Big companies really does not care about the effect of there product they only want the best of there interest. We can stop this by going some into the public and let them know the fact of what have happen to our mother earth

Hi Rachel,

Could not agree with you more, unfortunately modern humans don't see Mother nature as the giver of life.

They think that the air which the breathe, the food that they eat and the water that they drink will always be there to sustain them, and therein is the problem.

In reality modern humans don't care as long as they have some soap, or other media reality show to keep their interest.

Its a sad world we live in!!



Uriel

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

[/quote]

Hi All,
I would urge you all to experiment with EM cultures and organic materials as they have the ability to render down all organic materials into a form which is readily assimilated by crop roots.

In this case I'm not going to tell you what to use, I want you to think this out for yourselves, weeds and herbs have much to offer in terms of nutrition for our crops.

I'll give you a clue most so called weeds are in fact herbs, we have just got used to the fact that if they are a problem we tend to call them weeds.

Put the roots of these herbs into a blender then add them to your EM culture and let the EM's work their magic.

To do this properly you require to take notes of your experiments, as in the weight of roots used, the dilution used in a way in which you can see what is happening. It would also be beneficial to take notes on successes and failures.

Mother nature's laboratory requires that we understand what we are doing to her soil, if she does not like what we are doing, you will, if committed to the task, understand why the experiment did not work.

This an essential aspect of our work, as in, was the amendment too overpowering for the crops to assimilate we must remember that Mother nature works at her own pace.

However to verify this, grow crops in the same location the following season, if they prosper, then it is obvious that you must reduce the amount of the active ingredients by dilution of the fermented brew to ensure that your crops will be enabled to take advantage of the nutrients available to them.

Best of all they don't cost you anything to use, so get on the internet and find out what they have to offer in terms of nutrition for our crops.

You might find that they have much more to offer than continually buying chemical fertilisers which kill the life within our soils.

Again I say that simplistic thinking is the key, you need to disconnect yourselves from science and understand how Mother nature actually works within her eco-system.

We modern humans who live on this planet seem to have scant respect for what she does for us, it is best that we remedy this situation before its too late!!!!

Use shovel along with charcoal ash compost.Use another compost like brown and green matter such as leaves, soil, branches and bark, and fruits and vegetables.

Hi Allan,
The only thing missing from your mixture is charcoal, charcoal ash is short lived within the soil as a nutrient source.

See my earlier postings on this subject.


uriel13


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

[/quote]

Hi All,

Meant to post this a while ago but forgot all about it, I have edited it in the light of more recent information.

Purchased a garden shredder at the end of last year to make the task of breaking down my special charcoal and compost mix less time consuming. I did not believe that I required a heavy duty shredder, just one which would fulfil the task. It seems to be fit for purpose, as in, rendering down the mix into an easily handled and peat like tilth.

It also renders down hedge, soft wood trimmings and the like for composting, this I believe shortens the composting time when EM's are watered over each batch together with spent coffee grounds when added to the bins.

I have found that the inoculation process which my special charcoal is subjected to, makes the charcoal more amenable to shredding. By this I mean that the charcoal and charred carcasses fracture quite readily.

The forest wood used to make my charcoal is native soft wood I believe that most of it is ash, pine, birch and sycamore.

I'm just glad that my purchase does the job as I could not have afforded a more expensive shredder in any case.

The breakdown of vegetation is certainly improved by the addition of both EM's and spent coffee grounds. I sense that there is much more heat within the bins. This maybe due to the addition of the spent coffee grounds, however this not something that, as yet, I am prepared to confirm.

The bottom line is that, this experiment is about creating, or cultivating, a better soil, this is what we are attempting to achieve.

We can I believe recreate a TP type soil, not only that, but through the use of EM's, can protect our crops from disease.

The four basic ingredients a-

Charcoal, VAM's, EM's and Yeasts which seem to have a definite affinity with each other. All have different roles to play, however when brought together a very special change takes place.

I have thought about this, and why it should be that such a change takes place. I think that I am getting closer to understanding this, however to do so I must divorce myself from any and all science based logic. This logic was necessary at the start of my experiment, but the deeper I delved into the subject the more I felt that science did not really understand how Mother nature actually works.

Organic plot holders know how the soil works, if they put their minds to the task, they should be able to learn what I have learned. However I have not declared all that I know due to of the lack of input from others exploring the TP concept.

All that I will say is that simplistic thinking is the key to understanding TP, the road that you follow is best served by Mother nature's laws!

Tony seems to be achieving excellent results using Comfrey as the base liquid for his inoculation of charcoal. I am slightly flummoxed by this as comfrey, as far as I am aware is not indigenous to the Amazon delta.

It may well be that there are herbs and plants specific to climatic regions all over the world which are capable of creating a TP type soil. It would seem logical that Mother nature would endeavour to ensure that this TP type soil would be made available to all who chose to explore such a concept regardless of climatic conditions.

The micro-organisms which create TP are not, I believe temperature specific, in that they are capable of adjustment to all and any conditions. This is their sphere of influence, it is they who first existed on this planet, it was also they who created soil from the first dead vegetation on land over millions of years. This created an environment capable of sustaining so called higher life forms on this newly evolved land mass.

Flora would by now have been extensive for those life forms who were about the inhabit the land. Mother nature seems to have a specific plan by which she creates life forms. However all her creations require that micro-organisms be present in vast numbers to continually make nutrient available from the waste products and demise of her creations.

The fact that we modern humans no longer see Mother nature as the giver of life is a great problem. We modern humans think that the air which we breathe, the food which we eat and the water which we drink will always be there to sustain us.

Therein lies the problem, we think that what ever we do that these resources will always be there to sustain us, not so!!!!!

Mother nature will seek to defend her own creations at the expense of modern humans.

I'm no tree hugger, however what I have learned in the past 4 or 5 years is that we modern humans are like children playing with matches with regard to chemicals and nuclear power. It would seem that if safeguards are a problem to profit then safeguards are ignored!!!!

For all our supposed superior intelligence and free will we have become a liability, we make bad decisions which affect the eco-system.

We need to get back to Mother nature as it is she who provides us with strong immune systems capable of warding off disease.

I remember as a child eating earth to see what it tasted like, and being dared to eat a worm, this was part of growing up for me. The earth and the worm I spat out, however I ingested some the bacteria associated with both worm and earth.

Being stung by bees, wasps and nettles and bitten by horse fly, midge, gnats, ants and a host of other insects gave me a strong immune system at an early age. What's more my immune system was now primed to act upon any similar incident. Everyone in those days had some herbal or homoeopathic knowledge to deal effectively with such traumas. This knowledge seems to have fallen by the wayside, it is now antihistamines which are the preferred option. Well maybe its just me, but I don't see this as the way to give a child a stronger immune system.

I don't remember anyone dying from such stings and bites in my childhood. There was no panic, simply because I had learned a lesson not to antagonise these life forms or get to close to them as with nettles.

I am always reminded of the saying "anything which does not kill you makes you stronger", this was my parents view of such events.

In those days parents would hold a mumps, chickenpox, measles or German measles party for the local children, whereby all local children got infected at the same time. Parents would keep a check list of all the diseases which their child had succumbed to.

This I believe was beneficial to the children of my generation, in that, by the time we were 10 or 11 years old we had been exposed to all or most of the childhood diseases. This I believe gave us stronger immune systems at an early age to be able to cope with disease.

Now this is a fact that we all should take cognizance of, 95% of all life on this planet are micro-organisms!!! The other 5% is made up of insects animals and humans, This is how insignificant we modern humans are in the scheme of things. It is best that we learn this lesson before its too late, if we continually decimate micro-organism populations they are well capable of mutating into a form which would devastate the human race!!!

I don't regard myself as being particularly intelligent, however I when I get involved in something really interesting I endeavour to take it apart and then reassemble it. If it does not rebuild then the concept is either flawed or insufficient information is available to do so. This is when I trawl the internet for the necessary data to complete the task if possible.

With the TP concept it was obvious in the early stages that science was wearing blinkers. This is not a put down of science, however it is my opinion that to solve the riddles of Mother nature it is necessary to follow her path.

Simplistic thinking I am now sure, is the key, there was an inventor whose name I don't recall who stated that "If your gut instinct tells you that there is a simpler methodology, then there most probably is". This is the thinking which will unlock to door of TP.

The bottom line is, get back to Mother nature and understand how she works, cutting down vast tracts of rain forest only increases the wind speed across our planet. Trees are the means by which wind speed is controlled the more trees we cut down the greater will be the wind speed around the planet.

This is science 101, why is it that no one is speaking out about this increase in wind speed across the planet.

It is there for all to see, to my recollection it started approximately 6 or 7 years ago and has been building up ever since then.

Maybe its just me but the more trees we cut down the more storms will be created which will have a devastating effect upon our lives.

