[Terrapreta] back on task

[Sean K. Barry]

Wow, Michael!

What an interesting post you have written.  It has been written that charcoal provides a "habitat" for microorganisms to grow (Danny Day at EPRIDA suggests it in a few papers).  Dr. A.D. Karve suggests that small amounts of sugar promotes the growth of soil microorganisms.  Both suggestions do make some sense.  Maybe this phenomenon is worth testing in some experimental way to support the development of "Terra Preta".  Through our discussion, it is becoming somewhat obvious that charcoal in soil alone is not what makes "Terra Preta".  Perhaps, it is a recognition that support of soil micro-flora is what makes "Terra Preta".  Please consider the possibilities of testing some of your insights in some way with the gardening work which you do.

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Michael Bailes<mailto:michaelangelica at gmail.com> 
  To: Michael N Trevor<mailto:mtrevor at ntamar.net> ; terrapreta<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 9:47 PM
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] sugar usage


  I would have thought sugar to be an expensive soil additive given its potential to make bio-fuels?
  Yes?
   No?

  My very first house/garden was on a large suburban block of grass that had been mowed for 20 years and the clippings taken to the tip. There was no organic matter in the soil. My first attempts at growing things were not good. Roses in particular fared badly. 
   I finally pulled up a rose and found it's roots coved in nodules which I found out to be root-knot nematodes.

   I asked the Department of Agriculture what to do about this and they told me I would have to sterilise/fumigate the soil with methy bromide. 
  I was enough of an organic gardener at this stage not to accept this advice.
  I finally found, in an old Rodale publication , a control method which was to:-
   1. mulch the soil heavily
   and
   2.apply lots of sugar. 
   This worked, controlling the nematodes, and my garden started to thrive.

  I found out later that I was (with the warm moisture of the mulch and the sugar) encouraging the growth of the root-knot nematode's predator - a yeast like organism (Photo in Brooklyn Botanic Garden's book on Biological Control). 

  I now live in an outer-suburban area of Sydney.
   A lot of virgin bush and old farms are being tuned into housing estates. The local council asks developers to collect seeds of native plants, before they clear the land, propagate these plants and replant with some of these plants when the estate is built. A well-meaning idea. 

  It worries me that we are not also collecting the existing soil zoology. We have probably named only about 10% of the soil micro-organisms that live in Australian soil.
   It seems to me that every climatic area, every country and every soil type has its own special "suite" of soil micro-flora/fauna. I feel we should be doing more to examine, preserve and understand these as well as preserving local plants. 

  Similarly, I am concerned that gardeners, by adding commercial "critter" mixes of bacteria and fungi,   will be destroying the aboriginal zoology.

  Apart from throwing a lot of (always scarce) soil research money at it, I see little hope of preserving what may be unique, and potentially valuable, soil micro-organisms. 
   If they were creatures living in rainforests everyone would be "up in arms".
   The truth is, there is probably more living organisms in sq. meter of soil than in any rain-forest

  Michael Bailes.
  "Human beings,
  who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others,
  are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
  Douglas Adams, "Last Chance to See"


  On 24/04/07, Michael N Trevor <mtrevor at ntamar.net<mailto:mtrevor at ntamar.net> > wrote: 
    The soils chemistry debates here may be getting a bit esoteric, can anyone 
    provide some simple
    advise?
    Does anyone know if sugar is actually harmful?





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