|
Charcoal ash in compost
Is the charcoal ash from my grill beneficial in my compost pile or
should I leave it out? The charcoal I use says it's made from 100% oak wood. TIA, Mike |
Charcoal ash in compost
wrote in message
Is the charcoal ash from my grill beneficial in my compost pile or should I leave it out? The charcoal I use says it's made from 100% oak wood. I'd leave it out. In the 'olden days', before the advent of cheaply available garden chemicals that come in a plastic bag, all gardeners used naturally occurring products. These products included animal poop and ashes from wood burning open fires and kitchen ranges. The practice was to save the ashes over winter, to sieve out any large 'klinkers' (charcoal) and then in Spring the ashes were spread lightly around the garden. It has a sweetening effect on the soil ie, its similar in action to garden lime. Spread it thinly like icing sugar (I think this is called confectioners sugar in the US). The klinkers were pounded up until very fine because these are what is known as biochar and this was then also spread around the garden. I do this each year with the ashes from my fires. |
Charcoal ash in compost
|
Charcoal ash in compost
In article ,
Phisherman wrote: On Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:42:29 -0700 (PDT), wrote: Is the charcoal ash from my grill beneficial in my compost pile or should I leave it out? The charcoal I use says it's made from 100% oak wood. TIA, Mike I tilled mine into the vegetable garden for the potash, carbon and trace elements. I use a combination of charcoal briquettes and hickory ash (I have three large hickory trees). You can add a small amount of ash to a compost bin, but too much may stop the composting process or raise pH. I buy bagged charcoal in small irregular bits of burned wood. Last year, Wikipedia defined briquettes as "a block of COMPRESSED COAL dust, charcoal, or sawdust and wood chips, used for fuel and kindling." This year, Wikipedia defined briquettes as: Charcoal briquettes sold commercially for cooking food can include:[1][2] ? Wood charcoal (fuel), ? mineral char (fuel), ? mineral carbon (fuel), ? Limestone (ash colorant), ? Starch (binder), ? Borax (release agent), ? Sodium nitrate (accelerant), ? Sawdust. Some briquettes are compressed and dried brown coal extruded into hard blocks. This is a common technique for low rank coals. They are typically dried to 12-18% moisture, and are primarily used in household and industry. Kingsford list the following ingredients in their briquettes. Kingsford contains the following ingredients: ? wood char ? mineral char ? mineral carbon ? limestone ? starch ? borax ? sodium nitrate ? sawdust I am unable to find a definition for mineral char or mineral carbon. Until better defined, I will stick with irregular bits of real wood charcoal. -- - Billy "For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html |
Charcoal ash in compost
not briquette type, but
Can 'biochar' save the planet? http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science...rgy/index.html BioEnergy Lists: Biochar (Terra Preta) Information on the intentional use of Biochar (charcoal) to improve soils. http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/ On Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:42:29 -0700 (PDT), wrote: Is the charcoal ash from my grill beneficial in my compost pile or should I leave it out? The charcoal I use says it's made from 100% oak wood. TIA, Mike |
Quote:
The ash from your charcoal will have no beneficial effect, but you are thinking along the right lines. Now if you crush the charcoal and add that to your compost bin several processes will start to take place. The charcoal will absorb the breakdown products of the decomposing vegetable waste. Then mycorrhizal fungi which have a symbiotic relationship with carbon produce a glycoprotein called glomalin. Glomalin causes the compost to adhere to the charcoal and the soil to which it is introduced. It is my belief that this how the natives of the Amazon delta created Terra Preta. Having said that UK conditions are far removed from that of the Amazon, high temperatures and humidity may be necessary to create Terra Preta. I am just about ready to start trials but my process will be quite different as there are other ingredients which I view as being necessary in the recreation of this self sustaining soil. |
Hi All,
