Science Forums 2

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

So here are some haphazard observations

!. My 2 year old parsley has been eaten by me, and eaten down to the nub by the bloody possum.
They are shooting again and I look like getting another crop.
This from a plant, that at best, is a biannual.
They were one of my first "experiments" I actually left one without char and two with "x" amount of car and 2 with "y" amount of char.
Of course I have forgotten which is which now.

2.Trying to save my half dead Hibscus near the pool with char and organic matter failed.
I think the problem is the soil around the pool contains salt

3.TP Pots seem easier to re-wet when they dry out.
This is a problem with nurseymen who often use automatically timed watering systems.
If a field of pots is not watered, and drys out, re-wetting can be a problem. just watering again does not cut it. A sort of 'meniscus' forms on top of the pot and the water runs down the inside of the pot and out the drainage holes at the bottom.
I am using a bit of grey water (only in some pots)so that adds another variable to the mix (soap)

4 The initial impact of putting too much char on acid loving plants can be a problem. So far lost 3 gardenias and 1 Aquilegia.
The aquiligias were interesting.
I had/have some beautiful looking aquilegias that don't seem to want to flower.. I put about 20-30g of rice hull char on each pot. they immediatly all slumped down and looked as if they were about to die. One did Within a few weeks the others all bounced back looking better than they did before. (which was very good). Still haven't flowered. I am about to speak to them sternly.

5. I think I am using too much char.
The Japanese research paper on Tea Trees used only 100g per tree, per square meter, per year.
After 4 years they have 30-40%? more growth.
They plan to carry on the experiment for 10 years.
So that will be worth watching and waiting for.

6 I grew a 2 metre fig tree, from a small cutting, with two figs, in 12 months, in a ground up BBQ char, home made, potting mix.
I am very proud of it
1& 1/2 figs for the bloody possum 1/2 fig for me.

I grow mostly aquarium plants these days and swamp trees. I have been trying to some up with a soil mix that is workable for aquarium plants. While I have been keeping aquariums of all types for more than 40 years lately I have been concentrating on lush planted tanks. I have found over the years that most aquarium plants do best in fine sand or silt. Of source silt is less than ideal for an aquarium because the fish keep it stirred up much of the time. Most freshwater fish show their best colors on dark substrate but black sand isn't very easy to find out side of volcanic islands so most of the time I have to use regular quartz sand of the type found in sand boxes or building sand. What I have been concentrating on is the soil I put under the sand. I have read about the terra preta and it sounds like a great soil for most plants. making something similar is of course the problem. to get to the point I grow a water fern called Azzola carolinias. I will grow in a thick mat across the top of any standing water even to the point of stopping mosquitos from laying their eggs in the water. the great thing about this fern is that it carries bacteria that fix nitrogen out of the air. this fern can be used to make some really rich fine grained compost and in the process leave the water it grows on much more pure than it was to begin with. I use compost made from this fern at a rate of about 50% with about 10% ground charcoal. I use a lot of charcoal from aquariums filters because it contains lots of organics removed from aquarium water. I mix volcanic rock of the type used in grills and as ground cover ground to a fine dust and earth worm castings. I use this mixture as a starting point for various potting soil mixtures. but I use it 100% under a layer of sand in an aquarium. About an inch of the compost with about 4 inches of sand on top of that makes a great substrate for water plants and swamp trees. If you want the fine details send me a personal message and I'll be happy to tell all you want to know about the aquarium part. I have even found a source of fine black sand for use in aquariums. If you keep fish you might want to give some thought to using silt from your aquariums in the compost process as well. If you have ever cleaned out aquarium gravel, especially gravel used over an under gravel filter you have seen all the silt that is collected by the gravel. all of this is rich in nitrogen and other organics. you can store this water in the dark for a few days and most of the silt will settle out and the water can be drained off. this silt which is basically composted fish dung will grow plants like crazy. I'm not sure if any of this helps to recreate terra preta but the Azolla is a great way to fix nitrogen without the problems of bacteria associated with manure from large animals.

Michael