[Terrapreta] Greetings

[Juergen Botz]

Hello, all.  I just joined the list, glad to see it so lively!

To introduce myself... about a year ago I acquired a small farm 
in coastal Bahia, Brazil.

The land is 2/3 secondary growth Atlantic rain forest, the other
1/3 is partially planted with coconut palms and pineapple, plus
various fruits and plenty of manioca.  Unplanted areas that
aren't forest are heavily overgrown with dense brush.  The
subsoil is nutrient-poor loam, often highly compacted.  In most
spots there's a layer of anywhere from an inch to a foot that
has a significant amount of organic matter, and yes, quite a bit
of charcoal.

The charcoal doesn't seem to have been deliberately incorporated... 
rather, the area has been cleared by fire a couple of times in 
the past and because of the high humidity here that leaves a 
lot of charred matter.

I am experimenting with various natural farming and permaculture
techniques here, and my main goal right now is to get the soil 
in better shape.  That means breaking up the compacted subsoil,
adding organic matter, adding more charcoal to stabilize it and
reduce future compaction, planting various leguminous trees and
ground covers, and of course building up a layer of humus.

I have a source of humus and wood for charcoal in the forest.
I've also been making large quantities of compost from a mixture
of wood- chips, manure, and seaweeds raked up at the beach.  I'm
thinking of adding charcoal to this mix right from the start of
composting.

One of the things that led me to this list was that I was
scouring the Net for info on small-scale charcoal production.
I found a bunch, and I found this list.  I think I'll be trying
some pit-kiln variation shortly, and in the longer run I may
build something like the adam retort.

:j