[Terrapreta] Charcoal, Earthworms and Switchgrass

Sun Apr 15 01:56:49 CDT 2007

Jeff-------The other question is regarding soil compaction due to  
machinery use. Do you have anything with tracks? It's a lbs/sq inch  
question on damp or wet ground?-------Larry

On Apr 14, 2007, at 6:42 PM, John G. Flottvik wrote:

> Jeff.
>
> Tree planters here in BC ( and US) Have a pointed spade type tool  
> they use
> for replanting logged areas.
> That would probably work well leaving a single hole to put one  
> seedling
> (characoal) into.
>
> Regards
> John
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeff Davis" <jeff0124 at velocity.net>
> To: <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 6:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Charcoal, Earthworms and Switchgrass
>
>
>> Hi Larry,
>>
>>
>> Well, for this field you have to wait until it dries up a bit.  
>> It's flat
>> and well drained soil but behind a flood control dam so it is not  
>> uncommon
>> to have 8 ft. of water on it by spring.
>>
>> How about a post hole digger/drill. Drill some holes every spring  
>> or fall,
>> fill 3/4 with charcoal and top off with the dug soil. It would be  
>> like a
>> 8" wide worm. We could call this "Mega-Worming.
>>
>>
>> Jest an idea,
>>
>>
>> Jeff
>>
>>
>>
>>> Jeff-------I have a tendency to use unconventional techniques if I
>>> think that they will work. In your situation I am working off of the
>>> barest details of what you are looking at. There are far more ways
>>> for a task not to work than there are for accomplishing the task.
>>>
>>> Your suggestion to press the "charcoal into the soil" may cause more
>>> soil damage with tire compaction that minimum mixing is worth. The
>>> word "might" seems significant in this case.
>>>
>>> I am back to the disc, except instead of using the disc when the
>>> ground is thawed, can the disc be used when the ground is in some
>>> stage of freezing or thawing? It sounds like the cutting of the  
>>> above
>>> ground switchgrass with a disc with minimal slicing action in the
>>> soil is a way to do some mixing of soil, charcoal and grass stems.
>>> Working on frozen ground will do little compaction to the soil or
>>> damage to the plants. Consider doing a small test area with repeated
>>> passes, in two direction, using a disc. This should show you if a
>>> disc will accomplish anything.
>>>
>>> My response is to a technical problem for jump-starting a biological
>>> process and not related to an energy audit for bio-gas.
>>>
>>> In the early nineties I used a skid steer to place woody debris in a
>>> wetland on my property. The wetland was about 1 acre. This land had
>>> been used to pasture horses. The problem was that the previous owner
>>> had allow the animals on this wetter portion of his land during the
>>> wet season (Whatcom County, up against the Canadian border and in  
>>> the
>>> Puget Sound basin).
>>>
>>> This resulted in soil compaction on the young alder trees. The  
>>> stress
>>> occurred twice a year, from what I could see, during the rainy  
>>> season
>>> and during our summer droughts which can form 30 to 90 days. Given
>>> the glacial clays in this area, that meant that the soil saturated
>>> for the winter months and went bone dry in the late summer. Many
>>> alder trees, fifteen years old at that time, had died and the
>>> remaining trees looked stressed when leafed out.
>>>
>>> Hooves, wet clay and tree roots do mix and don't work well together.
>>> I haven't seen any soil type except dune sand that won't puddle  
>>> under
>>> the influence of hooves or tires.
>>>
>>> In 1990 there was an opportunity to receive the tree prunings of
>>> trees being cleared from the local power lines. I probably received
>>> around 5-600 yards, for free, of knife-cut material plus hardwood
>>> rounds over three year period. Also I was getting Douglas fir  
>>> planner
>>> shaving from a saw mill that bought dimension old growth timber
>>> (Douglas fir) from dismantled mills and warehouses in the Puget  
>>> Sound
>>> basis, close to 150 yards. I used a mid-size excavator to create
>>> several vernal pools for seasonal ponds. Between the tree pruning
>>> company, lumber mill and the free stumps (replanted---ah, re-
>>> positioned) I was able to jump-start the biological process in this
>>> degraded pastureland.
>>>
>>> I have since moved and this project has been doing it's thing on  
>>> it's
>>> own. The 5-600 yards of wood chips, partly hauled away, has
>>> disappeared (via oxidation). The 150 yards of Old Growth shavings
>>> (400 to 1, C/N ratio) is faded on the edges. Basically the shaving
>>> pile is intact as I left it with some being hauled away. I have
>>> aerial pictures taken in Jan 06' with the reflected light off the
>>> constructed vernal pools (which were created with discrete placement
>>> of the those spoils) match the puddling on adjacent properties while
>>> the house-looking-back shows the smaller trees currently on this
>>> property as compared to the adjacent properties. Currently trees are
>>> replacing the perennial shrubs. Now, I would be managing for  
>>> perennials.
>>>
>>> I have additional prints that show the minimal, detrimental or no
>>> impacts of woody debris placement. Small machinery was used in the
>>> driest, wettest and coldness (frozen ground) weather. A dry wheel
>>> barrow path through a vernal pool is evident in one picture. In this
>>> project the vernal pools reduced the plant stress going into the
>>> summer drought and, now, the alder roots are doing nicely. Ya, I  
>>> played.
>>>
>>> I won't tell anyone that it could easily be returned to a degraded
>>> pastureland. Put animals on it during the wet season, i.e.  
>>> compacting
>>> the soil. I can send you some pictures if it helps.
>>>
>>> I hope that this gives you some help-------Larry
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Jeff Davis
>>
>> Some where 20 miles south of Lake Erie, USA
>>
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