[Terrapreta] TP origins

[Janice Stettler]

To all:

Please consider my humble theory for the discovery of the TP process   My half-acre garden is sited on a hilltop that once sported a dense stand of Douglas fir (which I used to build my house).  When the stumps were removed, it left five inches of poor topsoil over a clay hardpan base, which is typical for glacial scouring.  Twenty years later, my top soil layer is about a foot deep (deeper in spots) and everyone who sees my soil is surprised at how rich and dark it is.  Until recently I've taken credit for the transformation--green manure crops, compost, etc..  However sitting atop that hardpan is a scattering of charcoal nuggets that I failed until recently to see the significance of.  Approximately ninety  to a hundred years ago, based on the fire scar on some of my older trees, there was a brush fire that swept across my land.  Slash burns in forested land frequently produce underground fires that smolder for days, feeding on ancient intact root systems without above ground stumps to suggest their existence--a natural charcoal kiln.  Therefore though I'd like to take credit for the growth of my top soil, I am inclined to think now that I've been witnessing a diluted version of Terrapreta soil growth due to the natural event of sub-surface charcoal production that had simply been dormant under forest shade.  It's easy for me to imagine the possibility that the "ancients" were capable of observing over time, what I was blind to until recently.  Certainly in a climate that permits year round cultivation because of temperature and moisture availability, I would expect that TP process to be accelerated beyond what I might observe in Washington's coastal temperate climate.


Tony Stettler
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