Given that this post has received a good number of viewings I will now take the topic a stage further. The ancient native peoples of the Amazon delta created a self sustaining soil known today as Terra Preta. This soil is as fertile today as it was when created approximately 3 to 5 thousand years ago. It appears to have the ability to self regenerate without the use of fertilisers, which is an astounding revealation. The arrival of the conquestadors decimated the local population through their being infected with deseases to which their bodies had no defense against. Most of this soil remained uncultivated for a further 1500 years and yet it is still as fertile today as it was when created by these native tribes people. I have been researching this soil for the past 3 years and am now ready to initiate my own experiments in the hope that I can find a way to re-create this soil. The most important thing that I found out was that these ancient people not only added charcoal to their vegetable waste pits. They charcoaled animal and fish carcases in their beehive clay kilns and added them to their vegetable waste pits. It is my belief that this is part of the secret to the re-creation of a Terra Preta type soil. Their clay kilns allowed them to control the internal temperature by dousing the exterior of the kiln with water. This introduced steam to the interior by which means they were able to induce a lower temperature burn. A low temperature burn ensures that the bio-oil condesates of the wood do not evaporate as they are an essential food source for Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi. High temperature burns evaporate these bio-condensates which if collected via a tube passed through a cold water retort produce the product known as charcoal vinegar. The charcoal from a high temperature burn is therefore devoid of the necessary bio-condensates to initiate the Terra Preta reaction. I discovered this fact quite by chance from a site by Finnish researcher Janna Pitkien. He said that the lowest temperature at which charcoal could be created was 120 deg C or 248 deg F .Given that this is so then this points to the the creation of their special charcaoal at low temperature. Now to the actual recreation of Terra preta, it will not be easy to recreate Terra Preta in a zone 7 to 8 environment. The winter will cause the associated Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to go into dormancy. This will be a learning curve in so far as no one has to my knowledge tried to recreate Terra Preta in this enviornment. The process should be started in early April when the soil is warming, a 4” layer of charcoal is deposited at the bottom of a large plastic compost bin. Be sure to lay 3 layers of black plastic Bags at the bottom of the bin this will keep winter cold and weeds out of the process. To this is added approximately 5” of vegetable waste in the form of banana skins, potato peel, fruit no Brassica should be added as they are non-mycorrhizal . To this should be added plenty of grass mowings as they will generate the heat necessary to get the process working the first thing that will happen is that the charcoal will soak up the nutrients of the breakdown of the fruit and vegetble waste. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi will then feed on the nutrients of the breakdown in the presence of charcoal. After 10 days has elapsed you begin the process again. When full add a sheet of black plsatic to the top of the pile and over winter. The product can be either trenched or worked into the soil . I hope this information gives you the impetus to start experimenting, remember that “The Mind Is Like a parachute it is totally useless unless ti is open” uriel13 |
uriel13[/quote]
Hi All, see my postings on this subject, they are not the be all and end all, but they are thought provoking. I just want people to think about how to re-create a Terra Preta soil for the benefit of all. Allotments UK: Allotments Forum, blogs, articles, TV channel, Maps … uriel13 |
[/quote]
Hi All, It has been a while since my last post and I have learned much since then about the process. I now believe it essential to render down the charcoal into small pieces and to inoculate the charcoal. the inoculum should be in liquid form enabling the charcoal to absorb the nutrient. I use blood, fish and bone powder, molasses and fruit sugar, cassava and yam meal. First render down 5 kilos of lump wood charcoal and deposit in large plastic container and mix in 1 kilo of blood, fish and bone. To make this inoculation liquid you should use the following steps:- To a pot add 1 gallon of water, bring to a simmer. Add 6 ozs of both cassava and yam meal and the same amount of fruit sugar. Stir continually for about 20 minutes turn off heat and allow to cool until tepid. Add 2 table spoonfuls of molasses and stir in until dissolved. Add the liquid to the charcoal mix and stir in leave for 48 hours, empty out onto plastic sheet in greenhouse and allow to sun dry. Add in layers to a dedicated compost bin, the inoculated charcoal should be approximately 30% of the volume of the bin. Add this compost to trenches and planting holes along with Rootgrow or similar VAM fungi product. The addition of un-inoculated charcoal to soil will result in this charcoal absorbing all nutrient from the soil and lower crop yields due to lack of nutrient. A 5 kilo batch of rendered charcoal is capable of absorbing approximately 11 to 15 pints of fluid, this is why inoculation is necessary. uriel13 |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Don't see the connection to Terra Preta, it may be that you posted this in error. uriel13 |