These are just my thoughts, others will disagree

Uriel

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

As you may remember I planted out 42 cloves of Vayo last autumn, these have now been harvested and dried.

Two of the non-inoculated cloves died off during the winter so my results are based on 19 of the healthy bulbs of both inoculated and non-inoculated cloves.

My findings are that there is almost a 35% increase in harvested weight of inoculated to non-inoculated bulbs.

Now while this may be a long way short of the 150 to 250 % envisioned it is still a major step forward.

My other crop findings were as follows :-

Shallots:- an increase of 38%.

Onions:- an increase of 30%

Dwarf French beans:- wife collected some for sister in law, this put paid to any evidence of increased growth!!!!

potatoes:- an increase of 45%, this I found to be contrary to expectations, as in, alliums are supposedly more micorrhizal orientated than potatoes. But as I have said this is a learning process, and it is what we establish in actual results that count. It should also be noted that the only manure used was chicken manure in pelleted form.

However it should be noted that a dilution of EM's was added at the time of planting, as with all my other crops.

sweet corn:- A very poor summer meant that I got nothing from my efforts!

Leeks:- the leeks are flourishing and I can see a difference in growth between the inoculated and non-inoculated plants both in height and girth. This data will obviously be available next year as they are a winter / early spring crop.

Drying beans:- a disaster, during the high winds experienced in Scotland during September my bean structure collapsed breaking most stems at ground level. The beans never recovered, however next season I will be cultivating them on my new plot which has more shelter from the wind. I did manage to salvage most pods, however they were so tangled up and broken that I could not tell which was which!!!

The plants did achieve a height of 10 feet on the inoculated plants and 8 feet on the non-inoculated plants

It is my belief that increased growth is related to the amount of inoculated charcoal and compost within the soil. The more inoculated charcoal which we add to the soil, the better will be the results of our harvests.

I see a time when all that will be required will be to spread sea weed on the soil in the autumn for the charcoal to soak up. In the spring this will be dug into the soil along with compost, EM's will breakdown this rich nutrient base into a form easily assimilated by the VAM's.

Charcoal is a bio-accumulator, as in, it has the ability to soak up great amounts of nutrition then release this nutrient to the plants via the VAM's. The more inoculated charcoal the greater the number of VAM's and the amount of nutrient uptake by VAM type crops.

This nutrient in its raw form will be further broken down by both VAM's and EM's to ensure that our crops receive higher amounts of nutrient in a form which their roots can easily assimilate.

I will be adding comfrey to next seasons inoculation mixture, the nutrient value of this herb and the vast array of trace elements which it contains is quite astounding.

I am now convinced that comfrey is worthy of inclusion into the inoculation liquid, however I will still be adding molasses due to its affinity with VAM's.

this is, and will be, an ongoing learning process, however I must be honest enough to see this addition to the inoculation liquid as being worthwhile.

It would seem that comfrey is such a case, fortunately I have no problem in accepting comfrey into the inoculation recipe.

I spent weeks delving into its nutrient advantages when used as a fertiliser and am satisfied that it will bring much worth to our experiment.

comfrey contains the following:-

Vitamins A,B,C and E.
Minerals:- Calcium, chromium, cobalt, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, sodium, tin and zinc. It also contains many trace minerals. Comfrey is also one of the richest sources of silicon in the botanic world.

Chemical Constituents of Comfrey

It is also worth noting that Tony has used a much longer saturation time for his inoculated charcoal, this may also be of relevance to the end result.

Yet I still believe that the restoration of VAM's and EM's to our soils is the key to recreating a Terra preta type soil. I say this because our soils are in very poor condition, we need to find a way out of our chemical cultivation of the soil!

This form of agriculture is not only killing life within the soil, it is seeping down into the water table to poison the water which we drink. It is also killing life within our streams and rivers, what's worse is that we are allowing this to happen!

Now the real advantage of adding inoculated charcoal is that year by year we will increase the number of VAM spores within our soil.

The VAM increase within the soil I believe is relative to the amount of inoculated charcoal added to said soil. This will cause the creation of many more VAM spores ready to infect the roots of all endo-mycorrhizal type crops. The molasses within the inoculation mixture will I believe ensure their survival.

Once we divorce ourselves from the chemical form of cultivating the soil we should see the results begin to take place. Life will return to the soil, and with it will return all the necessary mutual symbiosis which Mother nature has deemed essential to the cultivation of crops.

This is how Mother nature works at this level and it is best that we let her do so. She after all knows what works, whereas we have shown immense ignorance in our cultivation techniques!!

As I have said before it is my belief that our indigenous VAM's and EM's have been denatured or killed off due to the use of inorganic fertilisers, pesticides and weed killers. It is now down to us to redress the balance of nature within our soils.

Unfortunately things are going to get much worse on the financial front. Greece is an enormous black hole sucking up money that it can never possibly hope repay.

In a world which is apparently teetering on the brink of financial ruin we would best fend for ourselves!!!

We must think of what vegetables we need for the necessities of life. Potatoes, peas, marrow fat peas,carrot, turnip, beans, Brussels sprouts and a host of other vegetables all have their heritage varieties.

We would do well to seed save from these varieties because at the moment things are only going to get worse.

I say these things, not as a harbinger of doom, but as a wake up call, we must start cultivating heritage crops which are good croppers, store well and breed true to type.

And remember that we,I believe can increase the harvest potential of these heritage crops through the use of inoculated charcoal, VAM's, EM's.

So buying heritage seed stock is a must for those who want to keep cultivating the soil for food!

At the end of the day each of us must make decisions as to how they go forward, for me it is heritage seed stock.

Just take a look at seed garlic prices, on average up by nearly 40%, and that does not include postage and packing which is also on the increase.

These companies know that we will pay up because we have nowhere else to go. However if we get back to seed saving from heritage crops we can dispense with them!!!

We must all re-learn how to seed save from our crops to nullify increasing costs, choose heavy croppers and long keepers. Allow one or two of your crop like leeks, onions and garlic to go to seed each season for this purpose. It may even necessitate buying a small pollytunnel whereby this seed can be started as soon as seed is collected.

Tomato seed will keep for between 5 to 7 years.

Peppers and beets will keep almost as long.

Peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts will keep for 3 years.

Squash, cucumber and melon will keep for 5 years.

Corn, onions, leek and salsify will only keep for a year.

These time periods are based on proper storage of said seeds, and also on the manner of collection.

However this is an indicator of what can be done to reduce our reliance on seed catalogues.

Personally I would let the biggest of my crops to go to seed, thereby ensuring the vigour of the strain.

Crops which have shown increased resistance to disease or insect attack would also be seed saved.

We have so much to re-learn with regard to cultivating by Mother nature's rules, my own perception is that our ancient tribe's people knew a hell of lot more about cultivating the soil than we do in this regard.

These are the things which we will need to do, the tiny cloves from seed garlic which are normally thrown away, will be kept. These will be grown on, dried out, then re-planted out in the autumn.

These are just my thoughts others will disagree.


http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/grow...vities/A56.pdf

Why save seed?

Seed Saving Introduction - Allotment Vegetable Growing

Seed Swap what to save

http://www.cat.org.uk/membership/dow...IllegalVeg.pdf

Uriel

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

[/quote]


Hi All,
When thinking of seaweed I am reminded that on Shetland it is the main fertiliser that they use. The other is sheep manure, the cows are to few in number to make a realistic difference to the outcome.

They don't wash the seaweed, it just goes onto the soil and the rain does the rest and come spring it gets dug into the soil. So why should we be washing our seaweed, it makes no sense to do so!!!

Their crops are much sought after by wealthy and high class restaurants as are their sheep whose sole diet is seaweed / grass.

We need to re-think as to how we cultivate our soils, leaving a good amount of seaweed spread over our soils during the Autumn and winter will I believe have a devastating effect on the slug population. It will not I believe have an ill effect our soils, however the salt content will seep down to those slugs who reside there during the winter months.

Interestingly there are slugs and snails on Shetland, and they not killed off by salt water. They have over the centuries become immune to salt water. However our mainland slug and snail population have no such defence against sea water

Shetland is battered by sea spray all during the winter and yet they grow good crops, so sea salt is not a problem to growing good crops.

I don't know who came up with the idea of washing seaweed, but it would seem to be less than well thought out scenario. Sea salt contains every known trace element which our crops need to stay healthy.

Not only that, but these trace elements released from the salt into our soils will have a beneficial effect on the crops which we cultivate.


These are just my thoughts, others will disagree.

Hi Ravi,

Your friend is correct, however having said that the effect of the ashes will be short lived and washed out of the soil..

To get true increased growth in the soil would require that charcoal VAM's and EM's together with organic compost be dug into the soil.


the mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless open.


uriel13

[/quote]

Hi All,

I have planted out 34 cloves of Bella Italino garlic,17 of which have been given inoculated charcoal compost.

