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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Burning Issue of Biochar

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Smittyctz6 <cityhomesteader@gmail.com>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Burning Issue of Biochar
  • Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:43:33 -0500

Hi Paul,
Nope I live in CT..But yes it is wet here..Maybe that is the clue.
Never had a soil issue using the composted wood chips?  I'm thining it maybe that I use other materials on the beds and make liquid feeds from Comfrey.

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 1:19 PM, Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote:

I'm glad you're able to do that and I'd guess you're in a warm, damp climate. Bark will decompose first of course. But while the hardwood is still decomposing it will be robbing nitrogen from anything you try to grow in it, and it does take a long time to complete decomposition.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 11/13/2009 at 6:41 AM Smittyctz6 wrote:

>HI Paul,
>I have to disagree here. I have been working extensively with remedial wood
>chips and find that with the right Microbial lifeforms  they break down
>rather quickly into a loam that you can not beat. I can send pictures of
>Maple wood chips  from my pile that were just deposited this last Spring
>and
>what they look like now. Yes there is still some wood  in it, but there is
>now more compost than wood. Maybe the problem isn't the wood chips but the
>lack of the right microbes in the pile to break it all down into compost?
>Mine is teeming with life both seen and unseen, smells like good rich loam
>and ready to screen and add to the raised beds.
>I also use fall leaves as soil building material. Both I get for free. One
>mans trash is another mans treasure!
>I had my first dump truck load drop shipped yesterday and ordered another.
>The leaf removal firm is only to glad to accommodate me. No Charge. I also
>have a free source of rabbit manure and can get all the horse manure I
>could
>ever want for the hailing free!!
>
>>
>> False choice. Wood chips don't belong in the soil anyway; unlike
>cellulose,
>> lignin takes too long to break down and robs nitrogen from growing
>plants.
>> Wood chips make great mulch, and mulch pays for itself in weed control,
>> yield, soil improvement, and irrigation costs. We have to take in the Big
>> Picture.
>>
>> We're always trying to improve our techniques and materials but the soil
>> basics remain the same. Sir Albert didn't have our UV greenhouse plastic
>in
>> his time, when he was developing the Indore method of composting in weeks
>> instead of months. But I'm glad to have it today. I still search the
>> secondhand stores for books I don't have yet from Rodale Press, tho I
>have
>> dozens of them already. No sense in reinventing the wheel.
>>
>> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>>
>
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