have also kept note of the weights of both VAM and inoculated charcoal leeks and non- inoculated leeks.

the inoculated leeks produced a 47% increase in weight as opposed to the control leeks. I have left 2 of the inoculated leeks in the soil as they have produced seed stalks and pods. I will seed save from them and offer these seeds to my allotment friends.

This season however I have purchased and sown organic Lyon leek seed stock, This I believe will be a much more weighty crop than the Musselburgh leek.

Now given that in the ago, it produced massive crops I will attempt to emulate this by using inoculated charcoal, VAM's and EM's. I do expect a greater harvest next year, however through seed saving from the best of the crop the weight and harvest hopefully will increase year by year.

This is how it was done in the past when we humans nurtured the soil, we just need to get back to this state of mind. Mother nature is unforgiving when her laws are broken, disease is rampant within our soils especially Fusarium and we are the culprits!!!

Everything nowadays is about financial gain, as "tonythehoe" once said "eat you're money"!!!

The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless its open

uriel13

[/quote]


Hi All,

I've been thinking about the best conditions in which to keep this season's heritage seed potato harvest.
Should it be hessian sacks, paper sacks or a combination of both. Up here in the north I think that it should be both!

I am also toying with the idea of mist spraying the individual potatoes with neat or diluted EM solution to guard against any fungal growth attacking my seed stock. This being my first seed stock saving venture I am mulling over these possible problems. Will the spraying of EM's give extra protection to my seed stock I honestly don't know. However it will prove just how effective EM's are in warding off disease, this treatment may also prove useful for keeping our food stock safe from fungal disease.

The EM's I feel should be allowed to dry before storage of said root seed stock or crops, and conditions should obviously dry and cold. I'm just putting this up as information, it is up to you whether you wish to try this novel approach to a possible safeguard of your hard earned harvest.

I also believe that this treatment could be used for our other stored root crops, hopefully I will get the chance to try this out at season's end this year. If this treatment has the desired effect it will be a boon to our storage of allotment food stock.

Now don't be put off by the thought of bacteria being sprayed onto the crops which you are going to eat. I test the molasses content of my brewing EM's by dipping a finger into the container and tasting the brew. I find this the best way of assessing whether more molasses needs to be added. Remember that these are beneficial micro-organisms and will be a healthy addition to the bowel flora within your body.

They will enable your digestive system to breakdown undigested food whereby greater nutrition is gained from the food that you eat. It would also prevent some food being stored within your body as fat!!!

However a word of caution, as in all things cleanliness is of vital importance, as is the place in which you brew your EM's. If you wish to brew EM's for your own consumption "always use spring water" It is also important to fit an airlock to the brewing container whereby no other micro-organisms can enter the container. I have been brewing EM's for some time now and have never suffered any adverse reaction from tasting my brew. Above all ensure the cleanliness of your container!!!

My diet is mostly fish, chicken, stir fry's goat's cheese, fruit, oat cakes and Greek yogurt. However I do admit that I am partial to a Sunday fry up at lunchtime. I was usually quite lifeless after consuming said fry up. This is what the body does when confronted with a major intake of saturated fat, egg white is particularly difficult for the digestive system to process. The human body is much like any other life form on the planet. When replete with an over indulgence of food it basically shuts down to a minimum level.

This level is characterised in humans as sleep, whereby the body can divert energy to the digestive system to process the food intake. However I have found that I no longer need to sleep to fully digest said fry up. I do feel healthier, as in more energy, but as in all things we humans are as different as snowflakes.

I put this up as information only, "any one with a health problem should consult a doctor as to any risk factors before the ingestion of EM's".

Also see internet sites sources for more information regarding the ingestion of EM's.

I have also read reports that farmers who are using EM's to inoculate hay and other fodder products require less food to feed their cattle and other livestock. This due to the fact that more nutrition is gained from the food ingested through EM's being a part of the food provided.

For chickens add 10 ml of neat EM's to every litre of their drinking water and mist spray their coops once a month with neat EM's as a disease prevention measure. You can also mist spray their grain to improve nutritional intake, and droppings with neat EM's before composting.

As always there are only my thoughts others will disagree


The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless its open

uriel13

[/quote]

Hi All,

Although I have been experimenting with the produce that these ancient Amazon delta indians would have used in their rubbish pits. It is now getting to the stage where it is no longer tenable to use them. Prices are now such that I will discontinue this form of composting.

I feel that this did make a difference to the crop yields which I was achieving, however prices have now risen to a level which I can no longer afford. I will now purchase the odd bag of cassava, sweet potato and yam flour from time to time but will use them sparingly. It will be interesting to see what difference this makes to my results. It was the tubers which I previously used as there was a great amount of nutrition for the EM's to feed upon.