The other 17 have been given normal compost, as always I use a bulb planter to ensure that the cloves receive sufficient nutrient where it matters at the roots.

The 17 cloves given the special charcoal compost were also infected with VAM's to ensure that viable VAM's would infect the roots and thereby give the garlic greater amounts of nutrition.

To boost the effect I have also added a handful of inoculated charcoal to each planting hole. This I hope will increase the number of VAM's and therefore the end yield of garlic.

This is the first time that I have cultivated this particular garlic, large cloves coming from Italy with a strong flavour. I like a garlic which bites back, it has much greater health benefits if eaten raw, once cooked it is merely an aid to digestion.

Raw garlic if rubbed onto the soles of your feet will be evident on your breath within 30 seconds, this was an ancient method of treating severe bronchitis. The patient was seated upright on the bed and the soles of the feet were plastered with mashed raw garlic and then bandaged. The plaster was changed every 4 hours this remedy saved many an ailing person from an early demise!

I have also planted out 32 cloves of Vayo in the same fashion,as with my Bella Italino cloves I first gave the soil a good drench with concentrated EM's. I then left the soil for a week, to allow the acidity of the EM's to dissipate then planted my cloves.

I have no idea what the previous allotment tenant planted out or where she planted it. So thought that drenching this soil with neat EM's would be helpful In outnumbering any harmful bacteria or fungi residual within the soil.

I like Vayo both for taste and for its keeping qualities, however German red were my favourite but sadly no longer seem to be available in the UK.

We had our first frost tonight much later than usual, our usual first frost date is mid October it was -1 deg tonight 5-11-11. You can usually tell by the state of courgettes and runner beans as they are very susceptible to frost damage. Down at the allotments it was more evident the next morning, the runner bean wigwams all had blackened foliage.

Every other shop in Glasgow is selling snow shovels in anticipation of a hard winter, do they know something I don't know, or just cashing in on the fear factor?

Uriel

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

I was advised that coal ash and BBQ briquettes should not be composted, so I keep them out of my compost bin.

Also what I've found important is to find the best location for my bin. I was told that a compost bin should be placed in a moderately shady area in order to help with the breaking down process. For this reason, I have placed my compost bin near the garden shed or near the back of the property.

Also I've found that no matter where the bin is placed, it is imperative to anchor it, possibly using the ground, garden sheds or trees in order to prevent anything from tipping the bin and causing a mess.

Hi Dave,

As you say coal ash and BBQ briquettes should not be used the former has nasty residual chemicals and the latter has ignition accelerants added.

I keep my compost bins in a relatively sunny position and water as required, I find that the heat within the bin speeds up the breakdown of vegetable waste and also increases the activity of the bacteria within the bins.

Also when watering said bins I use a dilution of EM's.

However its what works best for you, I'm in a zone 6 to 8 environment and the sun rarely gets too hot. As to securing the bins I have drilled 4 holes about 3 inches from the bottom and inserted bamboo canes, in my case it is to protect against winter gales.

the mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless open.

Hi All,

Conditions up here wild and windy, My inoculated Bella Italiano have just shown through. No sign of growth from the non-inoculated cloves as yet, but this is in keeping with growth pattern shown last year with my Vayo cloves.

It would seem that the VAM's are already attaching themselves to the now forming roots of the inoculated cloves. As I remember from last year it was about a week earlier that I saw the first signs of growth. However since this a different garlic, I will just note the event.

We had a delivery of cattle manure from the park farm, as fortune would have it I was the only person at the allotments at the time. I was able to get 8 barrow loads of the best that was going, this involved digging past all the hay to get to the real manure.

I have covered the pile with heavy duty black plastic sheeting, and have now started a litre container of EM's.
This should be ready in 5 or 6 days, once I see the airlock plopping for a couple of days it will be time to use it.

This I will water onto the manure pile using a watering can, then re-cover the manure and weigh down with bricks and leave until spring.

This I believe will give the EM's sufficient time to work their way through the pile removing most of any nasty bacteria, fungi, hormones and the like.

I just feel safer using EM's on manure, whereby they can work their magic from November until March.

5 months of EM action on this heap will I believe reduce much of any infestation within the heap. EM's are well capable of working at temperatures of -30 deg C so don't let winter temperatures put you off using this method to cleanse manure.

These are just my thoughts, others will disagree


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

[/quote]

Hi All,

Found this update which would seem to prove that my assertions as to the cleanliness of the ancient Amazon tribes peoples so called rubbish pits.

Not only that, it proves the link between EM's and VAM's is valid as to their working in a symbiotic relationship.

I am now glad that I added some neat EM's to my manure heap, just looking forward to spring and experimenting with all my other ideas.

This is a bit like an early Christmas present for me, I may not be the sharpest tool in the box. However when I get totally immersed in a subject I usually find the answers I'm looking for.


Terra Preta sanitation: re-discovered from an ancient Amazonian civilisation | Sanitation Updates

Uriel

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

As per my knowledge and experience regarding gardening, regular wood ash is good for the garden as it contains potassium (K) which is one of the three main plant fertilizers. However, charcoal, even though it is wood, contains chemicals and additives that you probably wouldn't want in your garden. So it is essential to make sure there are no dangerous additives in the charcoal that don't burn off, in order to protect your garden soil by acidity.

Hi Rosemarie,

A lot depends on the wood being charred, as in I only use forest wood to make my charcoal which is perfectly safe for purpose. This charcoal is also used for medicinal purposes, however if you were to use any treated wood as in railway sleepers then you might encounter the problems of which you speak.

Although you are correct in that wood ash contains nutrient it is fleeting in its longevity within the soil, whereas charcoal will be in the soil for hundreds if not thousands of years. This charcoal soaks up nutrient, however it is my belief that it requires inoculation before being introduced into the soil.

If you were to put un-inoculated charcoal into the soil it would soak up all existing nutrient and result in poor crop performance.

The native people of the Amazon delta who created the soil now known as Terra preta used a slow burning technique which excluded air whereby the bio-oil condensates were retained within the charcoal and not voided into the atmosphere. This is one of the secrets of this soil, these condensates are the equivalent of sugar to micro-organisms.

[/quote]

Hi All,

Meant to post this earlier.

Having said that I would be embarking on a Heritage seed stock revival, I have found it difficult to adhere to all of the necessary obligations at this time. I will therefore begin with potato, cauliflower and leek all of which are heritage crops.

This does not mean that I will be defaulting on the concept that we can get more from our heritage VAM type seed stock.

This in part is due to my brain not understanding that I am no longer a thirty something. It constantly challenges me to work as I did at that age, the mind is still keen! However the body finds it difficult to comply with that which the brain finds to be necessary to the task!

Now I know that a good few of the crops which I intend to cultivate in reality cannot be considered heritage!

However, I am also looking for good croppers and long keepers which have been seed saved for many years, and seemingly grow true to type.

This I hope will enable me to sever my links with the ever increasing price hype of garlic, potato and other mainstay crops.

Potatoes:-

Cara;- Organic, large tubers , large crop, good keeper in the necessary conditions circa 1973 or there abouts.

First Early

Ratte ;-Organic, an old French variety of Pink Fir Apple circa 1872, or earlier, with much less knobbly bits. It is considered, not surprisingly by the French, to be the origin of the English Pink Fir Apple potato. It has the same nutty flavour of PFA and is a good keeper. Gives reasonably good yields of firm waxy potatoes.

First Early

Congo:- Organic and ancient Variety with purple skin and blue flesh. This is a very late maturing variety and requires early planting, moderate cropper( not a lot for your money) suited to steaming and mashing.

I have tried to find its origin, many believe that very early explorers brought it back with them from South America and Peru in particular because it was found to both prevent and cure scurvy.

However its cultivars can be found in Spain, Australia, Canada, Scotland, and probably many more countries. The earliest documentation of this potato is circa 1615.

It has a massive root system and I am thinking that if infected with VAM's may well produce more tubers.

I will be experimenting with this potato through the VAM infection of its massive root system for a second time by injecting VAM's during mid season into said root system. This will be done to 10 of the 20 tubers which I have purchased. Now this I believe should show whether the infection of VAM's in fact has real worth within a larger root system to create a larger crop.

I will also be feeding this potato much more regularly with comfrey tea, the more feeding the greater the crop, within reason!

Now this is just a thought, but could the massive root system be because there was a dearth of nutrient in these native Amazon soils. This would seem logical to me, therefore if we feed this potato well it could produce significantly greater harvests.

As to the keeping qualities, there are conflicting reports as to how long this potato will keep after harvesting. But since it has been kept on long voyages and is a late main crop I believe that it should keep quite well.

