[Terrapreta] Terra Preta - not just about charcoal in soil

[Jon C. Frank]

Nicely put David,

When soaking and inoculating char you might also want to consider a
high-nitrogen liquid fish.  We use an ocean fish with an analysis of 5-1-1.
Since it is ocean derived it has a greater spectrum of minerals and still
supplies a stable, long-lasting nitrogen.  If this was mixed with molasses
then diluted and inoculated with bacteria and fungal species and then soaked
into the charcoal it would seem to be much better than just using the
charcoal.

I agree on the use of small amounts of cobalt and moly.

Jon
  -----Original Message-----
  From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org]On Behalf Of David Yarrow
  Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 8:36 PM
  To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Terra Preta - not just about charcoal in soil


  yes, a biological ecosystem will seek a carbon-nitrogen equilibrium.  both
C & N are used in biological architecture and energy exchange, most
fundamentally to create amino acids, and thence proteins, enzymes, DNA.

  dumping cooked, sterile char on any ecosystem will throw the C/N ratio way
over to C.  a microbial and molecular scramble results as nature moves the
intruded mass of C toward an equilibrium with N and the rest.

  in particular, most of the N that the char soaks up is digested,
assimilated and organized into microbial protoplasm of bacteria and fungi
that take up residence in the char micropores.  much of this is N in its
highest forms -- amino acids, proteins, enzymes, hormones, membranes, DNA --
living cellular biomass, not inert rotting organic matter.   the first year
or two after new char is added to soil, a lot of mineral N will disappear
into organic N built into biomolecules in living cellular protoplasm.

  even if we add N to the char -- either by making char from manure, or
blending N in after char is cooked --  a lag will still occur before N is
fully available.  the inertias and cycles of feeding, growth, replication,
distribution, and diversification mean it takes time -- a few months -- for
biology to digest and re-organize all the chemistry left (and added) after
the fire of pyrolysis dies.  not only to grow a critical biomass of
microbes, but to develop the complex independent diversified stable
community required for single cells to suvive.

  we can cut the time for this assimilation and redistribution to occur by
inoculating and incubating the char before it is broadcast into soil.

  one critical goal of this microbiology is to encourage N-fixing bacteria
to blossom in this burgeoning microbial community.  the more microbes there
are sequestering N out of air into soil, the faster protein synthesis can
occur.  it is clear certain trace elements -- especially cobalt &
molybdenum -- are often the limiting factor in the proliferation of N-fixing
bacteria and their specialized enzymes.

  i recommend sea minerals, seawater, seaweed, sea vegetables and sea salt
as ideal full spectrum mineral & trace element sources.  good for your
blood, good for your body, good for your soil.

  my two cents.

  David Yarrow
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/terrapreta_bioenergylists.org/attachments/20071003/9e1c4451/attachment.html