Terra Preta - Dark Soil - Experiment

[GetUpStandUp]

Yes, J the paki is very wide ranged for its genetics. I got pakistan Valley 100% indica, and been growing her out for almost a year now, she started off with fat leaves, but now her leaves are pretty much like my white widows, and yes she will pack a punch no doubt.

I could be wrong, its just my observation in my closet anyways, I clone the hell out of my moms, and dont know how much it plays on the plants looks after, but I suspect it does. as tho they strain stays pretty much in the same looks, but very often I get a weird one which I cant tell from another in my perpeptual if I fail to label, so now I learned to lable. lol, good stuff guys!

 

[floral]

In August we blended up some biochar and compost and let it sit until early October, when we amended some beds that had not been draining properly - stayed too wet or dried out / ran off too quickly.

Had to dig up this thread to share my amazement at how well just a few inches of 50/50 biochar+compost has improved the soil texture. Even before the rainy season started, I had a large drum of water to dump out into a bed that used to run off like crazy every time I watered. With the biochar, the soil just absorbed the water like a sponge with no runoff whatsoever. Slurped it right up and practically belched at me afterward. Same thing with all the heavy rain we have been getting. In previous years, rains washed away all my hard work and all the compost, but this year, water doesn't bounce off or run off, it just gets absorbed right away. AWESOME.

And now, a few months later, those same problem areas are coming to life for the first time.

I'm sure the biochar is helping the microlife as well but even if it's doing nothing but evening out the soil moisture, it's worth it.

THANKS to those who started this thread and introduced me to the world of biochar. Wish I'd known about it years ago.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

You are more than welcome.

It is a pleasure to share some helpful information.

If you think about it, an evenly moist topsoil is a prerequisite for microlife. But rest assured, the biochar is a haven for soil biology and nutrients.

 

[mexcurandero420]

Thanks for starting this topic

[YOUTUBEIF]Ttr_8nJ_E6w[/YOUTUBEIF]

Keep on growing

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Good video mate.

Lots of interesting and differing ways of getting to char. Pick whatever suits...

I like his additives at the end. Not sure which is nitrogen but he looks like he knows what hes doing!

 

[CT Guy]

New company coming out in WA State:
http://www.biocharsupreme.com/

 

[ion]

char as aeration?

char as aeration?

hi everybody, im running biochar in my outdoor mix this season, first time running it, been reading a lot lately but i have some questions for the thread, all thouights are welcome.


i see most people like to break their char down to eighth/half-inch pieces....

what would be the disadvantage to having char around 25-30% of my total outdoor soil mix?.....i think normal numbers are 5-10%?...........of that char component of the mix, 20-30% would be eighth/half-inch pieces, the rest woul be half/3quarter-inch pieces......all saturated first in alfalfa

i can get bulk natural charcoal mucho cheaper than lava rock....not using perlite.......i havent found anything on this topic or any citations of issues with excess(over 10-20%)of a total mix

the rest of the mix is peat. various composts, forest humus/duff/topsoil.....lighter on the forest component in the mix, premier sp.peat, local manure compost, very microbially-active, horse man-cmpst(anaerobic composted, old, very dark and rich....free), ewc, small amount of chk.man..........couple gallons of wildbeast manure(moose,deer,bear,porcupine...w/evr)


and what are your thoughts on using sodium nitrate(natural chilean) to saturate for a Nsource?.....im hesitant because of the solubility, will it hold in like alfalfa and fish or leach out as quick as it went in?

 

[xmobotx]

well ion; i *think* you can consider char as a drainage/aeration amendment and do consider it as such myself but; it would not be prudent to rely on it as your sole drainage amendment

if you wanted to experiment w/ a single container you could satisfy your own curiosity but for anything you rely on a harvest from i would defo stay n the rec'd parameters ~though being outdoors you could defo be around the high end of those parameters if not even slightly exceed

personally i have come to rely on neem seed meal as my N amendment and consider the N from fishbone meal as well as my humus components as being that diversity element ~you ref'd using alfalafa which is also an excellent N source and can be a little 'hot'/soluble

i would be reluctant to use the sodium nitrate you ref'd based on the sodium component as well as your already voiced concerns that it may be too soluble

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Biochar as drainage/aeration material is great. Around pea size is recommended.

For excellent drainage 1/3 of total medium should be drainage.

Would i recommend we all use 1/3 biochar in our potting mixes? No.

The issue is ph. My char comes out around 8-9ph. If used on acidic soils 1/3 may prove to be great. However if your starting medium is more neutral or already contains lime this much char is probably going to cause higher ph than we want.

There are significant differences in different materials used for char also. Pine char is going to be less alkaline that hardwood as the hardwood has a higher ash content. Also if overcooked the char can be ph10 or higher... not good.

But as user Floral reported a topdressing of biochar and compost radically improved their drainage/soil texture. Char contains lots of airspace (LOTS) and assists in keeping the bad microbes down aka disease resistance. So it negates and improves the factors that poor drainage leads to even if used as a topdress:

Compaction
Lack of oxygen
Bad microbes taking over in the anaerobic conditions
And in the summer or dry spell when the non-draining soil becomes a solid lump of heavy crap impervious to most digging tools, the char will hold moisture/helpful microbes/fungi and really help open your soil out.