It will also be a talking point when guests are fed, I can just imagine my son's face when confronted by blue potato mash. "I'll just tell him that's what Homer Simpson eats, as I remember the Simpson's always had blue mash on their plates"( this quote came from JBA seeds).

However since purchasing this seed potato I have read reports which state that if boiled to long it disintegrates. I am thinking that a pressure cooker may well be the best option.

First Early

Peas :-

Rondo:- an excellent cropper and will keep till next season when left to dry out properly.

Mario:- For lovers of mushy peas which I must admit I do love, will keep till next season when left to dry out properly.

Beans:-

Drying "Borletto bean Lamon" height approximately 9 to 11 feet, and will keep until next season. This is a meaty bean much loved by the good and great. Again don't know the heritage, however since it has been seed saved for many years I will go with it.

Seeds of Italy - BUTTERBEAN FAGIOLO DI SPAGNA (UK only)

The best method that I have found for drying peas and beans for seed saving it to let then dry on the plant until pods are hard and brown. Then cut the pods off and using needle and thread string them high up in the greenhouse to remove any residual moisture. It works for me but is only a suggestion!

Oh, and always use nylon thread for obvious reasons.

However you could just as easily shell the crop onto brown paper sheets in the greenhouse and hand turn them every day for a few days if conditions are sunny.

Shallot:-

Topper :- will keep from harvest until planting out time in spring. I don't know the history of this shallot so it will be interesting to see if it breeds true to type.

Cauliflower:-

Dwarf Erfuet :- also known as snowball, compact heads, cultivating this for the wife, circa 1830. this will be a challenge as I have never seed saved from Brassica.

Now this being a Brassica will not be included in my TP results.

Thomas Etty Esq.

Garlic:-

This will be dependent on the crop of Bella Italino, If the crop shows worth I may try a cross pollination with Vayo and seed save. Received my Vayo yesterday and will hopefully plant out tomorrow (5-11-11). This much later than I normally plant out garlic, but the deal was to good to refuse.

However you can I believe just as easily save the largest cloves from your July, August harvest and plant them out in mid September or early October dependant on your minimum temperature zone. For those living in Scotland I would suggest mid September.

If anyone knows different re clove planting please say so on this blog!!!

I have since found out that it is difficult to produce viable seed from garlic. This set me thinking that if the garlic flowers were mist sprayed with a dilution of EM's just prior to the opening of said flowers it may encourage seed viability.

This is just off the top of my head, but I'm going to try it out to see if it works. EM's seem to have an affinity with all plant life, so why not to the setting of viable seeds!!

Leek:-

Lyon :- Organic, was a very large leek circa 1883, it had a reputation of growing stocks 14 to 20 inches in length and 3 to 4 inches in diameter. However this was long before the advent of chemical fertilisers and the like.

Thomas Etty Esq.

This will be a challenge which I will really enjoy, it originated in Kelso on the Scottish borders. I will cross pollinate the two largest leeks and seed save from them.

I will be using comfrey tea, blood fish and bone, and chicken manure pellets and inoculated charcoal to cultivate this leek.

We can cultivate almost anything using these three ingredients, however to make this work we must saturate charcoal with them so that VAM's and EM's have an organic nutrient source to work with.

Sweet corn:-

Double Red:- 100 days until harvest, A red Sweet corn which is very sweet, and it is said, can be eaten straight off the cob in its milky phase.

It grows to a height of 6 to 8 feet and is very productive. Unfortunately very rare in the UK and can only be had from the USA, however it can be seed saved for future harvests as it is a reasonably old organic variety.

I gave my daughter's organic farming co-cooperative some seed to cultivate in one of their large polly tunnels, it was so popular that the plant meant for seed saving was also used!!!! This did not go down well with the community and the culprit was given a stern warning!!

If you wish to purchase this sweet corn here is the link ;- Corn, Double Red Sweet (Zea mays) seed, organic

Onion:-

Red Baron:- I like this onion, milder and sweeter, again am not sure of its heritage, but will do as with leeks and cross pollinate the largest 2 bulbs for seed saving. I have cultivated many different red onions, but this onion seems less likely to bolt in my opinion.

There is so much that we require to re-learn about true cultivation of the soil that I wonder how many will buy into this forgotten method of cultivation.

However as F1, 2 and 3 seed stock becomes increasingly more expensive we will ultimately require to go down this road. It is better done now than when its too late!!!

The french, and most of Europe don't buy F1, 2 or 3 seed stock!!, they rely on their heritage seed stock because it can be seed saved at no cost. We will need to follow their example, there was a time and will be again, when the common people of this country will require to cultivate their own food!!!!!

It definitely requires more of us, as in only using some of that which we have harvested for food and saving the best for seed stock.

It is after all an ancient technique of cultivation just like Terra preta. I am sure that the these ancient natives in the Amazon delta were well aware of this form of cultivation and used it to their advantage.

To feed a nation of approximately 20 million people 500 or 600 years ago would have required an expertise in cultivation which we can only wonder at.




These are only my thoughts, others will disagree.

[/quote]

Hi All,

I am now going back over my collection of data files again, this I have felt enables me to understand what my experiments have produced in the way of increased crop potential. It also allows me to assess what I have learned and how it relates to what has been written about TP.

At this time I am encouraged by the results so far achieved.

However the more you learn about this soil, the greater the need to recap as to what you thought, and how it worked for you. Firstly I am very happy with the crops harvested given that only handfuls of inoculated charcoal and sprinklings of VAM's were used.

There was no sign of disease as far as I can ascertain, however there was damage to a small number of potatoes from wireworm. As always it was the larger tubers which received the damage, Slug damage was minimal, this I think may have been due to my having simmered a couple batches of spent coffee grounds for about half an hour and watered the liquid onto the soil. I did not see any slugs surface and die as was said to have happened in the link which I put up, but I am happy with the results.

On the method used to re-create a TP type soil I see an obvious discrepancy as to how these native people created TP and how we are trying to achieve the same results.

This I feel is due to the climatic zone in which TP evolved, there was no loss of heat in the Amazon delta soil at any time and their only consideration was the long rainy season.

They did not require to inoculate the charcoal, this was achieved without their knowledge due to a hot and humid climate, which was and is still at this time stable.

We on the other hand have found it necessary to inoculate charcoal, however the results seem to point to the fact that charcoal is a bio-accumulator of nutrient.

I believe that the charcoal added to our soils must be inoculated with organic nutrient, this will prevent the leeching of nutrient from the parent soil by un-inoculated charcoal, and will therefore be available to our crops for increased growth.

The inoculation of a TP type charcoal is essential, we can postulate on methodology, but the truth it would seem is, that we require to inoculate charcoal in a zone 6 to 8 environment at first to achieve results. I say at first because a lot depends on the next steps we take and the methodology we use. There are several ways in which this project could proceed, and as yet I am keeping my options open.

My first thoughts regarding EM's were that their high acidity would prevent VAM's from achieving their allotted task,if EM's were added to the soil.

However this thought was found to be inaccurate!

EM's when brewed have a pH of approximately 3.1 very acidic, but once removed from their anaerobic environment quickly adapt to their new environment and the high acidity is quickly depleted once in an aerobic environment. This I believe removes any barrier to their forming symbiotic relationships with VAM's within the soil.

What we need to realise is that these life forms have been in existence for over 400 thousand years and have the ability to form mutual symbiotic relationships with other micro-organisms and yeasts in all climatic conditions.

EM's and all other micro-organisms are also supremely adept at transforming themselves to suit the environment in which they find themselves. Its almost like a chameleon effect where they are able to change form to survive.

This I believe is how Mother nature works at this level of existence!!

Now I had thought that my alliums would produce the best results as they are said to have a greater affinity with VAM's. This was not however the case, it was my potato crop which gave the best results.

To be honest I was perplexed by this result, however on thinking about this, it is my findings which really count in my experiment!

For the most part many of the findings in print did not use inoculated charcoal, and then there were those who used chemical fertilisers to inoculate the charcoal and wondered why their yields were lower than anticipated!

So there is a lot of information out there which is less than helpful as to how I am progressing. Chemical crop production kills the micro-organisms whose main task it is to regulate the soil and what grows in it.

This recap is still ongoing as I believe that it is necessary to my quest that I delve into every aspect of what has been achieved and how to understand what has been learned.

However I am fast getting to the stage where I may discontinue recapping on flawed science simply because it is owned by multi-national companies whose only consideration is greater profit margins for their products!!

I am feeling that I can no longer trust a lot of the information presented to me on the Internet. There are to be honest a very few sites which are green and use no chemicals. But big business is casting its jaundiced eye on Terra preta projects and does not like what it see's. This is understandable, were the TP code to be cracked, they would all be out of business!!

I have always been hopefully true to the concept that Mother nature provides us with all that we will ever need to survive on the earth.