[/quote]
Hi All, within the next month or so some of us on the "Allotments UK" site will be embarking on the first trial of our amended terra Preta type compost. The trial is with Garlic, we all have different mixes and methods of re-creating a Terra Preta type compost. This we will add to the rows in which certain cloves are planted. One row will be planted using whatever nutrient you have always used when planting cloves, the other with the amended Terra Preta type compost and VAM's. These rows should be sufficiently far apart to ensure viable results. My own preference will be to wait until growth is evident, then inject Rootgrow gel to the roots of the amended Terra Preta type row. This I believe will encourage the VAM's attach themselves to the roots before winter sets in. My preference is, when planting Garlic to use a bulb planter, as in create a hole approximately 5 to 6 inches deep and fill it with nutrient. Then plant the clove approximately one inch deep from the tip of said clove and cover with soil. I have always found that Garlic cloves planted in mid to late September give higher yields due the growth being evident before winter sets in. It will be interesting to assess the results of this trial, However I do not expect the 800% increase in cropping which Johannes Lehmann reported in his experiments on non-amended Amazonian soil. This soil is bereft of nutrient, whereas our European soils are much more productive in terms of nutrient value. However I believe that a Terra Preta type soil amendment could achieve results in the region of 150 to 250% in certain crops. The more amenable a plant is to VAM infection the higher will be the corresponding yield. These are just my thoughts, others will disagree, as I have said before see the thoughts of like minded people on the site previously mentioned. I want to re-create a soil whereby no petro-chemical fertilisers, weed killers or insecticides are used. A soil which is to our liking where frogs, toads, bees and a multitude of other beneficial life forms can prosper. A soil which Multi-National Companies have no control over to sell their poisons to, sorry about the rant but these Companies care little about the soil as long as they can make a profit! uriel13 |
[/quote]
Hi All, Some video shorts on the use of VAM's, however the increase in crop harvest of only 20% has me thinking that they are still using inorganic methods of crop production. VAM's and micro-organisms in general suffer when confronted by petro-chemical fertilisers, weed killers and insecticides. By my way of thinking the purchase of VAM's should decrease year upon year once the condition of the soil has been addressed. In an organic soil all the conditions are correct for the proliferation of micro-organisms, ideally you want a pH level of approximately 7. smoldered low temperature burn charcoal will sweeten an acid soil as in raise the pH, if you have an alkaline soil use plenty of Bokashi fermented waste and run off liquid to lower the pH. The use of companion planting to ward off insects does not always work, however if the carrot fly is a problem plant parsley between rows of carrot. The use of 1st and 2nd early potato halums and rhubarb leaves are good insecticides, it should be noted that both are toxic. Simmer the foliage in a "dedicated pot" for 20 minutes, strain and save in labelled plastic bottles marked poison! before use add a little unscented soap or washing up liquid this will ensure that the liquid adheres to the foliage to the plants being treated. Getting back to the point if we want greater harvests and healthier crops we seriously need to address the problem. The problem is that petro-chemical agriculture techniques are killing our soils, if you need convincing watch the video "A Farm For The Future". Mycorrhizal Applications, Inc. | Media Gallery All scroll down to access video archive. Natural World: Farm for the Future Farm For The Future Video uriel13 The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless its open! |
[/quote]
