Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

I’d be following decades of highly successful methods reported by Rodale 
Press and Organic Gardening magazine, instead. I hope you do understand that 
tilling in charcoal won’t even begin to create Terra Preta as found in the 
Amazon. But it’s your call.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 2/16/2011 at 10:15 PM richard green wrote:

>I am expanding the size of my garden in my back yard. The work
>crew(two-piglets) were installed inside four moveable hog panels Sunday
>noon (easier to be forgiven by code enforcers,than to get permission.).
>And promptly escaped by means of breaking the zip ties holding the corners
>togather. Now held togather by bailing wire, Houdini and Houdini 2 have
>spent four nights and days tearing up the grass preparing the soil and
>gaining weight. I expect within ten days I will move them off the plot and
>divide it into three raised beds of equal size. In Bed 1 I will
>incorporate 40lbs of crushed charcoal I currently have soaking in a liquid
>solution(Magic Juice)of chicken manure and plant juices. Additionally
>compost and COF will be applied to bed 1. Bed 2 will have an equal amount
>of compost only. Bed 3 will have an equal amounts of COF and Compost only.
>I will plant each bed the same with equal number and type of plants. If I
>determine the need for liquid fertilization(magic juice )is needed it will
>be applied equally to all beds. All harvested vegetation will be weighed
>and recorded per bed. This test should determine if biochar increases
>yields. The photos record the future garden plot, the green mound is an
>old pile of grass covered with soil(bed 2 future location) that grew
>pumpkins last fall and currently planted in dakon radish the pigs ate. The
>compost used will be a pile I've made and is ready to use. COF is made
>following Steve Solomon's instructions. Any comments or suggestions, be
>nice....
>Rick
>
>