Terra Preta - Dark Soil - Experiment

[MrFista]

Nice one SS!

We all know what a superior root system produces. Add myco innoculation to char mixes when planting I doubt you'd be able to produce better with only mycos and a good nutrient source.

I'm a bit snowed under with fish stuff but will access a lot of char early in the new year for further experimentation.

Will also have access to my own mycologist, and hopefully have my darn books out of customs by then too.... Should be fun!

 

[C21H30O2]

what percentage of bio-char do you add to your mix?

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Merry xmas everyone!

Yeah its all in the roots Fista.

Keep us updated DocLeaf... what crops are grown with charcoal in your neck of the woods?

If starting from scratch i would add 10-20% or so char.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Hey Jack! Glad you found your way here! I think charring in a tin inside a tin like Fista does is the way to go. Havnt tried yet as i have plenty in my compost etc.

Wow guys... I'm jealous you all are so active.


I totally was absent during the early part of this thread and found it in a google search LOL

A living soil then is the savior of the planet ... how about that...

SCORE for Organic Soil!

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Yeah score indeed Jack!

1 week into flowering and my babies are growing good. Real good

All Reclining Buddah's from seed.

 

[onegreenday]

New Biochar Test Shows up to 17% Crop Yield Increase, Lower Soil Nutrient Depletion

http://dynamotive.com.c9.previewyou...ive/pdf/BlueLeaf_Biochar_Field_Trial_2008.pdf

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Hey nice PDF greenday!

17% increase... awesome!
I think the reduction in the loss of soil nutrients was well documented and also those photos of the roots at the end tell their own story... just a shame they used GM seeds :/

Heres some pics of my harvest from this season, i was using sprinklers with tap water because it was a pain lugging my watering can back and fore... think the char would have really helped me with my nute retention and keeping a healthy microbe population what with the chlorine and chloramine in the water. Also i didnt realise some of my drainage holes in my hempy bucket setup were blocked and pots got waterlogged. Many benefits..

 

[onegreenday]

thanks SS. Those are some sweet plants & your house looks nice too.
That's one tall plant for a little bucket and the buds look real neat.
What KIND is that?
you could use a chlorine filter next time, installed inline.

Since they r still studying the terra preta to find out
what's in the soil to make it reproduce like that (if that is true)
we don't know the exact microbes at work but if they r unique to that
area you'll bet they'll package their terra preta and market it like
bat guano & it will be in the grow shops soon.....

I searched the thread for "charcoal filter" but nothing came up.
For those that have read the whole thread, has anyone thought of using
the old charcoal from their air-filters.
The charcoal in my filter is from virgin coir
and I suspect it would improve the soil.
Anybody try this?
thanks.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

I buy activated charcoal through a local orchid growers club - $22.50 for 50 lbs. - those little old ladies haven't learned the 'grow store' paradigm of buying low and selling at stupid prices yet.

 

[jaykush]

good stuff silver surfer, i love seeing results. i have been incorporating the char into my composting process now and even vermicompost( charcoal dust thats left from smashing) with great results. the compost with char and rock dusts makes plants grow grow grow. your mix is obviously doing its job.

onegreenday i have tried activated charcoal. and can say from tests, the plants didnt do as well as wood/bio char. other than it does help with water retention to some extent. stick with homemade biochar if possible.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

jaykush

I have access to a large commercial kiln and a ceramic smoker (Big Green Egg) - could I take wood and 'char' it myself? And if that's a possibility is there a preferred wood?

Thanks!

 

[onegreenday]

thanks Jay.

 

[jaykush]

the wood needs to be go through a process called Pyrolysis. preferably at the low side of temps that can accomplish pyrolysis. to keep some of the oils in the char for the microbes. you can make char out of pretty much anything, at the moment i am using hardwoods ( oak, maple, manzanita, and a few others) because thats what i have to use on the property, but have also been testing with organic materials ( old veggie scraps, chicken manure, fallen leaves, and a few other things) old potates made some real nice aerated char by accident. as far as i see it, diversity is still a key component with char.

as for the commercial kiln or the ceramic smoker for making the char, i cant really say. i am not familiar with either and there use. specially for makin biochar.

what i used to do was use hardwood natural charcoal from the store, lizzarri, cowboy, black oak brands are a few ive tried with sucess and can all be bought at local hardware store or even walmart.

i recommend sifting it if possible, specially if your using it with seedling mixes. the fines go to the worms and they love a little dashed on top every now and then. the big stuff gets smashed again or into the veggie garden soil. and incorporating it into your composting process has showed a lot of improvement here.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

JayKush

That's easy enough - all of the brands of 'lump charcoal' as it's known to barbeque smokers are easily available. Who knew it could be that easy?

LOL

Thanks for the information.

 

[jaykush]

its a good substitute, not as good as homemade biochar. but it does the job. only problem is getting it down to a good particle size without A. throwing your back out B. physical exhaustion c. creating giant dust clouds. make sure its 100% natural. some companies put shit in there charcoal for god knows what.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

jaykush

I don't know didly-squat about Terra Preta or the science behind it but I do know about 'lump charcoal' which you mentioned in an earlier post.

This is the type of 'charcoal' used by 'smokers' in the BBQ world where holding a temperature of around 215F is the goal - low and slow.

The brands of charcoal that you mentioned are 'pure' in that nothing is added to the process vs. charcoal briquets. That stuff is loaded with crap as you mentioned.

Smokers (I'm on a BBQ team - ribs are my speciality) are nutty about the wood/charcoal that they use. The specific brands that you mentioned are the only one sanctioned by the various BBQ groups at their sponsored events.

Last year our team took 4 1st place awards for ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket and another 15 2nd place awards around the Pacific Nothwest.

Good fun - a bunch of old guys hanging around a parking lot smoking 'hawg' and drinking beer. Not a bad way to spend weekend, eh?

Peace

CC

 

[jaykush]

bumping this up to rep the terra preta

edit: just saw your last post coot, must have missed it before.

This is the type of 'charcoal' used by 'smokers' in the BBQ world where holding a temperature of around 215F is the goal - low and slow.

that is good to know, because that is exactly what we want. low and slow.

The brands of charcoal that you mentioned are 'pure' in that nothing is added to the process vs. charcoal briquets. That stuff is loaded with crap as you mentioned.

this is why these brands were mentioned vs the others. there are some wood charcoal bags with "quicklite" or " longer burning" stay away from these if possible. (edit: if possible?!?! i take that back, wtf was i thinking, must have been stoned...... NEVER use char that is not 100% natural!!!!)

ps: i love some tasty ribs, yummmm yummm. specially 1st place ribs

 

[jaykush]

was mixing some char in my compost pile and thought of this thread.

 

[JackTheGrower]

was mixing some char in my compost pile and thought of this thread.

Trying to get some Oak this year for the mini-woodstove myself..

I see I can buy horticulture charcoal.

Oh BTW you should see the pepper plant.. I need to snap some pictures.. That was char and well my compost...

Killer looking plant..

edit:

 

[onegreenday]

glad to see people are seeing results with char.
soon there'll large supplies when they get bio-oil going.
probably right in with soil mixes.

Hey Roots Organics how about some char in the mix?