Intersting article
Charcoal, agriculture and climate change | Energy Bulletin
Quote:
Charcoal, agriculture and climate change
By bart
An emerging method for mitigating carbon emissions by burying charcoal needs advocates... It will take work on all fronts to reduce the carbon in our atmosphere, including this rediscovery of Amerindian agriculture — Terra Preta. ...
Energy Bulletin - - Full Newswire | Energy Bulletin
I found this comment especially interesting
Do not put fresh charcoal into the soil!
If you put fresh charcoal into soil the fertility might actually decrease. In addition, we have noticed charcoal has a hydrophobic property that needs to be biodegraded before water borne nutrients can be transmitted into the internal structure of what was once the vascular system of the plant. In the conditioning process, the large inner surface of charcoal causes nutrients to adhere making them temporarily unavailable
until the charcoal is saturated. Once saturated the charcoal becomes attractive to plant roots and soil microbes. Because of the inorganic nature of this substrate the charcoal will serve as an enrichment culture for nitrogen fixing and mycorrhizial partners.
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I haven't found the char I use difficult to wet or especially hydroscopic. In fact quite the opposite.
I do grind it fairly finely. I do notice the big lumps remain dry although left in a sack in the rain.
What have others found?
