To Taildragerdriver,
On your post about making the immediate benefits of Terra Preta available and attractive to farmers I agree wholeheartedly. One thing I would add is that we need to take Terra Preta technology/science and make it available and easy to use for a farmer/gardener in their own back yard without outside resources. For small scale Terra Preta to work we have to have the materials in place and no hauling/fuel consumption or much capital outlay. That is one reason I have experimented with oil drum (or metal garbage can), kilns. Easy to build, use, not expensive, and chars up the excess material you have lying around.
In today’s world if we can’t find solutions to global warming that are cheap, easy, and of benefit than I don’t believe we will use them.
To Michaelangelica,
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Are organic fertilisers better? does anyone know?
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In answer to this question I talked to a soil professor from Colorado State University and he summed it up as NPK applications can be calculated to the exact crops/soils that a farmer has and the next year if they change crops they can change the percentages of NPK as NPK is a one year shot. Organic fertilizers are all around better but you can’t get that exact of a percentage and organic fertilizers stay in the soil for longer periods. NPK also offers quicker results as organic (depending on what you use), takes longer to breakdown. NPK is also is more susceptible to leaching than organic but for “wee beasties”, worms, and overall soil health organic is better. NPK does nothing for soil organic matter and offers no amendment qualities for soil structure (water retention and air spaces), or soil texture (water retention/drainage).
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I am told that the more "activated" the charcoal is the better it holds water. I can't find any research to support this.
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On this question I have read that the higher the charring temperature that greater the surface area and better environment for microbes and more “activated” the charcoal. This greater surface area may increase water retention. It also may be that the higher temperature opens up more pores so water can saturate the charcoal. I read in Wiki that to make charcoal activated some processes steam it to remove impurities, this would also open up the pores. I ground up some low temp charcoal and have it soaking in water for the last month. About 60 percent has saturated and sank to the bottom but the rest is floating merrily on top. Obviously gases are trapped inside the charcoal so that water retention of these pieces is lower. Also the size of the charcoal makes a difference as smaller/finer charcoal absorbs more water than charcoal pieces. I have read all of this off of internet available articles but can’t remember which ones. If you need references I can do more research.
RBlack