However we modern humans seem to think that we know better!!!!!!

PS;-

It was difficult to ascertain whether my last season crops gained any advantage in growth from the use of diluted EM's. The reason being that I was also infecting said crops with VAM's. However there was no sign of crop disease on any of my crops!

Having said that there was a small row of peas which I had not included in the experiment which was beginning to show powdery mildew.

This is the only crop disease which most commonly besets my cultivation efforts, I sprayed them once a week with a dilute solution of EM's and the mildew was arrested, they were mildew free. So from that aspect it would seem that EM's have a definite role to play in disease prevention.The peas by the way, only had ordinary compost added to the soil before they were sown.


These are just my thoughts, but hopefully they will strike a chord with you.

[/quote]

Hi All,

Did anyone pick up on the obvious error in my last posting, I had stipulated a timeline of 400 thousand years for micro-organisms. This should have read 400 million years, apologies for said error.

Now I have thought about this for a while, and am of the belief that we could create our own nitrogen fertiliser by subjecting urine to the EM process.

I know that urine is, and always has been, used quite extensively in organic type cultivation, however it seems to rely on urea breaking down in the soil to release nitrogen.

It is mainly used in compost heaps or bins where there are an abundance of micro-organisms.

However most of the nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere!!

I am thinking that if we subject the urine to the massive amounts of EM's created by the brewing process, this will increase the breakdown of Urea, Creatnine and Uric acid.

Initially I will experiment with a 10% by volume of urine to the mixture, I'm not sure if this will create an organic nitrogen type fertiliser. However it does seem likely that such a result would be possible.

Will the EM's view the urine as a food source, I think that they will, as long as molasses is the main ingredient. There is a carbon ratio of 8:1 as I understand it for the breakdown of urea this is why I will use a 10% by volume of urine with molasses to attempt to achieve a nitrogen rich fertiliser.

Now given that this will be carried out in an anaerobic environment I believe that the loss of nitrogen will be restricted. I am also thinking that, if sufficient charcoal granules be added will ensure that carbon is available for said breakdown of urine, then we can I think achieve good results.

I also think that the urine used should not be fresh, it should be left in a sealed container outside for a week or 2.

I think that once the constituents have been allowed to settle at the bottom of the container, the water content should be drained off as far as possible.This liquid can be added to the compost bin or the soil, the remaining bottom residue should be decanted into another container. This cycle of events should be continued until sufficient of the real worth of the urine is 10% by volume of the EM container.

The average pH of urine is about 6 but can range from 4.8 to 7,5

Urine contains the following:-

95% water.

Urea.

Creatnine.

Uric acid.

The individual elements of which a-

Ammonium.

Calcium.

Chloride.

Magnesium.

Phosphates.

Potassium.

Sodium.

Sulphates.

I believe that Em's can and will breakdown the urea, creatnine and uric acid content into a useable nitrogen source, as always I may be totally wrong! However its all about experimenting with that which is vital to our needs at no cost!

As usual nothing ventured nothing gained!

I may also add it to my inoculation formula for charcoal if the concept is proved to be correct. The fact that EM's will be added to the inoculation liquid is to my mind a bonus.

These EM's will also begin to breakdown the blood, fish and bone, comfrey liquid and molasses into a form from which crop roots can easily assimilate the available nutrients. These nutrients will be more easily absorbed by the charcoal.

Now given that VAM's and EM's will be present in the soil, this should enhance the uptake of nutrition to all VAM and non-VAM type crops. This I believe will be evident in the growth of said crops which have received this inoculated charcoal in the case of VAM type crops.

Although I am actively seeking ways to enhance the TP effect within my soils I can also see the benefits for non-Mycorrhizal crops. The breakdown of nutrients by EM's will I believe enhance the uptake of nutrient of non-Mycorrhizal crops. This is what I believe will return the soil to a living entity where Mother nature's rules are obeyed and chemical cultivation discontinued!!!

If my thoughts are proved to be correct then there are at least another 4 or 5 other ways in which this process could be adapted and utilised within the TP framework.

It could change in some ways how we presently approach cultivation of the soil, I have jotted down some of the thoughts which I have had on the urine aspect.

These I will research to gain a better understanding of what I am actually thinking, and how it could benefit our crop potential.

TP as was created by these ancient Amazon delta native people in their pits would have been replete with EM's or similar micro-organisms and these pits were also used both as urinal and defecation pits.

Therefore large amounts of urine would have been present in said pits to create a nitrogen source not present in the parent soil.

However in that climate some of the water content would have evaporated. The charcoal would absorb the rest leaving only the urea, creatnine and uric acid content to be subjected to the charcoal and micro-organisms within said pits. This is I believe is one of the ways in which the TP system gained nutrient in that environment.

It is as I previously postulated, that charcoal can be likened to a hard dry sponge absorbing nutrient from all and every source.

Charcoal is a bio-accumulator, I have thought of many different ways to describe it whereby the essence of its nature is there for all to see.

This is how I think of charcoal:-

"Think of charcoal as an everlasting organic re-chargeable battery which absorbs and then releases nutrient as and when required", this is much closer to the truth of my understanding of how it works and its importance to TP soil.

Obviously in the Amazon delta this battery would have re-charged more quickly due the high temperature and humidity. Add to that the increased growth of the crops cultivated within that temperature zone.

However I can see no reason why the same should not happen in a zone 6 to 8 environment. It is in the nature of charcoal to perform this function given its absorbency and relationship with both VAM's and EM's in an organic environment.

The initial financial outlay may put some people off, as in the purchase of sufficient charcoal to approximate 30% by volume of the soil. However it is a one time buy, thereafter it should cost little to nothing to maintain this organic oasis of the past.

Having said that it can be built up year by year whereby cost is kept at an acceptable level to all who wish to follow this path to greater organic crop production. I see the anomalies as to the soil which you have, those with sandy soil should aim for a 3 foot depth of charcoal within the soil. this will preserve moisture. If you go back to a previous entry you will find soil types and how to treat them.

You can also purchase 10 kg of lumpwood charcoal for £8,99 including vat postage and packing from this source:- Lumpwood Charcoal for BBQ's 10kg | Supagrill Lumpwood BBQ Charcoal | Supagrill Barbecue Charcoal | Creative Garden Ideas

It maybe that we don't achieve that which was achieved in the Amazon delta, but we will grow a soil worthy of the name providing us with an abundance of food for our needs!!!

I had thought that it would take time for the TP effect to adapt to our environment, not it would seem so!.

Given the 30 to 45 % increase in yield already experienced in my first season of cultivation using this methodology I feel sure that this is just the beginning of the increased crop yields.

What we must remember is that these Amazon natives had fields which were 3 to 6 feet deep in charcoal. Whereas I, on the other hand, have only been using handfuls of inoculated charcoal !!!!!!!

The bottom line is the more inoculated charcoal we add to the soil the greater will be the increase in crops harvested. And the number of VAM spores ready and willing to infect our VAM type crops!!

Now I have read reports stating that disturbance of the soil reduces the number of VAM's and EM's within the soil. I find this difficult to believe since these natives cultivated many root crops which required to be dug into the soil and also dug up from the soil.

Since the dawn of soil cultivation humans have tilled the soil in one way or another.They reaped harvests in such sufficiency as to be able to sell or barter their excess crops for other goods. Therefore tilling of the soil would not seem to be a problem!

As far as I am aware the only things proven to destroy these micro-organisms are chemical fertilisers, weed killers and insecticides!!! These micro-organisms are extremely robust except when subjected to modern chemical crop cultivation.

However having said that we now have EM's which have been chosen for their ability to remove such toxins from our soils, rivers seas, and oceans, and as I have said before, I believe will be our saving grace in the fight against chemical cultivation of the soil and man made toxins in general.!! It is up to us to redress the balance of Mother nature if not for our own sake then for the sake of our children.!!!!!


These are just my thoughts, others will disagree.


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

Uriel

[/quote]

Hi All,

This site if read in simplistic fashion may make you more aware as to how VAM's function. The science is for those who seem fixated by chemistry, however there are gems of information within this text.


http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles...o43_557_81.pdf


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

[/quote]

Hi All,

Garlic when planted out in spring always gives lower yields because it has not received cold weather conditioning during growth.

Only garlic which has received this cold conditioning in the soil during growth will produce a worthwhile crop, or so I always believed!!!

However if you subject the cloves to -5 or -6 deg temperature in a refrigerator for 4 to 5 weeks, once there is evidence of the cloves coming to life again, it does invigorate these cloves into producing a greater harvest yield.

Now as I understand it from my guru there must be signs of renewed life in the cloves,as in the greening of the tops of the cloves, and or, root buds forming at the base. If these signs are not in evidence then it is a pointless exercise!!!