5-10% biochar is about perfect. Especially if your mix already has good moisture retention. My current soil mix has sand, lava rock, perlite and zeolite for drainage as well as maybe 5% biochar.

I dont have affordable access to peat moss but perhaps a mix of 1/3 peat (acidic), 1/3 compost (neutral/slightly acidic) and 1/3 biochar (ph8-9) would be great.

Apparently it is possible to make char that is neutral or even acidic but this isnt the norm and involves selective ingredients (acidic) and lower cooking temps. I have made some that was about ph6 but it wasnt fully cooked...

 

[scai]

I'm still wondering them claypieces in Terra Preta.
I don't think they were there in vain?
Makes me think how clay (soil) holds kations and anions....Maybe that clay had was there to hold nutrients?
Does it make sense?

 

[xmobotx]

clay in your mix makes sense although there is some debate over whether it is a factor in the nature of terra preta

like you i believe it may be although; the likelihood is that this was not intentional

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Yeah it will certainly help with drainage too.

I am going to start collecting old and broken terra cotta pots and start smashing them up.

Must be easier to smash up than lava rock!

 

[lonelemming]

Seen quite a few posts lately about issues busting up lava rock, biochar, etc...I used to drive over it, folded up in a tarp....now I use a 10"x10" tamper I picked up at the hardware store for $20. Easy to break anything up, but with much more feel and control for size consistency. Pick the tarp up and pour it on your screen...
LL

 

[xmobotx]

oh heck yeah; idk Y i didnt think of that {tamper} i could prob fab sumthin up

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Hehe i drove over my lavarock about 20 times and it just laughed at me and my medium sized automobile.

Even a good hammering didnt do much. So i just used it all lumpy...

A tamper sounds good though i dont know exactly what it is.

 

[MileHighGuy]

I'm thinking something like this only bigger. Even if I could only get 4-5 cups of dust at a time that would be rad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bmvnd_VR9c

 

[xmobotx]

oh; the one i saw was about like lonelemming posted a 10"x10" idk @ least 1/4" thick steel plate reinforced from the 'top' w/ like an X of more of the same 1/4" @ least steel that goes to a length of pipe which has handles~ i dont remember how big of pipe or how the handles were situated but i m sure there would be differences in that anyway

ordinarily you would use it to make a hard soil surface for a concrete pour or to tamp down the soil after digging and filling

 

[ion]

thanks mbo and ss, very gracious for your input. im flying less-blind than last year, but its still pretty foggy for me. im just now starting to cook my OD mix, with aeration yet, it'll be in the ground 2-3 wks before plants go in......not an optimal time frame, but ever forward. i dont have a lot of time to do things right so its all about leaving options for later and minimizing the fire hazard........

my aeration will be 30% of the mix like said, and that portion will be of lava and char, depending on what i have on hand/can get as i'm mixing 4cu.ft batches.......5-10 gal on avg per hole, holes as big as 4'x4'....no smaller 2'x2'.....havent -checked_ the native put it looks good, maybe real good, sandy loamy kind even clayey, but overall light


30% premier peat, 40% portion of; man.comp, horse.comp, ewc, forest humus/top

adds/amends are;
azo
glacial dust
oystr shell flour
de w/ bentonite
gypsm
kelp meal

they be some horsetail ferns, dried/smashed thrown in as i can gather
plant teas will be used lavishly; nettle, comfrey, yarrow, horsetail, alfalfa, ....................act 1-2x a week






************so things should be okay overall.......BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT i hastily bought Stubbs bbg charcoal instead of waiting for cowboy............Stubbs is 95%hrdwood, 5% veg binder........

ive had it soaking in all kindsa goodies for a week+, pulled one out last night and they crumble if you squeeze them hard........

is this %5 binder stuff okay? s'posed to be all-natural(loaded term, ikno)



and so you guys know what this is for..........

nl5/hazexmango hz
samsknkman freebie x Ak47
fractal c99
ace nap jam
cbg panama dc
female purpl maroc
aurora indica
destroxpck
trnwrckxpck
malawixst#3
bs2.2

tahoe og
4/5 my own chuckbabies with genetics from kc brains.....some NL, various hazes

scai........i firmly think its tied in/clay pieces/terra cota, as long as they arent tainted where they can pollute your soil id say throw those in. nature/history trumps science.........always, eventually anyways....hth

thanks again guys

 

[lonelemming]

It's like this one...http://www.lowes.com/pd_162933-302-...tamper&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=tamper&facetInfo=

Sorry, don't know how to do the fancy link stuff....

I never worry about the tarp ripping because of the even distribution of force from the plate...works good. I'm sure you could probably rig up something similar for less cash.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Cool sounds ideal. Char is much easier to crush than lavarock.

I aim for a mix of fine powder and small lumps to go further. Even what looks like a fine grain to the human eye will be a maze of airholes under a scope.

Im just making some in a sturdy biscuit tin in my firebox and so far made 5 gallons/20 litres of crushed char. Half went in 6 big new pots of ROLS (@15-1) and half in a compost heap. Making more every day which i am going to put on top of top of the compost.

Your mix sounds good ion. Not sure what veg binder is. Run it through a compost heap if in doubt and grab/make some more. You can get away with a 24hr nitrogen/microbe/nutrient soak if need be.