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Hi All,

within the next month or so some of us on the "Allotments UK" site will be embarking on the first trial of our amended terra Preta type compost.

The trial is with Garlic, we all have different mixes and methods of re-creating a Terra Preta type compost. This we will add to the rows in which certain cloves are planted.

One row will be planted using whatever nutrient you have always used when planting cloves, the other with the amended Terra Preta type compost and VAM's. These rows should be sufficiently far apart to ensure viable results.

My own preference will be to wait until growth is evident, then inject Rootgrow gel to the roots of the amended Terra Preta type row. This I believe will encourage the VAM's attach themselves to the roots before winter sets in.

My preference is, when planting Garlic to use a bulb planter, as in create a hole approximately 5 to 6 inches deep and fill it with nutrient. Then plant the clove approximately one inch deep from the tip of said clove and cover with soil.

I have always found that Garlic cloves planted in mid to late September give higher yields due the growth being evident before winter sets in.

It will be interesting to assess the results of this trial, However I do not expect the 800% increase in cropping which Johannes Lehmann reported in his experiments on non-amended Amazonian soil.

This soil is bereft of nutrient, whereas our European soils are much more productive in terms of nutrient value. However I believe that a Terra Preta type soil amendment could achieve results in the region of 150 to 250% in certain crops. The more amenable a plant is to VAM infection the higher will be the corresponding yield.

These are just my thoughts, others will disagree, as I have said before see the thoughts of like minded people on the site previously mentioned.

I want to re-create a soil whereby no petro-chemical fertilisers, weed killers or insecticides are used. A soil which is to our liking where frogs, toads, bees and a multitude of other beneficial life forms can prosper.

A soil which Multi-National Companies have no control over to sell their poisons to, sorry about the rant but these Companies care little about the soil as long as they can make a profit!


uriel13