[Terrapreta] Cost of charcoal amendment to soil.

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Michael,

Silica is fertilizer?  Isn't it insoluble?  Maybe silica (sand) is more useful for breaking up clay soils, to let more water in.

SKB


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Michael Bailes<mailto:michaelangelica at gmail.com> 
  To: Sean K. Barry<mailto:sean.barry at juno.com> 
  Cc: Robert Niederman<mailto:rniederman at cegworldwide.com> ; terrapreta<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 10:55 PM
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Cost of charcoal amendment to soil.







     Tom Miles also mentioned $260/ton.  That seems an average price.  As for rate of application ... 1.4% being something like 16 tons/acre springs to mind.  But, I have also seen 4 tons/acre.  I think it's a crap shoot until you know more about what else needs to go in with that amendment and how the soil/plant growth responds.


      The ancients layered this stuff down, year after year, a few millimeters up to maybe a centimeter a year.  They charred first the jungle trees, then the plant wastes that were left standing after cropping.  


  Good point
  BEST Energies are hopeing to produce car at around AUD$150 a tonne (US$100? Metric tonne) depending on what it is made from. 
  If they can do that with chicken litter car or rice hull char you are getting free fertiliser for you money (free silica with the rice char).

  There is an interesting 10 year experiment going on in Japan at the moment. They are putting only 100g  to a sq.metre of char (bamboo) onto Tea plants.
   Already, only 4- 5 years into the experiment, they are getting very significant increases in growth of the char treated plants. The research should be searchable on the web 




  -- 
  Michael Bailes.

  "I know the answer!
  The answer lies within the heart of all mankind!
  The answer is twelve?
  I think I'm in the wrong building."
           -- Charles M. Schulz 
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