Hi All, I may have posted this before but I still consider it relevant to the remediation of toxic soil. EM's or effective micro-organisms will I believe be our saving grace with regard to all petro-chemical toxicity within the soil. There are approximately 5 groups of EM's which if used in specific combinations can cleanse both soil and lakes, ponds and marshes of toxic elements. why are we not using them, because Multi-national companies control what is used. The small companies who are actively producing EM's could have cleared the oil spillage that the USA suffered and greatly reduced the environmental damage done if they had been employed. This is what EM's are capable of doing, we are being lead by people who seek only profit from catastrophe by their means and no other! It is time to take the bull by the horns and go our own way, personally I would like to think that the legacy that I leave to future generations will be a world worth living in! I make no apology for what I have said regarding Multi-national companies, they are the scum of the earth and its time that we realised this fact!!! uriel13 The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless open! Effective Micro-organisms PS:- There are many other sites which you can access if you have the will to do so! |
[/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 |
[/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 |
[/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 |
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 |
[/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 |
[/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 |
I cultivate the gardens of potassium, carbon and
Trace elements. I use a combination of charcoal briquettes and Hickory ash. |
Quote:
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 |
Some briquettes are compressed and squeezed into a hard brown coal drying
Block. This is a technique commonly used in low coal rank. |
Quote:
Don't really understand your point? uriel13 The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless its open |
[/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 |
[/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 |
[/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 |
[[/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 |
[/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! |
[/quote]
Hi All, I've been doing more research on charcoal due to the conflicting evidence as to the leaching of soluble carbon from said charcoal. There is more and more evidence that it depends on the type of wood being charred, as in, not all charcoal is created equal. This would seem logical to me, tree species I believe char at different rates, there is also the question of green burning and seasoned burning. I also believe that soft wood and hard wood charcoals leach soluble carbon at differing rates. Then you have the difference between twigs, branches and trunks. However if you mix as many different types and sizes of wood you end up with charcoal which leaches soluble carbon at different rates. The bottom line is that soluble carbon will always be available over thousands of years, this is the reason why I believe that VAM's have such great longevity within a Terra Preta soil. The rate of soluble carbon leaching, is I think directly related to the mass, density and water content of the wood being charred. It is also useful to note that the trees of the Amazon delta store most of their nutrient in the spongy bark of said trees. If this nutrient were sent down to the roots it would be lost to the nutrient deficient soil. This I believe is one to the reasons why the bark of these trees became a source of food and medicine to these ancient natives. I never fail to be amazed by the incredible intelligence at work within the world of Mother nature. Each and every life form has purpose, the fact that we humans don't see it is due to our having detached ourselves from Mother nature and the natural world which gives us life. These are just my thoughts PS:- I will be bowing out from this site for a while, however I will keep posting on Allotments UK for those of you who wish to be kept informed of what is happening on this quest for a better soil. Allotments UK: Allotments Forum, blogs, articles, TV channel, Maps … Uriel The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open |
Hi All,
