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Old 12-10-2010, 03:39 AM
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[/quote]

Hi All,

I have finally received my order of seed garlic bulbs, given when I ordered them I had hoped to have them much sooner but such is life.

I hope to get approximately 40 worthwhile cloves for planting out in two rows of 20 cloves.

As is my want I will plant out all of these cloves using a bulb planter, I will take out a hole about 5 to 6 inches deep.

The TP amended cloves will receive approximately two handfuls of my TP compost and be placed 1 inch from the surface of the soil to the tip of each clove. These will then be covered with the parent soil to ground level.

The non-amended cloves will receive approximately two handfuls of my normal home made compost and planted in similar fashion.

Now when the amended cloves show first foliage I will inject approximately 3 to 5 ml's of VAM gel into the area of the roots of each TP amended clove.

From this point on both rows will receive the same attention with regard to watering and weeding during their life cycle. I will endeavour to site both rows with regard to available sunlight and maintaining a good distance between the rows.

I have always given my garlic 2 or 3 feeds of diluted liquid seaweed during the season, I will therefore continue this practice with the non-amended cloves only.

It is now down to careful monitoring of the respective life cycles of both rows of cloves.

The only intervention will be the swift removal of seed heads as and when they appear to ensure all available nutrition goes into the forming bulb. These seed stalks are a lovely addition to a stir fry stew or hotpot meal.

I feel that I have done all that is possible regarding the vegetation used in my dedicated compost bins and the special charcoal that I have used to layer them.

This I believe is as close as I can get to the native mixture of both the vegetation and special charcoal that they used.

The supplementing of this TP compost with a commercial VAM product is I believe necessary to encourage these fungi to take up residence within the soil.

Now depending on the amount of inoculated charcoal within the soil these fungi should multiply in numbers as spores.

The leaching of soluble carbon from the charcoal should maintain these spores within the soil. This I think is why they remain viable for such long periods of time within an inoculated charcoal soil.

The addition of VAM's I believe will only be necessary for the first two seasons. Thereafter there should be sufficient numbers of VAM spores within the amended soil to begin the Terra Process.

These are just my thoughts others will disagree.

uriel13

The mind is like a parachute, its totally usless unless its open
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Old 16-11-2010, 04:18 AM
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[/quote]



Hi All,

This is a great time of year to collect Horsechest nut kernels and nuts, char them in your charcoal making bins.

You will end up with balls of charcoal which you can render down for addition to your Terra Preta compost bins.

Kids nowadays are not interested in conkers so they are plentiful and available for charring. The fact that they are green should ensure that you get a good supply of charcoal.

The bio-oil condensates within the kernels and nuts will crystallise and be available to the micro-organisms as a food source once rendered down.

uriel13

The mind is like a parachute, its totally usless unless its open
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Old 04-12-2010, 03:32 AM
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[/quote]

Hi All,

In my research for other materials which might add to the nutrient base of Terra Preta I came across one which I think would be ideal. It is industrial Cannabis or Hemp, as some of you will know it is grown under license in the UK for the production of hemp flour and seed.

This is a highly nutritious flour used in bread making, soups and stews and imparts a slightly nutty flavour to the food produced using it.

However, the stems and leaves are crushed, steamed, extruded and made into pellets for animal bedding, there is still a lot of nutrient to be had from these pellets if composted.

Now there are added bonuses to using these hemp pellets, they are highly absorbent, trap odours and repel flies and other insects because of the odour given off by the pellets.

I think that it would also be a bonus to those adding Bokashi to their compost bins. The hemp pellets would help to remove the scent of animal protein therby deterring vermin.

There is a fair amount of evidence that the natives of the Amazon delta had been using Cannabis long before the advent of European explorers. They may well have cultivated it and deposited the stems and leaves in their rubbish pits.

I have purchased a 35 litre bag to experiment with next season this should add a new dimension to the process. There are many ways in which you can employ it as in, add it to the charcoal slurry, inoculate it with diluted molasses or even add it to the bottom of a new compost bin to soak up nutrient.

Just thought this might be of interest.

Hugro Hemp Pellets - Great deals on cat litter at zooplus


Uriel

The mind is like a parachute, its totally usless unless its open
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Old 05-12-2010, 04:02 AM
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Hi All,

In my research for other materials which might add to the nutrient base of Terra Preta I came across one which I think would be ideal. It is industrial Cannabis or Hemp, as some of you will know it is grown under license in the UK for the production of hemp flour and seed.