It, I am told, is best to lightly cover these cloves with soil or compost to approximate the conditions in which the garlic cloves would be cultivated. He did not use plastic containers, he used cardboard boxes for this purpose.

You all probably may know some of this, however this is for those who don't know.

This method is for spring planted garlic whereby the cold conditioning required by garlic, is given prior to planting out the spring planted cloves. It is a very clever yet simplistic way of fooling the clove into believing that it is in cold soil once the signs of growth are evident.

It was told to me by a very old member of our allotment society, he had problems with flooded soil during the winter. This resulted in his autumn planted garlic rotting in the soil, this man is a wonderful source of information on every aspect of cultivating the soil. He did conquer the flooding by slate trenching in 3 areas of his plot but this is what he did until such times as the problem was resolved.

However he did stress that the signs of growth must be evident for this cold conditioning to work!

From my own perspective I would also lightly spray both cloves, and or, soil / compost with a dilution of EM's to ensure no disease can affect said cloves during this period. However my guru was unaware of EM's and had no problems.

I myself have not required to use this method, but thought it should be made known to others who cannot, for what ever reason plant Autumn garlic. Nor am I advocating this as a method of cultivating spring planted garlic. I am only offering this as information for those who may wish to experiment on a small scale initially. If you find that it has worth then my post will have been worthwhile.

Apart from seeking the truth about TP, it is the knowledge of the old timers which I seek because they have so much to offer us in wisdom. I am just awaiting the chance to ask my guru about his seed saving methods.

Now I know that he does seed save, because There are always 1 or 2 Brussels sprouts plants on his plot which are allowed to go to seed and its the same with leeks, turnip and onions. However you need to catch him in a good mood and on a good day.

I always complement him on advice given and that it worked for me, and chat with him for a while.When I leave his comment is always " nae bother young yin" (which means you're welcome young man) I'm 67 for God sake!, however he's past 90, and still rides a bike to and from his allotment every day.

It was he who also showed me how to get rid of small patches of white rot from the soil. It is imperative that you check the roots of all garlic as it lifted, any which during the season have withered and died should have an area of a square foot pegged out for identification. Then using a fork loosen the soil within the area. Now build a fire on the area and keep it going for 2 to 3 hours.

I asked him if using a flame gun would have the same effect. His answer was "I'm trying to teach you something which works!!", a man of few words but best listened to!!!

As he was leaving my plot he said, "and remember to put the tines of the fork in to the flames for a wee while as they will be infected as well".

My next task will be to get him involved in TP cultivation, this is not going to be easy,he has very fixed views on the cultivation of the soil. However if I can get him to look at my plot next season,as to the have, and have not crops it might just sway him.

I'm relying on the undoubted intelligence of the man to see the worth of this experiment. However he may well just say that he will grow crops the way he always has!

If it costs money, he wont be interested, but I feel that I must try. If I can get him interested I will ask my son to source two metal drums for him to make his own charcoal. His knowledge would be invaluable to this quest. Now me helping him might just, instead of the other way around, maybe what is necessary to sway him!!

I leave you with this quote:- There are five elements: earth, air, fire, water and garlic. (Louis Diat)

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

I have taken a 5 gallon plastic barrel with stop cock (old beer brewing barrel) down to my plot. Now in early March, dependant on weather I will start a batch of EM's in my shed. Having one 45 gallon water butt for the purpose ensures plenty of rain water for my needs.

I should also say that the cap has been drilled whereby a beer brewing airlock can be fitted to exclude air from the process.

During this time I will prepare my half plot for the season, when I have removed as much perennial weed root as possible it will be time to water the soil with concentrated EM's. It is my belief that EM's will establish the necessary conditions for a TP type soil to become a reality within our earth.

As I have said before EM's have been shown to have these effects in Japan in cleansing both soil, fresh, and salt water. I will have more to say on the subject of water cleansing in the near future as I have been involved in an project which is now coming to an end.

Now although I have done this before I feel that it is like an annual spring clean of the soil and certainly will do no harm to the soil. As long as EM's are the dominant species within the soil, the consequence should be less disease inducing micro-organisms to harm our crops!!

I feel that I require to say again that the purpose of EM's is to establish, and or, re-establish the balance of Mother nature within the soil. Life as I understand it is about balance, this is something that we modern humans seem to have forgotten!!!

EM's are the soil cleansers outnumbering the bad bacteria, fungi and the like, they also have the ability to cleanse the soil of residual weed killers, inorganic fertilisers and pest control substances. I may be wrong but this is what I believe they are capable of. Its like starting with a clean slate every season.

This is especially so if you have left seaweed on top of your soil over winter. These EM's will breakdown any residual salt water residue within the soil into the trace elements which bring health to our crops.

I read an article recently which disputed the assertion that EM's are a fertiliser for the soil. Being intrigued I read on and having mulled it over in my mind, am in agreement with what was said. EM's are not a fertiliser though they may give this impression by increasing the growth of crops.This however I now believe is due to their enhancing the uptake of nutrition.This is accomplished through reducing nutrients within the soil to a state where they are more easily assimilated by the roots of crops.

This I might add is true for all crops, not just VAM type crops, therefore Brassica, Beet, Turnip and the like should all benefit from this breakdown of nutrients. Isn't Mother nature wonderful when you work with her instead of against her!!!!!

The true worth of EM's is in their ability to bring life back into the soil, they, I believe perform functions of which we as yet know nothing of. As always they do it anyway regardless of our lack of knowledge simply because that is their task when allowed to do so!!!!!

Having drenched my soil with neat EM's and left it for about 2 or 3 weeks I will start to plant. I will also use EM's in diluted form to protect my crops. This dilution I will use as a foliar spray for disease prevention.

Now away back at the beginning of this experiment I had said that only a very few of the TP sites were near the coast. Therefore TP did not have any salt in its make up, or was really a part of the essence of the soil.

This was and still is true regarding the position of these sites, however since then I have modified my thinking on salt water, kelp and other products which originate in salt water.

Basically this is because rain water is evaporated sea water which rises high into the atmosphere to become clouds. These clouds then vent this water as rain which is replete with all of the nutrients of sea water. So in effect there is nowhere on the planet that escapes the nutritional effects of salt water!!!

I have always said that this is an ongoing learning experience and so it has proved to be. There will be many more times when I will require to re-evaluate how and what I think. However I believe that I can see light at the end of the tunnel!

Becoming aware of how Mother nature actually works has opened my eyes to the fact that, although science has delved deeply into all aspects of life on this planet it never really talks about balance!!! It is almost like a taboo subject which has no place in the scheme of things scientific.

Now since Mother nature seems dedicated to balance and mutual symbiosis it is difficult to see how science can unlock her secrets without embracing her ideology.


These are only my thoughts others will disagree.

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

I have found a couple of interesting sites which you may wish to peruse. Most of the information is already known, however there are gems of information within them.

http://www.annadana.com/actu/fichiers/Caquetabasin.pdf

Up and Down in Moxos: New data about Amazonian Dark Earth (ADE).

Uriel

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

I am putting this up early as those of you down south are at least a month ahead of those of us in the northern territories with regard to planting times. It is not that I want you to follow my example, I expect you to do your own thing. That's what this experiment is all about!!!

I have been thinking about the strategy which I will adopt for this season's cultivation of crops. It is a constant thought in my mind, as in how to eclipse last seasons yields. Obviously I will require to add more inoculated charcoal to the soil. This will be difficult as my finances can only stretch so far, however I will endeavour to do what I can in this respect. The charcoal I will be using is unfortunately not my own as my burner was stolen from my plot, it is probably because it is zinc that it was taken. However life goes on and needs must that I procure some commercial charcoal to continue my work on this project.

However what I can do will be determined by my physical condition, therefore if I fail to post results on specific crops it will be because I did not get round to doing so!

I will also be experimenting with my home made nitrogen supplement. This will be a trial and error process as in how much to use and on what crops to experiment with.

The first thing to be done will be to prepare the soil for sowing and planting, as in weed root removal from the soil.The next will be the watering of the soil with neat EM's then leave it for a fortnight or so for the acidity to die down as I have acidic soil averaging pH 6.6

However those of you with alkaline soil in the range of pH 7.5 to 8.0 or above I think should not require to wait for more than a week before planting out.

When planting my potato tubers I will first apply a goodly amount of chicken manure and EM saturated cow manure all mixed in with inoculated charcoal to the bottom of the trench. Then an inch or two layer of soil followed by the potatoes Then sprinkle VAM's around each seed potato, now in with the backfill I will also spread spent coffee grounds as this the area in which my crop will form.

The coffee grounds will I believe deter slugs from going anywhere near my hopefully abundant crop.