This was obvious from the relatively quick breakdown of the compost, however it may be that Comfrey will be a good substitute to these tubers. I have used Comfrey in my charcoal inoculation liquid, but the tubers were all high in vegetable starch which brought in the yeast element of TP to the process. Will the flour have the same effect, I'll just have to wait and see.

Most of my maincrop potatoes Are almost ready for their first earthing up. Before doing so I will spread used coffee grounds along the rows and then proceed to earth up.

This as you will remember is part of my experiment to deter and or kill slugs who come anywhere near my potato crop. It will also be interesting to see if this application actually has any effect on wireworm. Whereas I am reasonably sure about the effect on slugs I'm relatively unsure regarding wireworm, only time will tell.

It has been lovely weather up in the north for the last week or so and I decided to open out the old carpet which I had decided to use for bumble bee nests. This as it turned out was not a good idea as they had already set up residence!!!!

As I peeled back the top layer I was met by a furore of angry bumble bees, I quickly replaced the top layer of carpet, however not quickly enough to avoid being stung a couple of times. Bumble bees are like wasps insofar as they can sting you any number of times so I was forced to beat a hasty retreat!!!

Fortunately I always carry a homoeopathic and herbal emergency kit with me and was able to treat the stings both internally and externally. Sometimes Mother nature does not need our help, as was the case in this instance!!!

It was good to discover that the bumble bees had taken up residence, but I should have been more aware of their presence in the first place. I had not seen much evidence of bumble bees as I had stated before, however they have obviously getting their nutrition from other plots.

I have purchased and sown some Hollyhock seed which I hope will sustain their lives on my plot. This in conjunction with early spring bulbs will provide them the food which they require as in pollen.

My Topper shallots have been very slow to make headway, however given the low temperatures we have experienced until a week ago its not surprising.

My Congo blue maincrop potatoes have finally shown through, an unusual leaf form, but may change as they grow and prosper.

Uriel

The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open

As far as I know ashes from wood charcoal can increase the pH of the compost in general. That's ok for the aerobic microorganisms but remember that ashes + water = primitive bleach!

My advice would be to find out if something like ash is harmful before you start yelling at people. Lol they are just worms. On the ash I haven't got a clue. Wood char from outdoor fires seems to be OK, my worms like it.

Hi SurfGirl,

Had a similar comment a while ago, the thing is, that wood ash offers a very limited supply of nutrient to the soil.

What I am using is charcoal inoculated with nutrient, dried and then added in layers to my compost bins. These bins are inoculated with neat EM cultures. The EM cultures increase the speed of compost breakdown, said breakdown is then absorbed by the charcoal.

Now whereas the ash will be gone within a season the charcoal will be there for hundreds of years.

Regarding ashes + water making bleach, the EM's within the soil will breakdown this bleach and use it as a food source.

It might be better to read through my previous postings, as at no time have I ever advocated the use of wood ash!!

You are quite right as far as the increase in pH is concerned however this is limited and offset by the increase in soil fertility with regard to charcoal.


The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unlass it is open



uriel13

You are absolutely right, and even more, I didn't mention any of your comments. I just made a warning or reminder if you like.

Right, as same as you I had a doubt about the pine bark and everybody have been very kind to explain me about the exactly conditions or limitations in its qualities as a fertilizer.

That doesn't mean you can't add it to your compost. It's useful, but in certain limits.

Happy to read you, Uriel!

Hi SurfGirl,

Delighted to hear from you, message received and understood. However as I said I don't use wood ash because it has a very limited effect which will last a season at most.

The secret of recreating a Terra preta (TP) soil is a slow burn of air excluded forest wood, this preserves the bio oil condensates within said charcoal in a crystallised form. These condensates are the equivalent of sugar to micro-organisms. These micro-organisms such as VAM's EM's and yeasts are the essence of a TP soil is all about, TP is all about the symbiosis of the three life forms within the soil.

Now living in a zone 6 to 8 climate in Scotland I was aware that to recreate a TP soil would necessitate the inoculation of my charcoal with nutrients to ensure the best possible results. this is my fifth year of researching TP and my second season of cultivation using the information which I have gleaned from the internet. I have had good results but feel that I can do much better in the seasons to come.

You will find a recipe on page 1 or 2 for the creation of a inoculation liquid as an example of how to proceed.


uriel13


The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless it is open

Hi All,

I have said this before but I believe it worth repeating.

Regarding VAM and non-VAM type crops, the TP system should have similar effects. The fact that charcoal absorbs great amounts of nutrient the growth of non-VAM crops should increase.

By this I mean that, although non-VAM crops don't receive the extra nutrient that VAM type crops receive from VAM's, they still receive more nutrient due to the presence of viable regenerative EM's.

Viable EM's breakdown compost and manure whereby greater nutrient in a molecular state is available to the roots of all VAM and non-VAM crops. The non-VAM plants should achieve greater growth potential due to the nutrient being more readily assimilated by the roots of said plants.

This is what I am attempting to achieve, approximately 90% of all crops are VAM type. However those non-VAM crops will still prosper via EM breakdown of compost and manure.

Mother nature always provides when her system of growth is adhered to, however human tampering and interference with her eco-system has caused so much damage!!!!

The one good thing has been the arrival of "Palaterra" it will apparently reduce the use of chemicals in farming by 80%!!!. If this be true, it should also reduce the need for disease control chemicals as this TP type soil should be replete with viable EM's. This to a great extent should provide its own immunity to diseases. The disease immunity will in part necessitate good crop rotation as a standard practice.

I have always had the notion that a small amount of sea water added to EM cultures would supply the soil with all of the trace elements required by the crops which we grow. It is, I believe the lack of these trace elements to plant roots that are part of the reason for poor crop results and disease. I have not as yet tested this out but hope to do so soon.

Palaterra should also help in reducing the runoff of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and weed killers from fields into rivers and streams. these chemical fertilisers and other chemicals decimate our waterways of the life forms who actively benefit all life within these waters!!!

I feel that the next project for this company may well be a natural pest control system as an adjunct to Palaterra. This would be the next logical step in this endeavour of returning to natural crop cultivation.

However to do this, they would now require to use their own ingenuity as opposed to stealing the knowledge of native tribes people!!!

It is also my belief that the 80% reduction in chemical farming could conceivably have been 100%. However such a declaration would have caused a massive drop in share prices of multi national companies who are deeply involved in this poisoning of life within our soils. Such is life in the world of profit at any cost to the environment!!!

However we can make great use of Palaterra for our own purposes given our knowledge of TP and how it works within the ecosystem !!!

I have sent a few e-mails to the company who make Palaterra asking them when it would be available in the UK.

To this date I have received no reply!!!!!



uriel13


The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless it is open[/quote]

Hi All,

I've been thinking about what other skills that EM's have in their locker. I suspect that there are very many more than we are presently aware of.

This is chiefly because of their ability to exchange DNA and consequently alter the way in which they function within the Ecosystem. To this end I Have selected some functions which I think may have been overlooked. They are relatively simple, but may add greatly to our knowledge of what they are capable of accomplishing.

At this time I will say nothing of what I intend to experiment with, however it will I believe, be a challenge to our thinking on EM's.

EM's are Mother nature's foot soldiers when all is said and done, they heal the soil which humans have corrupted with chemicals, crops, fresh and sea water. All of which are necessary to our life on this planet, and yet we seem to ignore what they have to offer us!!!!

It is almost as if they are permanently labelled as "germs" within the human psyche, something to be avoided lest we be tainted by being in their presence. If we as a race wish to survive on this planet we need to become aware of the fact that, human intelligence, is not the be all and end all that we think it is!!

These life forms have been in existence for at least 400 million years and will still be here when we, the human race are gone!!! Most only live for about 15 minutes, but I believe that their knowledge is passed on from generation to generation. It may be encoded into their DNA which would seem likely, but know this, we only exist because they exist!!!!

If truth be told, we the modern human race, are like a cancer upon this planet, We continually create poisons and deposit them into our soil, seas and oceans. In many cases these poisons are untreated, all of which are detrimental to other life forms which endeavour to maintain balance within the eco-system.

I read a report not long ago which said that the seabed off New York was dead for 12 to 15 miles out from the shore. This I think would be true for all major coastline cities across the world, however these poisons don't stay where they are dumped they circulate all around the globe poisoning and killing life forms as they travel !!!


These are just my thoughts others will disagree

The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless open

uriel13

[/quote]

Hi All,

At this time my inoculated charcoal Garlic are standing almost 3 feet 6 inched tall and of good girth. The non-inoculated Garlic in contrast are just about the 2 foot 6 inch level and slimmer in girth. I should add that there is no sign of rust on any of the plants. All of my Garlic were sprayed with diluted EM's from an early stage in their cultivation, hence no rust problems.

The first scapes have begun to show, I will allow them to get to 3 or 4 inches long then cut them for use in stir frys and stews. To leave them any longer would reduce the size of the crop.

My potatoes will soon be ready for their second earthing up with the exception of my Congo blue which have been very slow to show through. So far I have spread dried used coffee grounds along the rows of both Cara and Ratte before earthing up and will do the same again.

At this time, finally all 10 of the Congo potato mini-tubers have finally shown through, these were lab created mini-tubers about the size of a large grape or slightly larger. However as I'm growing them as seed stock for next season I will keep the biggest for that purpose.

The watering of the soil pre-season and post-season with neat EM's will I believe begin this process. On going back over my EM database the consensus would seem to be 2 seasons to see the true worth of EM's working their magic within the soil. However soils which are less contaminated will be turned around much quicker.

I have only seen 4 Cabbage white butterflies this season and no Red admiral or Peacock, This is a symptom of the pollution caused by this never ending assault of chemical crop production on the soil.

These are just my thoughts others will disagree!!!

The mind is like a parachute its totally useless onless open

uriel13

[/quote]

Hi All,

My Congo potatoes are now finally ready for their first earthing up however I did discover something unusual about this potato, it produces runner roots which then surface to become plant stalks. At first I thought that it was potatoes left in the soil after harvest as does happen, but there were quite a few.

Now as I had deep dug the soil prior to planting the mini-tubers I decided to pull up one or two. This was when I found out that they were coming from my Congo plants. In all of my seasons of cultivation I have never seen such a thing. There were at least 4 of these root shoots per plant surfacing from the soil. I therefore decided to bury them again with some VAM granules.

Now I know that this particular potato is said to have a massive root system, hence the slow growth of initial foliage. However nothing which I read mentioned such an occurrence. On beginning to earth up I found that about 9 inches away from the plants That I was unearthing a mass of potato roots. I immediately stopped and used a wheel barrow to bring soil from the back end of my plot for the purpose.

Before earthing up again I sprinkled VAM granules over the exposed roots, My thoughts being the more VAM's attached to said roots the greater the possible harvest. Will this action result in a greater crop, only time will tell.

To think that such small tubers are capable of producing such an massive amount of roots Is astonishing!!! Obviously the watering of the manure and trench with EM's and sprinkling the tubers with VAM granules was a plus to growth. However I believe that this was maybe how they grew in their native soil. I should also add that the distance from the mother plant to surfacing of foliage is approximately 7 inches to a foot!!!

I asked my old mentor if he had encountered anything like this, he just shook his head when he saw what was happening and asked for some tubers for next season. This I granted as long as he would use EM's supplied by myself to water his crops with. I only said this as a joke, however he agreed, at this point I had to tell him that they needed to be cooked in a pressure cooker. To which he replied that he had be using one for years.

He's a secretive old fox, I would never have thought of him buying something like that, he just winked and departed my plot!!!

However it was obvious that he saw something which took his fancy, he came back to my plot next dry day( there haven't been all that many) to have a further look. They will be late to lift he said, to which I replied that they should have been planted much earlier, but the ground had not been prepared due to deep weeding the soil. Aye he said, the lass that last had this plot just let it go, and the one before her was just as bad, but I think you'll be OK here. He patted me on the shoulder and once more departed my plot.

To me this was an accolade of worth, I was really chuffed, I think that he likes what I cultivate and how I nurture the soil. Now I am sure that once he starts using EM's that he will be back asking more questions. Is the teacher just about ready to be taught by the pupil, we will see???.

According to some of the older members he hasn't bought seeds, tubers, onion sets or garlic bulbs for 30 odd years, I really need to know what he knows!!

I must admit that I was expecting greater growth given the care taken to pre-treat the soil with neat EM's before planting out. Alas with the almost constant rain, and cold temperatures, its hardly been above 16 deg C up here, I fear the worst.!!! Having said that my VAM inoculated Garlic is looking really good and will hopefully provide a great harvest!!

PS:- I have now tested the use of dried spent coffee grounds on unearthed wireworms in a plastic container with some moist earth. Sad to say it seems to have had no perceptible effect on these armour plated villains!!

Although most of you in England will be ready to, or have already, harvested your Garlic, up here in the northern territories we are usually a month behind.

However this season I will be saving the best of my VAM Garlic crop for planting out in the early Autumn. The same will be done with my VAM potato crop, drying beans and peas in the spring. This is how I intend to continue whereby I can grow better crops at no cost other than buying Molasses, chicken manure and growing a better soil with inoculated charcoal.

My real test will come when I render down 40 kilo's of charcoal and subject it to my latest liquid recipe. This I will over winter In 2 sealed black plastic containers and allow to soak up this nutrient.

I have already started to add comfrey leaves in a net bag suspended in one of my water butts to create a strong comfrey tea. I have also planted 7 of the comfrey root plants grown from said root cuttings. These were planted with inoculated charcoal and a good handful of EM saturated manure and a sprinkling of VAM's.

This should see them grow deep roots very quickly and be harvestable next season for stems.

The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless open

uriel13