This is a highly nutritious flour used in bread making, soups and stews and imparts a slightly nutty flavour to the food produced using it.

However, the stems and leaves are crushed, steamed, extruded and made into pellets for animal bedding, there is still a lot of nutrient to be had from these pellets if composted.

Now there are added bonuses to using these hemp pellets, they are highly absorbent, trap odours and repel flies and other insects because of the odour given off by the pellets.

I think that it would also be a bonus to those adding Bokashi to their compost bins. The hemp pellets would help to remove the scent of animal protein therby deterring vermin.

There is a fair amount of evidence that the natives of the Amazon delta had been using Cannabis long before the advent of European explorers. They may well have cultivated it and deposited the stems and leaves in their rubbish pits.

I have purchased a 35 litre bag to experiment with next season this should add a new dimension to the process. There are many ways in which you can employ it as in, add it to the charcoal slurry, inoculate it with diluted molasses or even add it to the bottom of a new compost bin to soak up nutrient.

Just thought this might be of interest.

Hugro Hemp Pellets - Great deals on cat litter at zooplus


Uriel

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

Hi All,

I would just like to make it perfectly clear that I am in no way whatsoever responsible for the adverts which have suddenly appeared on this site relating to the link attached to my last post.

It is also interesting to note that the http address which I supplied has been altered without my consent to advertise the company and product!!

I have no relationship with the company other than the purchase of the product as described in said link!!

uriel13


The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open
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Old 26-12-2010, 02:27 AM
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[/quote]

Hi All,
To all of you who are considering experimenting with Terra Preta I offer up this quote:-

"If you always do what you've always done then you'll always got."


A merry Christmas to all on this site.

uriel13

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


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Old 26-12-2010, 02:42 AM
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[/quote]



Hi All,

Sorry about the quote it should have read:-

If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you always got!!!


uriel13

The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless its open
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Old 12-01-2011, 06:27 PM
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I cultivate the gardens of potassium, carbon and
Trace elements. I use a combination of charcoal briquettes and
Hickory ash.
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Old 13-01-2011, 02:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phillipsdenman View Post
I cultivate the gardens of potassium, carbon and
Trace elements. I use a combination of charcoal briquettes and
Hickory ash.
Hi Phil,

I don't use charcoal briquettes as they are not, in most cases pure charcoal. I did some research on this before starting my experiments with Terra Preta.

The composition of the briquettes vary from company to company, however most have a chemical ignition accelerator to ensure what the makers term as being a clean burn.

See earlier postings on this aspect by other contributors to the site, my own opinion is that if not making your own low temperature burn charcoal yourself then it is best to use lump charcoal.

Lump charcoal can be inoculated with any organic nutrient mixture of your choice. This is then mixed on a 1:2 basis with good home made organic compost.

It should be noted that the use of non-organic fertilisers either kill or denature the micro-organisms in the soil

I hope that this explanation helps

The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless its open
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Old 18-01-2011, 08:23 PM
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Some briquettes are compressed and squeezed into a hard brown coal drying
Block. This is a technique commonly used in low coal rank.
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Old 22-01-2011, 02:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eoncook View Post
Some briquettes are compressed and squeezed into a hard brown coal drying
Block. This is a technique commonly used in low coal rank.
Hi eoncook,
Don't really understand your point?


uriel13


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


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Old 31-01-2011, 03:48 AM
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[/quote]

Hi All,

In the UK Harrods are marketing a product called GroChar / BioChar it costs £9.95 for 1.4 kg however when you add postage and packing this becomes £14.95.

This was my worst fear the rip off has begun, you could buy 15 kg of lump wood charcoal for that price and make your own.

However it is what they say it is, its not Terra Preta and they make no claim that it is for obvious reasons.

It is also interesting to note that they say that it contains Mycorrhizal fungi, those companies who sell MF state that it has a life span of approximately 20 days once introduced to soil unless they attach to the roots of a MF type plant!!!

They cant both be right, however I can see some infighting taking place between Harrods and said companies.

uiel13

The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open
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Old 05-02-2011, 04:12 AM
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[/quote]

Hi All,

All of the postings on this subject in the "Allotments UK" site have been deleted for reasons unknown. When the topic reached the 10,000 mark it suddenly disappeared from said site, it was a great loss of beneficial information to those who want to grow a better soil.

The site suffered a massive spam attack on the run-up to Christmas and during the clean up process all the information was deleted. It has as yet to be determined as to whether the information can be retrieved but I fear the worst.

