Terra Preta - Dark Soil - Experiment

[xmobotx]

XMO if a soil has bad drainage, char is NOT something you want to add. as it holds moisture even longer.

lol when i wrote the line "i do think char has big benefits" i started off on a long "but,~" dialog that i thought better of.

IDK, i m envisioning container gardening w/ this product and i dont understand why they suggest it might be OK to not have drainage - let alone encourage using the charcoal to compensate???

 

[jaykush]

because they want you to buy there product, simple as that.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

JayKush

I understand what you wrote about adding charcoal to a thermal compost pile - any benefit to adding to a fairly large worm bin? (about 3 x 5 or so)

Thanks!

CC

 

[xmobotx]

because they want you to buy there product, simple as that.

lol - but don't they want me to buy it again

 

[jaykush]

JayKush

I understand what you wrote about adding charcoal to a thermal compost pile - any benefit to adding to a fairly large worm bin? (about 3 x 5 or so)

Thanks!

oh hell yea! i always add char powder to my wormbin. makes them want to fuck like crazy. i used to say coffee grounds were worm crack, bio-char must be worm heroin lol.

that along with the rock powders imo takes normal castings to castings that go above and beyond the call of duty.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

oh hell yea! i always add char powder to my wormbin. makes them want to fuck like crazy. i used to say coffee grounds were worm crack, bio-char must be worm heroin lol.

that along with the rock powders imo takes normal castings to castings that go above and beyond the call of duty.

Thanks again!

It's going into my worm bins tomorrow morning!

Thanks a ton, Jay!!

Peace

CC

 

[xmobotx]

well, i have the coffe grounds in i guess i'll add some charcoal next

might have to get some azomite and/or crushed/ground whatever river rock

i think i have plenty of minerals though my place is as rocky as can be

i started off thinking i would have to forsake gardening but then i got some soil and peat and made a bed of all introduced materials -i gardened in this until the cats began to choose it for their litter box

but, now the ground is improved - a few years of weeds growing in it and it looks like real soil now (still rocky) I have to sift it but i dont have to buy it

 

[jaykush]

Thanks again!

It's going into my worm bins tomorrow morning!

Thanks a ton, Jay!!

Peace

just remember little but often is good for the worm bin, i usually sprinkle a layer along with the food i give them.

 

[Cool Moe]

Here's an informative link I found with some biochar experiments with wormbins (#2 and #4):

http://www.woosworms.com/VermExperiments.html

Looks like jaykush is spot on with his observations and seems like the finer you grind biochar for your worms the better. I like to soak mine in kelp water prior to the crush to eliminate the dust and add more nutrition for the worms.

Jaykush, my worms, my plants, and myself owe you big thanks for pointing me in this direction a few months ago.

 

[xmobotx]

that is informative - i liked how clear it is that the worms favor the food w/ charcoal

i m going out right now and get some charcoal for my bin

 

[schwagg]

schwagg

'Milled lumber' is just that - milled. It's not treated with anything.

Pressured-treated lumber is treated but then again it's not processed (after treatment) into sawdust or any other wood product after the chemical bath/injection.

And just for sh*ts and grins, 'lump charcoal' (like the one you're promoting) is made from 'milled lumber' - it's not 'charcoal briquets' but rather wood charcoal processed for the barbeque deal from basic wood logs/timber.

HTH

CC

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

might help others...

cc, not saying all milled lumber has chemicals, just that if you want real lumpwood for cooking or gardening, why not get the real deal. i go through tons of charcoal and lazzarri is the best i've found so far. it's far from milled.

 

[xebeche]

Oyster Shell

Oyster Shell

well, i have the coffe grounds in i guess i'll add some charcoal next

might have to get some azomite and/or crushed/ground whatever river rock

i think i have plenty of minerals though my place is as rocky as can be

i started off thinking i would have to forsake gardening but then i got some soil and peat and made a bed of all introduced materials -i gardened in this until the cats began to choose it for their litter box

but, now the ground is improved - a few years of weeds growing in it and it looks like real soil now (still rocky) I have to sift it but i dont have to buy it

They really love powdered oyster shells for calcium as well. Unless you want to put 1M egg shells through a coffee grinder.

 

[xmobotx]

being in horse manure that should be about 1.5 - 2 % Ca

i introduce some eggshell in ash - as i toss some of my eggshells in the woodstove IDK if thats a good idea or not (so some get boiled/baked and go throught the compost -also some of that in there)

i should toss some oyster shell in there too

 

[asstastic]

did you know you can buy terra preta at lowes the other day i accidently bought some and the runoff is black kinda freaked me out till i looked it up

 

[xmobotx]

interesting, i m sold on the char aspect

by the end of this grow season all my outdoor beds and compost will have char

i use it in tea too

i wonder what the product actually is that lowes is offering (though i will probably buy it and check it out once i see it)

 

[jaykush]

i use it in tea too

why do you add it to the teas? hopefully your taking the char back out and amending it into some soil.

 

[xmobotx]

why do you add it to the teas?

i think of the char like a filter/buffer agent - since i consider the tea process to reflect nature's "mountain stream" process, i expect that the mountain stream would go through a burnt area w/ char present and exposed to the waters - my best guess would be that it keeps the tea from being too strong and buffers the PH (yes i know compost should be neutral - but, i will introduce manure or ammendments to the tea frequently also)

no, i dont consider it necessary - more like it doesn't hurt/may help

*edit: oh yeah, i float the char in there as larger pieces

hopefully your taking the char back out and amending it into some soil.

yeah - that too the char which had been in the tea is re-introduced into the compost pile. i may use it in potting mixes and the like down the road.

charcoal use in agriculture is (to me) a new idea that i should have picked up on observing nature

 

[jaykush]

thats good, i used to put the char in ACT to get it inoculated. then into soil. sounds like your doing it fine. was just making sure

 

[xmobotx]

yeah, i m not sure how much effect it might have on the tea

but, i do want to get the char incorporated as much as seems reasonable

and like you say, the char gets innoculated by the CT

 

[grapeman]

charcoal use in agriculture is (to me) a new idea that i should have picked up on observing nature

Maybe it's not so new or rare. For years (before the AQMD), asparagus growers burned their top growth in the late fall or winter. My friend who still grows the stuff tells me that back in the day before the government stop and regulated ag burning, his crops were always bigger and earlier the following spring. There is also the slash and burn technique in the amazon rain forest that everyone bitches about but produces great results for the farmer.