[Terrapreta] manure biochar N-P-K question

[Brian Hans]

Sugar is the energy currency of soil flora. This makes sense because autotrophs utilize the sun and ofc...its dark down there so its not like they can fix their own energy from the sun. I would also suspect what PurNrg is implying...that residual sugars increase soil flora but only as a temp. shot in the arm. This is only a short term shot and not a long term affect. 
   
  Brian Hans 

PurNrg at aol.com wrote:
  
In a message dated 9/11/07 5:07:24 PM, jon.frank at aglabs.com writes:


  The only thing he spread was charcoal that had syrup filtered through it.


This would lead me to wonder whether there was not a lot of residual sugar in the charcoal from said syrup, which would definitely be a different thing than JUST charcoal. As we've read earlier in this discussion, the sugar promotes a massive, temporary bloom all all sorts of soil critters. This bloom and it's associated activities could well be responsible for using up easily available soil nutrients, making them less available to plants in an immediate sense. Then, when the sugar has been consumed, there is the die off of many of the extra critters and their decomposition releases all those nutrients again in a form readily available to the plants.

Peter :-)>


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