Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

I understand greensand is also a good soil conditioner. I use it along with 
rock phosphate, screened, aged horse manure, and alfalfa meal. I know of two 
sources for greensand, in New Jersey and Texas. My greenhouse supply carries 
both. It's also a source of trace minerals.

http://www.dgs.udel.edu/geology/mineralogy/greensand.aspx
http://organicgardening.about.com/od/organicgardeningglossary/g/greensand.htm

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 11/23/2009 at 4:10 PM Zachary Domike wrote:

>This list covers desert temperate climates like the south of Portugal to
>temperate rainforests like mine here in New Zealand.
>
>Where wood rots fastest is in warm humid climes, but Dieter's comments are
>true, rotting wood is not always quick soil. Depends on local conditions.
>My experience is that charcoal is an excellent soil conditioner for clay
>soils.
>
>The wood that the goats would not eat and was too small for firewood is
>very slow to compost in the cold rainy winters and also slow to compost in
>the dry cold summers.  Whole twigs remain intact after two years while the
>surrounding organic matter was a sticky humus that had all been through a
>worm or two.  I did tie up bundles of these twigs for firing up the
>beehive oven and also the retort.
>
>A slower method for modest quantities of twigs is Harvey Ussery's chicken
>run.  But the highest use, at least for my heavy clay soil, would be an
>example of charcoal wood-in-the-ground named Terra Preta or Biochar.  Not
>to buy it, but make it, as I did in a 55-gal drum retort.
>
>The actual technique is very important, as it is easy to burn it all into
>ashes, releasing the carbon.  To convert wood into  charcoal requires heat
>and a sealed container, restricting oxygen that would combine with the
>carbon as CO2. I made a fire under the sealed steel drum full of
>agricultural waste.  It bursts into flame very briefly as the oxygen
>disappears, then scorches for a while as the impurities evaporate.  The
>retort function was difficult to make and ineffective, so I eliminated
>that tubing.
>
>Producing charcoal is not easy, but the value to the soil was notable.
>The charcoal made the structure much lighter, especially when compared to
>adding sand to the same soil.  The quality of the worms indicated that the
>soil was much better, too.
>
>Somebody will find a cheap way to save carbon from escaping from
>agricultural wastes that are currently burned in too many parts of the
>world, and thus save tons of carbon per season.  My next project is a wood
>pile buried under a layer of cardboard and clay, fired to make an oven,
>and charcoal for spreading on the planting beds . . . just need to fine
>tune the low-technology.
>
>Anybody else tried some version of that charcoal production?
>
>Zack
>
>
>
>
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