I've been doing more research on charcoal due to the conflicting evidence as to the leaching of soluble carbon from said charcoal. There is more and more evidence that it depends on the type of wood being charred, as in, not all charcoal is created equal. This would seem logical to me, tree species I believe char at different rates, there is also the question of green burning and seasoned burning. I also believe that soft wood and hard wood charcoals leach soluble carbon at differing rates. Then you have the difference between twigs, branches and trunks. However if you mix as many different types and sizes of wood you end up with charcoal which leaches soluble carbon at different rates. The bottom line is that soluble carbon will always be available over thousands of years, this is the reason why I believe that VAM's have such great longevity within a Terra Preta soil. The rate of soluble carbon leaching, is I think directly related to the mass, density and water content of the wood being charred. It is also useful to note that the trees of the Amazon delta store most of their nutrient in the spongy bark of said trees. If this nutrient were sent down to the roots it would be lost to the nutrient deficient soil. This I believe is one to the reasons why the bark of these trees became a source of food and medicine to these ancient natives. I never fail to be amazed by the incredible intelligence at work within the world of Mother nature. Each and every life form has purpose, the fact that we humans don't see it is due to our having detached ourselves from Mother nature and the natural world which gives us life. These are just my thoughts PS:- I will be bowing out from this site for a while, however I will keep posting on Allotments UK for those of you who wish to be kept informed of what is happening on this quest for a better soil. Allotments UK: Allotments Forum, blogs, articles, TV channel, Maps … Uriel The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open[/quote] Hi All, Forgot to add this to the above posting, the topic is "The Terra Preta Experiment and can be found in the Topics for 2011 section. Apologies uriel13 The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open |
[[/quote]
Hi All, The rhizosphere is the depth to which micro-organisms have influence within the soil. Now in most soils this is relatively shallow, however If enough inoculated charcoal and home made compost is dug deeper into the soil,I believe that this changes things. I was reviewing some of the documentaries which I have kept for reference and relocated a gem of information which I don't think that I have put up before. I have a file relating to this information however I'm sure that I may only have sent it to Tony and squirrel. The rhizosphere of the TP soil is directly related to the depth of inoculated charcoal within the soil. One commentator said that the rhizosphere of TP soil was on average 4 to 6 feet in depth. In other words the depth of the native charcoal containing TP soil is the depth of the rhizosphere. Now soil temperature and humidity would have had a great influence on this, but I believe it is possible to increase the depth of the rhizosphere in a zone 6 to 8 environment. The soils which would benefit most from this deep amendment would be sandy and possibly chalk soils. These are soils which tend to dry out relatively quickly. Now if these soils were deep dug with inoculated charcoal and home made compost what a difference this would make. These soils would begin to retain their moisture, the long term target is 30% by volume of deep dug inoculated charcoal. This would obviously be an ongoing process due to cost for those buying lump charcoal. The introduction of the inoculated charcoal would also help to breakdown and I believe and separate the chalk soil making it more friable. Year after year of adding inoculated charcoal and home made compost will I believe within 5 years produce a soil which will not dry out easily. Not only that but once the 30% inoculated charcoal by volume is achieved such a soil would I believe have the means to retain its fertility for hundreds if not thousands of years. The population of VAM's would increase year upon year due to the leaching of soluble carbon from crops to VAM's during the growing season. The charcoal would supply soluble carbon during the winter season to the multiple VAM spores during dormancy. This is why I say that inoculated special charcoal is essential, and why VAM's have an affinity with said charcoal. Both this charcoal and VAM's are the essence of TP they are the catalyst for other good micro-organisms to play their part in the process. Having said that any soil which can be deep dug, as in 2 feet or more in depth before hitting clay will receive the same benefits. However, to give a TP type amended soil a good environment in which to thrive we I believe, need to employ EM's. These micro-organisms not only breakdown toxins within the soil, they actively suppress bad micro-organisms and disease. They will create the conditions for a TP type soil to prosper, I may be wrong but this is what I think. With regard to the application of EM's to the soil I think that this is best