Now I know that I said that cow and horse manure was off limits due to the Aminopyralid decimation of crops on allotments across the UK. However since my cow manure has been inoculated with neat EM's since late November I'm going to take the chance that the EM's have dealt with the problem. I really need to find out if they can cure this problem. In the Dow Co. blurb it states that the new formula breaks down much faster. within the soil. Now if this the case EM's should continue that breakdown process and hopefully neutralise any residual toxins within said manure.

On trawling the internet I also found evidence that spent coffee grounds may also deter wireworm. Now as we all know they are the orange coloured armour plated villains who drill through our root crops. Not only that, there seems no way of stopping them without resorting to chemicals. I am therefore not going to spread coffee grounds on one of my control crop rows. It may cost me, but I feel that this is worthy of a test trial for one of my potato rows.

As to my other crops I feel that for VAM type crops they should be treated as potato with inoculated charcoal,compost, VAM's and coffee grounds. Non-VAM crops such as turnip and beetroot should have coffee grounds dug lightly into the soil before seeding, then spread around the sowing area to ward off any attack. Now this is just a gut feeling , but could used coffee grounds ward off carrot fly, it is an intriguing thought. coffee has a strong smell and may well disorientate said carrot fly, I feel that there are many uses for spent coffee grounds.

This approach has not been verified with regard to either slugs or wireworm and or coffee grounds therefore is to be taken as information only!! However I did have success with simmering spent coffee grounds, allowing the liquid to cool and watering said liquid onto my soil last season. This appeared to work as I saw little evidence of slug damage to my crops.

For Brassica I always use rhubarb stem, cut it one inch long, then split it halfway through and opened out to expose the flesh. This I place at the bottom of the planting hole of each plant to deter clubroot. It has always worked for me and have never suffered clubroot. As I understand it is the oxalic acid content of rhubarb which prevents this disease condition.

Now I know that this is not part of the Terra Preta experiment, but I just thought that I should mention it.

However this season I will leave 1 or 2 Brussels sprouts plants unprotected by rhubarb to gauge the effect of EM's within the soil. Now EM's should provide protection to the Brassica roots given that the soil has been watered with neat EM's at the pre-planting stage. However I need to do this to find out if EM's are effective in preventing this disease.

Now as to the use of EM's we now know that they are not a fertiliser, however they present immense value to the soil. They breakdown our organic compost and manure whereby the nutrition within them is reduced to a molecular state within the soil. The consequence of which is the greater uptake of said nutrition by the roots of our crops.Not only that but they prevent soil borne diseases from affecting, and or, infecting our crops. They also instil balance within the soil, ensuring that regenerative microorganisms are the dominant species within the soil.

Always spray your crops with a dilution of EM's as it provides extra protection to soil borne diseases!

As much as I believe that charcoal and VAM's are what make TP the greatest soil in the world, I also believe that without EM's and yeasts this soil would never have been created. This soil is a rare and wonderful gift of Mother nature. It is tied into symbiotic relationships by the three life forms all of which have differing yet essential tasks. There is balance within its structure when mixed with charcoal and to my knowledge has been in existence for at least 5,000 years.

Most of the scientific community see it as being approximately 2,500 to 1,500 years ago, I read Quite a while ago about a site which was dated to 6,000 years ago.

Why would these ancient Amazonian's have dug charcoal into the soil if not for a purpose 5 or 6,000 years ago. It beggars belief that these ancient natives would have done this without a purpose!! Life at that time was a day to day survival event so there must have been purpose to this task, otherwise why bother!!

This experiment is by no means scientific, I view it as being an attempt to return to the balance of nature within the soil. If and when we return to the cultivation of heirloom crops, and seed save from these crops, just like the Europeans do, only then will we be in control of our soil. Not only that, but I believe that we can get far more out of these heirloom crops in terms of crop yield.

There were some great cropping varieties whose demise was due to lack of disease resistance with the advent of chemical cultivation of the soil. It is my belief that chemical cultivation of the soil caused this to occur!!! These heirloom varieties were dependant on a balanced soil which was full of life. Once this life was gone they were no longer protected by the microorganisms which prevented disease from affecting them!!

These heirloom crops have never been subjected to cultivation using charcoal, VAM's, EM's, yeasts, this will be new ground which we will be breaking!!!!

As "stewpot" said in a reply to a posting, "we are only custodians of the soil during our lifetimes", Therefore what we do will help those who follow our path.This was I believe the ethos of these ancient Amazonian tribes people. Like these ancient people we need to think of the bigger picture, as in how to feed those who follow us!!!

I have been conducting an experiment for the last few months using EM's, it is all but complete and when
finished I will post the results.

I sincerely hope that those who follow this quest will see the worth of returning to balance and life within our soils. EM's, VAM's, charcoal and yeasts working in symbiosis within the soil may be our saving grace in preserving our ability to cultivate the soil and feed ourselves.This form of cultivation will also protect all of the other life forms within our plots which are necessary to our survival as a species!!!!!

This is only what I will hopefully be doing, and is information only. However I hope that you will all be experimenting with your own thoughts on TP and EM's.

Uriel

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

As you all, or most of you, know through this blog EM's( effective microorganisms) are the creation of a Japanese Dr by the name of Teruo Higa. Now when I say creation I don't mean that they were his creation, they have existed for hundreds of millions of years.

However what he did was to bring the most advantageous and regenerative of these bacteria and fungi together into a union called EM's. They effectively deal with our ever increasing waste produce and pollution. These microorganisms when used efficiently will breakdown the vast majority of the waste and pollution created by humanity and return balance to our world.

Not only that, but they breakdown the nutrients contained in our organic compost and manure making it more readily assimilated by the roots of our crops.

However I read a script a while ago which went deeper into how these microorganisms actually work. There are it is known three classes of microorganisms:-

Degenerative :-

These are disease and putrefaction causing microorganisms, they are associated with fusarium and other disease causing bacteria and fungi which infect, and or, affect our crops. These diseases will persist within the soil for as long as degenerative microorganisms are the dominant class!! These are the bad guys, and it is the roots of plants which they will mostly infect.

Regenerative :-

These are beneficial microorganisms(EM's), not only to the soil but to all other life forms on the planet. They create the conditions necessary for balance to be maintained, and or, attained by said life forms. These are the good guys, their purpose is to instil balance in whatever circumstance they are used.

Opportunist :-

These microorganisms are by far the largest class, and as such have the ability wreak havoc within our soil if it is degenerative. They will always follow the lead of the of the dominant class of the other two microorganism classes within the soil. These guys are the don't know's, they could be likened to humans who just want an easy life regardless of who is in charge.

If your soil is degenerative it needs to be watered with neat EM's to turn the balance towards the regenerative class. Once the regenerative class become the dominant class the opportunist class will follow their lead and do as the regenerative class do. This will have a good effect on and in your soil, I believe that once, established or re-established, will seek to protect whatever is cultivated within said soil.

I know that I keep harping on about simplicity, but this is as simple as it gets. You don't need to know the chemical changes that take place within the soil structure, or the chemical signals sent out by the opposing microorganism classes to achieve dominance within the soil. You just need the instructions as in how to ensure that the regenerative class of microorganisms are the dominant class within the soil!!!

So there we have it, this is so unbelievably like human existence. The weak follow the strong, the despots take control and cause havoc, life forms die through not living in the correct conditions. I must admit that I was astounded by the similarity to the human condition.

It would appear that balance requires to be fought for within the soil, as in life!!! If you feel that balance is not, or has not, been present in the soil, then you must seek to do that which is necessary to attain it!!!

If ever there was an advert for the use of EM's within our soil, this I believe is it!! However, as always, it is entirely up to you whether or not to employ EM's.

In my previous, but now defunct, blog I told of how many Australian farmers had stopped using chemical fertilisers and turned to EM's. This had resulted in greater crop yields when combined with a return to a more organic nurturing of the soil. It was also found to be a more cost effective method of farming with far less incidence of crop disease. This new found disease resistance is due, I believe, to a return of balance within the soil. This balance was due to the saturation of soil with EM's, where there is balance there is also protection from disease!!!

Disease is at the end of the day a symptom of disharmony and imbalance within what ever life form is in this state. This is not a theory it is a fact of life as we know it on this planet!!!

This is only a summation of what I perceive to be true within the context of how microorganisms exist and work within our world. As to the human aspect, I leave it for you to decide for yourselves!!!

These are just my thoughts others will disagree

Uriel

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

I have over the last many months been adding neat EM's to a pond. This pond resides within a local park. It was to be honest disgusting with dead fish floating on the surface, a film of green algae was also covering its surface.

It is approximately 4 feet deep at its deepest point, it I believe was created in the 1920's as was the rest of the park. It used to be a peaceful place to enjoy an afternoon walk, but is now a haven for drug dealers and gangs. However for the purposes of this project I have been doing my work before lunchtime when these wretches of society are still sleeping.

