[Terrapreta] Terra Preta and Ants

[Gerald Van Koeverden]

Kevin,

Very interesting ideas.  I will definitely be mixing char in with the  
sandy soil around my house this coming spring and study the reaction  
of the ant colonies.

I have an ant farm I made for my son many many moons ago...if I could  
find it in the attic,  and some ants under a foot of snow...

anybody up for a study group on studying the interaction of ants and  
charcoal in homemade ant farms?? we already have the thread going...

actually ants are a big problem in some greenhouses;  if char/ 
charcoal repelled them, as well as enhancing fertility, we'd have  
another angle to promote it.

Gerrit


On 16-Dec-07, at 11:01 AM, Kevin Chisholm wrote:

> Dear Gerald
>
> There might be another mechanism involved for "ant repellancy"...
>
> When attacked or under stress, ants emit a cloud of formic acid  
> vapor, as a "predator repellent." It may be that:
>
> 1: The charcoal absorbs the formic acid, and teh ants realize this.  
> They don't go into the charcoal because they know they will be  
> defenseless.
>
> OR
>
> 2: The charcoal absorbs the formic acid, and ant predators have  
> already eaten them.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Kevin
>
> Gerald Van Koeverden wrote:
>>
>> *
>>
>> Jim,
>>
>> There is such a thing as too much of a good thing...
>>
>> 1.  For example, Japanese studies on mychorizal development  
>> demonstrate that too much charcoal can inhibit plant growth:
>>
>> The application of charcoal is very effective for VAM development.  
>> But an excess of charcoal inhibits plant growth. This inhibition  
>> by an excessive application of charcoal might be concerned with an  
>> increment of soil pH value. Therefore, an appropriate amount of  
>> charcoal to be applied is less than 20 ton per hectare. Zeolite is  
>> one of the soil materilas. It absorbs chemicals which inhibit VAM  
>> growth, and cleans the soil as charcoal does. But the application  
>> of zeolite does not change soil pH value.
>>
>> *
>>
>> http://bio.kpu.ac.jp/pomlab/Vaminf.html
>>
>> *2. Perhaps some of this inhibitory effect comes from its  
>> properties as a mild pesticide?  Or is it just that an excess of  
>> anything is bad?*
>>
>> * see "Insecticidal Effects of Activated Charcoal and Clays"*
>>
>> http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v184/n4693/abs/1841165a0.html
>>
>> Geral
>>
>> On 15-Dec-07, at 9:40 AM, jimstoy at dtccom.net  
>> <mailto:jimstoy at dtccom.net> wrote:
>>
>>> I think we should hope that charcoal is Not a pesticide. There  
>>> are no good
>>> or bad insects. They all have a job to do. Just like bacteria or  
>>> viruses
>>> in our bodies, they do not cause the problems. They are only  
>>> responding to
>>> a biological terrain. You are either healthy or you are compost.  
>>> Same is
>>> true of plants.
>>>
>>> If, like DE, charcoal kills insects, it will not discriminate  
>>> between
>>> honey bees and squash bugs.
>>>
>>> Hopefully, biochar will help the farmer/gardener to grow well  
>>> nourished,
>>> healthy plants, where pesticides are not needed. Pesticides, like  
>>> drugs,
>>> after all, are only expedients, not cures.
>>>
>>> Jim
>>>
>>>> Though I've no luck in finding more references to charcoal as a
>>>> pesticide, I did find several references to using charcoal-dust
>>>> instead of fungicide to protect cut surfaces of vegetatively
>>>> propagated plants.  Here's one of them from a Hungarian website:
>>>>
>>>> "During the rooting of soft leafed species the leaves should be cut
>>>> back by 2/3 in order to fit the rootless rosette leaves  
>>>> economically
>>>> and reduce the size of their evaporating surface. Perlit or sieved
>>>> river-sand can be used for the rooting. Cut surfaces should be  
>>>> dipped
>>>> in charcoal-dust or fungicide and left to dry for at least 1-2  
>>>> days.
>>>> Rooting hormones can accelerate the process. Then we plant them  
>>>> into
>>>> pots in a half-shaded area and water the plants 2-3 times a week,
>>>> then just wait patiently. We may occasionally water the leaves by
>>>> some nutritive solution in order for faster results. The rooted
>>>> plants should be planted into their permanent habitat in spring in
>>>> order to leave them time for rooting."
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- 
>> ---
>>
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