done by means of a watering can when once you have prepared your soil for the seasons cultivation . This will prime the soil with immense numbers of EM's ready and willing to be of service, in a way its like having your own army of good micro-organisms fighting for you in the soil. Isn't Mother nature wonderful when you work with her and not against her. Now EM's if properly cultivated have a pH of approximately 3.1, as in highly acidic it is therefore necessary to pH test your soil. The closer to neutral pH 7 or slightly below and in good health , the greater the need to dilute the cultivated EM's, as you go up the scale to pH 8 and above the less dilution I believe is required. EM's I think have the ability to lower the pH of soil if applied in sufficient quantity in their cultivated form. This I would say maybe best done in the autumn if you have nothing left growing in your alkaline soil. It may well be of use in its cultivated form to drench all soils with when your last crops are lifted and said soil is dug over for the winter. This action may I believe be effective against over wintering pathogens within the soil. This is not a proven method of reducing pH, or protection against over wintering pathogens. It is up to you, I am not advocating this as a method of pH reduction or soil protection. I am only informing you of the possibility that such an amendment may have this effect. It is becoming more and more obvious That EM's will be our saving grace in the fight to revitalise our earth, rivers seas and oceans. However this is what they have always done, but we humans have been totally unaware of the cleansing and balancing work that they do. Not only that but Squirrel has found an amazing number of uses for EM's within our homes and to make health giving tonics. See squirrel's post on "EM's Effective Micro-organisms", this is need to know information! These EM's and other good micro-organisms are the only reason that we exist on this planet. When we kill them off we also kill the ecosystem which gives us life!!! It is still my belief that sandy soils will reap most benefit from EM and TP amendment as they are closer to the nutrient deficient soils of the Amazon delta. These soils can be deep dug allowing the inoculated charcoal in the TP amendment to conserve moisture and promote EM and VAM activity. And as you are already aware VAM's have the ability to unlock Phosphorus and other nutrients from within the soil to be fed to all Endomicorrhizal crops within your soil. Now this might seem odd, but if you dig out clay sub soil, allow it to dry, and put it through a shredder on a 2:1 ratio with charcoal you release all the nutrient within the clay. There is a lot of locked up nutrient within clay which can be released. The clay can never bind together again because it has been thoroughly mixed with the charcoal. This could be dug into sandy soil to provide a nutrient base along with home made compost, its just a thought. I may be wrong but it is my belief that once clay has been separated and mixed with charcoal it will give up its nutrients for cultivation. This is a theory which I intend to test in the future, the mixing of clay with charcoal should prevent these clay particles from ever binding together again. Once mixed and wetted the clay will bind to the charcoal and be fixed. The charcoal will soak up this nutrient making it available to VAM's bacteria and yeasts. All life on this planet is carbon based, every living thing has carbon in its make up, we just need to think smarter as to how we utilise this carbon to repair the damage that we humans have done to the eco-system. The deeper the rhizosphere the greater the potential for crops to thrive in an environment which is stable. This stability comes about with the forming of mutual symbiotic relationships of VAM's bacteria(EM's) and yeasts. The varying seasonal temperatures may slow down their activity during winter in a zone 6 to 8 environment, but I think that these micro-organisms are well capable of adaptation to circumstance. These micro-organisms have survived through the many ice ages which this planet has been subjected to, so it would be logical to think that they would survive in a zone 6 to 8 environment. As always these are only my thoughts others will disagree Uriel13 The mind is like a parachute it is totally useless unless it is open |
Is there a way to measure as to how much limit or amount of charcoal ash may be added to compost mixing? I know it has been mentioned that it may not be beneficial but thinking about the process that it may help start and develop throughout composting, it may be enough to put interest in it. I am just thinking about amounts, parts or ratios to soil and other contents.
