[Terrapreta] Emailing: The Carbon Farmers - Features - The Lab -Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Gateway to Science.htm

[David Yarrow]

you're making a common mistake of focusing on one single factor alone.

terra preta is not made only with charoal.  charcoal is just a unique, 
unusual and very useful ingredient in the mix.  terra preta was created by a 
recipe that blended several ingredients together.

sure, you can say bread is just wheat flour, but bread requires a few other 
ingredients, and they have to be mixed and processed just right.  and you 
shouldn't substitute bread flour for pastry flour.

to me, the main and key ingredient that makes terra preta work is 
micro-organisms.  charcoal invites these living communities to establish 
permanent residence.  all by itself, charcoal won't create the 
extra-ordinary, regenerative fertility of terra preta.

making charcoal should never replace composting.  fostering such centers for 
concentrated bacterial digestion is also critical to creating terra preta. 
charcoal is sterile; compost is alive.  keep making compost to blend with 
your charcoal.  composting works well with organic wastes too wet to burn.

David Yarrow
"If yer not forest, yer against us."
Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
44 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY 12061
dyarrow at nycap.rr.com
www.championtrees.org
www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/
www.farmandfood.org
www.SeaAgri.com

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times,
if one only remembers to turn on the light."
-Albus Dumbledore
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <rukurt at westnet.com.au>
To: <Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 5:10 AM
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Emailing: The Carbon Farmers - Features - The 
Lab -Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Gateway to Science.htm


> Len Walde wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>     *The Carbon Farmers - Features - The Lab - Australian Broadcasting
>>     Corporation's Gateway to Science*
>>
>>     [This is the print version of story
>>     http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/soilcarbon/default.htm]
>>
> The problem with this, and other discussions of carbon in the soil are
> talking about soil organic matter and not pure carbon, as in charcoal.
> When we talk about Terrapreta we are talking about adding charcoal, ie
> solid largely pure carbon to the soil and NOT organic material. Farmers,
> and others are going to get confused about this.
>
> Kurt
>
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