I am as yet undecided whether or not to continue the subject on that site, it my well be that I consider other better run sites as the format for this topic.

I Just want people to understand that we cannot continue to poison our soils for the profit of multi-national companies. We have a duty to preserve and protect all the beneficial organisms and life forms who sustain our existence on this planet.

Don't get me wrong I'm no tree hugger, however we have got to awaken to the fact that chemical fertilisers, weed killers and the like are detrimental to our future.

uriel13


The mind is like a parachute it is totally useless unless it is open
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Old 08-02-2011, 02:22 AM
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[/quote]

Hi All,
I don’t know whether or not I have put this up before, this is a list of plants which benefit from endotrophic vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(VAM‘s).

I thought it best to list the common plants which most people would grow on their allotments.

Asparagus
Artichoke
Beans
Blackberry
Carrot
Celery
Cucumber
Currants
Garlic
Leek
Lettuce
Melon
Onion
Pea
Peppers
Potato
Raspberry
Squash
Tomato

This list should be an aid to your experiments enabling you to identify crops which will directly benefit from VAM infection of their root systems. The list is limited but should give you a working model of which crops derive the greatest uptake of nutrient from the presence of VAM’s in the soil.

Please note that the brassica species, all beets and turnips are non-mycorrhizal and therefore don’t benefit from greater uptake of nutrients.

uriel13

The mind is like a parachute ti is totally useless unless it is open
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Old 25-02-2011, 04:17 AM
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[[/quote]

Hi All,

In my online posts to and from academics I have always been assured that our soils abound with VAM's. I have found this to be a bone of contention given that we don't appear to achieve the results that we should do if this were the case.

My friend Tony's experiments last year were as he put it, his best ever crop, so there is obviously something happening which is different. The addition of inoculated charcoal would have made a difference to the available nutrient and moisture content but not the increased uptake of nutrition to such a level.

I believe that it was the addition of viable VAM's, I am now convinced that years of using inorganic fertilisers pesticides and weed killers have all but destroyed the life within our soils.

Those life forms which remain need the input of viable VAM's and EM's whereby DNA can be offered to those life forms in need of being healed by means of conjugation.

If this is the case, and I think that it is so, then we need to employ both VAM's and EM's together with inoculated charcoal and home made compost. By this means we can I think create the Lazarus effect within our soils.

I now think that I have found a way of cultivating EM's whereby the EM's in the runoff liquid from Bokashi can be fed with molasses in a beer brewing barrel with an airlock and stopcock to increase our stock of EM's.

This I believe is how the Japanese do it, they produce gallons of EM's for a few pence, so why can't we!!!!

Some may find fault with these my thoughts, but as the saying goes:-

"If you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you always got."

It is about changing the way you think about the growing and cultivation of the soil. The soil is a living thing, or should be, it supports other beneficial life forms which we require to exist.



uriel13


The mind is like a parachute it is totally useless unless it is open
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Old 03-03-2011, 02:21 AM
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[/quote]



Hi All,

For those of you using a Bokashi bin it is now I believe possible to culture your own EM's using a beer type brewing barrel or similar. It is a relatively simple and will produce gallons of EM's for a few pence.

1. Establish the capacity of the barrel / container.

2. Make a dilution of molasses in hot tap water, add 1 tablespoonful for every gallon of capacity, This amount of tap water should be quickly detoxified by the EM's.

3. Pour this dilution into the barrel / container, then fill container to approximately 2/3 full with rain water.

4. Add 1 pint of Bokashi runoff culture to the barrel / container and top up with rain water, stir well and seal to exclude air.

5. Place barrel / container in a position where it receives moderate temperature and leave for 3 to 4 days.

6. You should now have a barrel / container of EM's to use as you wish in your soil and on your crops.

It is more beneficial to use a clear plastic barrel with a bottom stopcock, by this means you can keep the process on going. As you draw off a gallon of EM's so you replace it with a gallon dilution of molasses and reseal the cap. Within 3 or 4 days it will once again be ready to harvest, as I have said before its not rocket science it is this simple.

You can distribute lemonade bottles full of Bokashi runoff liquid to your friends at the allotment so that they can culture their own EM's.

EM's can also be used as a foliar spray on your crops to ward off disease.

You can also spray your dried inoculated charcoal with these EM's prior to digging it into the soil, this may speed up soil detoxification deeper within the soil.

This is not a daydream, I believe that it can be done, you just need to realise that such a soil is possible and get involved.

These are only my thoughts others will disagree

Uriel 13

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