[Terrapreta] Terra Preta & Pigs

[Douglas Clayton]

I spoke with Dr. Johannes Lehmann this morning and received the clear  
message from him that it was a mistake to go fooling around willy-nilly  
with charcoal at this time.  Not that it is dangerous but just that it  
is hard to learn anything definative. The science isn't there yet to  
know what we are doing.  This was a great disappointment to me but I  
understand where he is coming from.

Dr. Lehman indicated that the temperature at which the charcoal is  
produced is critical, the material being charred and the end use, the  
soil type and conditions and the crop being grown are variables about  
which we can not yet, say what is appropriate.  Not knowing the source  
material means something may work one time but not the next.  He  
indicated that it is definitely not a panacea and applying charcoal  
can, in some circumstances, do harm to soils and crops.

Never the less, I plan to experiment a little bit in the garden this  
summer myself!

How do we check the pH of the charcoal we purchase or produce?

Douglas Clayton
50 Bullard Road
Jaffrey, NH 03452
H. 603-532-7321
W. 603-532-1120
Fax. 603-532-4581

On Feb 22, 2007, at 10:27 PM, Jeff Davis wrote:

>  wrote:
>> Jeff, charcoal is used for human consumption for certain conditions
>> including indigestion and some poisonings.  I think that some of it  
>> in the
>>  soil would
>> be not so bad for the pigs.
>
> Maybe the pigs would be helpful to the Terra Preta. They rot, eat soil  
> and
> produce manure.
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> --  
> Jeff Davis
>
> Some where 20 miles south of Lake Erie, USA
>
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