Hi saltdog,

An interesting note on Plaggen soils, some of the oldest were said to be created in the 12th and 13th centuries on the islands of Orkney and Shetland. To be honest I think that this date is way to late and was much earlier than this by about 1800 years earlier.

Now it is known that Wim Sombroek's father had converted some of his land into Plaggen fields. And that he produced greater crops due to this change in soil structure. However he did not use peat, he used chopped up straw and manure mixed with molasses and manure.

As far as I can ascertain, on having discovered the TP soil in the Amazon delta (he was not the first to do so) he saw the potential that such a soil would have in Europe. He died still not having unlocked the secret of this soil, however his work still goes on.

But getting back to the make up of the original Plaggen soil, it was originally created as an adjunct to the provision of bedding for cattle. Peat was cut, dried and laid out like bricks in the cattle sheds as bedding, when it became sodden with urine it was mixed with manure and was dug into the fields. It was almost like a TP effect except had no charcoal, so there was evidence of people unwittingly at first, producing a better soil.

It maybe that I am being hard on these ancient island people because peat would have reacted in the same manner as charcoal in sucking up the nutrient from both urine and manure. However it would have been a soil on the acidic side of neutral.

Now given that the site of Scara Brae had living quarters and a toilet system on Orkney 3 thousand years ago would seem to prove a high degree of intelligence had long been established.

As I understand it, these soils continued to be cultivated in this manner until the 1960's. However that is about the time when chemical crop production began, This would seem to have been the death knell of that form of soil cultivation.

However it would not take much effort to regain the viability of these former Plaggen soils. The watering of such soil with neat EM cultures would I believe bring life back into these soils. Now given that there is thousands of years of seaweed also within this soil, EM's would I believe re-create these Plaggen soils to their former health and nutritional value to crops.

The long lasting effect of Plaggen soils is like charcoal, down to the absorbency of the peat. It to can retain moisture and given the amount of seaweed within it these island soils could make a great difference to the crop yields if watered with EM's.


These are just my thoughts others will disagree


The mind is like a parachute it is totally usless unless it is open[/quote]
One word Uriel - Wow!!

I'm very impressed at your knowledge of soil types in Orkney. Obviously as a complete novice I can't even begin to comment but it sounds good nonetheless. Got information to impress the GF with now! Lol.

The wild grasses that were growing on the development before we all turned up and ruined it were definitely testament to the fertility of the land. As I only really want a decent lawn out of it, I'm not overly concerned about growing things just yet. right now it's more the landscaping aspect which intrests me.

The area I dug out was purely to lay concrete paving stones and create a large patio at the rear of the house. It is currently swimming with water so I was wondering if I would create any additional problems by throwing down a layer of dry mix sand and cement over the area to bed down the slabs? I want to get the construction aspects of the garden out of the way in order to start planting and sowing in the Spring.

Kevin