|
Quote:
Ash has little or no long lasting effect in the soil, however charcoal, especially if inoculated with nutrient will have great longevity within the soil. The ratio of compost to charcoal is 2:1, as to ingredients for said inoculation, it is your preference as to what you see as a good inoculation mixture. Personally I use blood, fish and bone granules together with molasses in liquid form poured over the charcoal in hot liquid form and allowed to soak for at least 48 hours. The charcoal is then allowed to sun dry and used in the ratio as stated. I use a shredder to mix the charcoal and compost together to ensure that said charcoal is thoroughly mixed in a finer form. See my previous posts. uriel13 The mind is like a parachute it is totally useless unless it is open |
[/quote]
Hi All, It is necessary I think, that we begin growing heirloom crops again because F1, F2 and F3 hybrid seeds do not produce seed which can be saved for cultivation, as in such seeds don't grow true to type. We must now look to this proven seed stock for our survival as they are the only seed stock type which can be saved which will grow true to type. They may not initially give the yields of these hybrid varieties, but they can be cultivated at no cost other than seed stock saving. As oil and its derivatives become more expensive so will the seed of hybrid cultivars which must be purchased year after year. The multi-national companies have us locked into their products, if we want to go and grow our own way then it is essential the we return to heirloom seed stock. Now many of the old varieties were subject to disease and low harvest potential, however we now have three new tools in our locker in the form of a Terra Preta type soil, VAM's and EM's. This soil and these micro-organisms were not available in past, and it is my belief that we can produce greater and healthier crops from these old varieties. The amendment of our soils with EM's, inoculated charcoal and VAM's in conjunction with home made compost inoculated with EM's will I believe produce heirloom crops which will benefit from this soil remediation. It is also my belief that the use of diluted EM's as a foliar amendment to crops may give extra protection to these heirloom crops against succumbing to disease. If we seed save those crops which prove to be unaffected by disease due to this foliar amendment and plant them in the next season their disease resistance will be enhanced. I believe that once a plant recognises the disease resistance of such an amendment it will automatically seek to create a mutual symbiotic relationship with these bacteria. I maybe totally wrong but I think that any life form when presented with a means by which to sustain, and or, extend its life would do so! The prime directive for all of Mother nature's life forms is, "do what you must do in order to survive as a species!" Many of the diseases suffered by heirloom crops have not been properly addressed as to cause and effect. The primary cause of disease is lack of specific nutrients, and or, failure to effectively rotate crops. I also believe that adding salt water to our EM cultivation techniques will supply these vital trace elements to our soil. As I previously said we now have a superior soil type and a range of hand picked bacteria and fungi to aid us in the reintroduction of heirloom crops. The results of such a reintroduction would be breaking new ground in terms of the results. We I believe will be the first to have tested these old varieties under such new conditions. Everything which we achieve will be new information in terms of growth, harvest, disease resistance and longevity within this soil and its amendments. The most positive aspect about this is that we will be in control of our own destiny, nobody will have the right to say you can't do that. We will be taking the first steps into deciding what does and does not give us the results which we require. Uriel The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open |
[/quote]
Hi All, I found this link in my favourites while deleting some of the old links which had been disconnected. It is a simple barrel within a barrel method of creating your own special charcoal put the chicken carcasses bones etc in first. Having done that load the rest of the inner barrel with forest wood and proceed as per the instructions. A 30 and 45 gallon drum would be better suited to the task, however 30 gallon metal drums are hard to come by these days. Just thought that this would be of interest. Simple method of charcoal production Uriel The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open |
I tilled abundance into the vegetable garden for the potash, carbon and trace elements. I use a aggregate of charcoal briquettes and hickory ash (I accept three ample hickory trees). You can add a small amount of ash to a admixture bin, but too abundant may stop the composting process or accession pH.
|
Quote:
I don't use charcoal briquettes because they have chemicals in them which are detrimental to the micro-organisms within the soil. I think I made mention of this in an earlier posting, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to purchase real charcoal. This is due to the barbeque market now being flooded with easy light charcoal in the form of briquettes and the like. Personally I have not found that inoculated charcoal approximating 30% in a compost bin hinders the composting process. However in the case of my bins they are watered with EM solution to encourage the breakdown of vegetation. Charcoal sweetens the soil therefore pH would I think only be a problem in a high alkaline soil. The ash content will be short lived as a nutrient source only charcoal has longevity within the soil. However this is your experiment so don't be put off from doing your own thing. The mind is like a parachute its totally useless unless its open |
[/quote]
Hi All, Found this site whilst browsing the net, It I felt vindicated my thinking on trace elements and plant diseases. There however some aspects, as in the use of sewage which I am not all that happy with. It is a good read and worthy of looking further into, the essence of the subject matter is weaning ourselves off chemical crop production. "Poison Free Agriculture, Poison Free Gardening Uriel The mind is like a parachute, its totally useless unless its open |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:49 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter