Anyone reading the subject who *didn't* see the above programme would be
forgiven for thinking this a little off-topic, but please read on.


A programme summary can be found at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon...eldorado.shtml


and further information (though the site seems a little scrappy) here

http://www.geo.uni-bayreuth.de/bodenkunde/terra_preta/


The programme is based around the remarkable nutritional qualities of
"terra preta" in the Amazon.

A quick excerpt from the above BBC link:

"Bruno Glaser, from the University of Bayreuth, has found that terra
preta is rich in charcoal, incompletely burnt wood. He believes it acts
to hold the nutrients in the soil and sustain its fertility from year to
year. This is the great secret of the early Amazonians: how to nurture
the soil towards lasting productivity. In experimental plots, adding a
combination of charcoal and fertiliser into the rainforest soil boosted
yields by 880% compared with fertiliser alone."

I'm impressed.

Has anyone here experimented with charcoal as a soil additive? Better
still, has anyone managed to get their hands (here or abroad) on some of
this magic stuff?

Best wishes,


--Neil.
--
Neil Trotter, Canewdon, UK
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