I just love the fact that I was able to restore this pond to its true state, I remember as a lad netting tadpoles from its depths. I now see frogs, toads and more importantly newts within its waters. This is what EM's are capable of doing if we take the time to make a difference to our environment!!

Isn't it good to work with Mother nature, rather than against her!!

If this had been left to the parks department it would probably have cost thousands of pounds, if they had bothered at all!!! Whereas it has cost me approximately £10 or £11 using neat EM's and a plastic mug to cast the EM's into the water.

I estimate that the pond is approximately 50 yards in length and 15 yards in width, I must have used about 60 to 70 litres of neat EM's. The cost was in buying Molasses to feed the EM's, however once EM's have been activated all you need to do is feed them!

I still have the first batch That I activated, I never use it all and always leave a couple or 3 inches of the brew in the fermenting container. The container is then topped up 3/4 full with rain water to this is added liquefied molasses and stirred. (a soup spoonful of molasses to every litre of liquid). To finish I top up the container to just below the cap with rain water and the brew is all set to ferment again. I then screw the cap down and fit the airlock.

EM's are Mother nature's gift to us via DrTeruo Higa, however if we don't use them then we have only ourselves to blame for the pollution of our planet!!

To be honest I did not know what to expect when I started this task, but I had to find out if EM's were as effective as their name suggests. The results were quite amazing, the green algae film began to disappear after the third treatment(I was doing this once a fortnight at the start) I also noted that the dead fish began to sink to the bottom of the pond.

This must have been the effect of the EM's breaking down the dead flesh of said fish. At the eight week stage there was no sign of the dead fish and the algae film was almost gone.

The water was however still murky, but by week twelve I noticed new growth on some of the seemingly dead aquatic plants close to the pond edge. This was when I truly realised that EM's do exactly what they are said to do in cleansing water and renewing life in polluted waters!!!

I continued to use the EM's until the water was clear and then stopped. By this time quite a few aquatic plants had returned to life although by no means all. This was far more than I expected given the state in which I originally found the pond.

I will now make monthly sojourns to said pond to check on its condition. But unfortunately the local riffraff still throw their empty beer cans and cigarette ends into the water.

I am totally disgusted by the way modern humans behave towards Mother nature. I myself smoke and drink(home brew) but would never think to do such things. Maybe it was the way in which I was brought up. I, nor any other child in our community was allowed to play football or any other game on a Sunday, it was a day for the Kirk and Sunday school!!

In those days we got the strap for misbehaving in class and I prayed that my parents never found of that this had occurred as the consequences would have been far worse!!!

How things have changed, our children are all now barrack room lawyers who vent their anger on those who would stop them enjoying themselves at the expense of others!!!

Such is modern life!!!

Uriel

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

My Bella Italino garlic are so much different to any garlic that I have grown before. The leaves are splayed out , they are only 3 to 4 inches tall whereas my Vayo garlic are standing 7 to 8 inches tall. It will be interesting to see how they evolve as the season progresses.

It is a hardneck variety which would normally have a stem not long after showing through the soil, however as yet there is no sign of a stem. The leaves are approximately 6 inches long and 5 in number, however they certainly look healthy enough.

I must admit that I am intrigued with the way in which this garlic grows.


The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless open

[/quote]

Hi All,

I have found the latest information on the German Terra preta facility. It apparently is still not yet fully up and running, however the Germans have been very busy.They have been holding conferences regarding the use and usage of their TP product to be known as "Palaterra".

It has already been patented, I don't think that its the real TP, the real TP would not require chemical fertilisers!!! However they are advocating an 80% reduction in the use of such fertilisers!!!!

Any use of chemical cultivation will kill beneficial microorganisms within the soil. However there is the possibility that they have cultivated microorganisms which are impervious to the effects of said fertilisers. This would change the way in which these microorganisms work within the soil.

I have scanned the list of countries who attended these summits, and as far as I can ascertain the UK did not attend, or maybe was not invited to said conferences The vast majority of the EU were in attendance as was America and China. I have read through the various sections, and, as always, the Germans have done their homework.

These conferences were held in January 2010 and 2012 apparently all German farmers have already been schooled on the product and how to use it.

In my previously deleted TP blog I had made mention of the fact that Germany was buying up vast tracts of prime agricultural soil in Africa and that the produce cultivated on such land was all being shipped back to Germany!!!

The reason for the purchase of said land is that it has never been subjected to any of the chemicals used in modern farming and therefore would be excellent soil for their Palaterra product!!!

I leave you to draw your own conclusions!!!

I read some time ago that their soil specialists had encountered a tribe in the Amazon delta who were still making TP as was made thousands of years ago. I wonder what benefit these native people are getting from this plundering of their knowledge!!! Not a lot I would suspect, the Germans have been in the Amazon delta since the late 50's or early 60's of the last century. They are the acknowledged experts in the flora and fauna of the Amazon delta.


PS:- I wonder what the global fertiliser manufacturing companies are thinking about this???

PPS:- Just type in "Plalaterra" on your search engine to find out more, there is a great amount of information on the internet, however its mostly all in German!!!! It is apparently on sale but not however in the UK it would seem !!!!!

http://www.palaterra.eu/media/2/D100...Revolution.pdf

Terra Preta Closes the Loop in Germany | International Biochar Initiative

[/quote]



Hi All,

I will be spreading used coffee grounds around my Brassica, beets, and carrot this season to deter slugs. In the case of carrot I am wondering in the aroma of coffee will disorientate the carrot fly by blocking the scent of thinned out carrots.

I've never tried this before but think it worthy of a trial, I have tried garlic solution and just about everything else to no avail. I have a source of used coffee grounds from a local coffee shop, all I do is supply the plastic bags.

I use these spent coffee grounds in my compost bins they seem to interact well with EM's within the bins as the compost breaks down very quickly.

Just thought I would pass this on for anyone else who wishes to try this out, however I would suggest mist spraying these grounds in hot weather to ensure that the aroma is in the air around the carrots.

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

Hi All,

I will be spreading used coffee grounds around my Brassica, beets, and carrot this season to deter slugs. In the case of carrot I am wondering in the aroma of coffee will disorientate the carrot fly by blocking the scent of thinned out carrots.

I've never tried this before but think it worthy of a trial, I have tried garlic solution and just about everything else to no avail. I have a source of used coffee grounds from a local coffee shop, all I do is supply the plastic bags.

I use these spent coffee grounds in my compost bins they seem to interact well with EM's within the bins as the compost breaks down very quickly.

Just thought I would pass this on for anyone else who wishes to try this out, however I would suggest mist spraying these grounds in hot weather to ensure that the aroma is in the air around the carrots.

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

Along with coffee grounds you can add egg shells which will also deter slugs. Place used coffee grounds (the stronger the better) and broken egg shells in a circular perimeter around the plants you are trying to protect. Use sand. distribute playground sand around young plants early in the Spring. Be generous with the sand. Slugs hate sand because it rips their bellies open and they die.

I have used Kingsford charcoal for a patio hibachi, going through maybe 10 - 15 x 18 lb bags a summer. I just rinse this out, and the water flows off the concrete patio and onto the grass, and it has made no difference what so ever after 10 years of doing so.
This fall, I bought a couple 18 lb bags of Kingsford "mesquite" charcoal to roast chili. The ash from that stuff turned the grass yellow. It has since recovered, but still.

Hi Allen,

I have tried eggshells before with little success, however last season I boiled up and simmered spent coffee grounds in a large pot. When cooled I watered my vegetable patch with this liquid, it was the best result that I have ever had. There seemed to be no damage to any of my crops, I'm just trying this out to see if I get similar results with spreading spent coffee grounds around my crops. It will be interesting to see if the aroma of coffee protects my carrots.

Regarding your second comment only use charcoal in its original state, also check the paper speak to see if ignition accellerants have been added. Burned charcoal will do nothing for your soil, it is the absorbency of charcoal which is key to its use for cultivation!!!


uriel13

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

[/quote]

Hi All,

My Bella Italiano garlic are now forming stalks(3" in length)and the leaves are reaching skyward. Once the stems appeared they seem to grow very quickly, the leaf form is broader and shorter than my other garlic.

It is said that this garlic has a strong flavour, this is why I bought it, I like a garlic that bites back!!! Its probably a keltic thing we Scots love good strong garlic as did our ancestors.

To be honest I still miss the German red garlic it was so good, but sadly no longer available in the UK.

The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless open


uriel13

Thank you uriel13

Hi Allen,

To get a better understanding of what I have said to you go through my previous postings. All the information you will need is there as in how to inoculate charcoal with organic nutrients.

Raw charcoal placed in the soil will absorb all of the existing nutrient within that soil leading to reduced cropping potential.

If having read my posts you still have questions, please feel free to post them and I will answer them as best I can.


uriel13

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

[/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