[Terrapreta] Numerical data

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for this report.  I am enthused to see that you have been able to show measurable improvements in some of the characteristics that make soil fertile, with just these experiments that you have performed this year.  May your work continue easily for you.  Please let us know more, when you find out, about this combination of charcoal and compost amendments to soil and their combined interaction in the soil in making it the outstanding performer in your plant growth experiments.

You did discuss in some earlier posts about fungus in the soil samples.  It is only one observation about the microorganism activity in the soil you used in that experiment, but I think it bears worth further consideration about what is occurring there.  Was the bloom in the fungus attributable to the charcoal?  Were the greater OM, CEC and Phophorus (or plant growth) seen in the samples containg fungus?  Is more fungus at all interrelated with the better performing soil samples?

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Richard Haard<mailto:richrd at nas.com> 
  To: Terrapreta<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 12:08 AM
  Subject: [Terrapreta] Numerical data


  This is addendum to my earlier report of

  Charcoal in agriculture: Experimental research at Fourth Corner  
  Nurseries
  Richard Haard, Fourth Corner Nurseries, Bellingham, Washington,  
  January 3, 2008

  posted recently at
  http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/haard4cncharcoalreportjan07<http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/haard4cncharcoalreportjan07>

  I have been looking at the data sets of the soil analysis we conducted  
  on the plots on June 25, 2007 and October 30, 2007. The first soil  
  samples were taken about a month after project setup and planting and  
  the last was at the end of the growing season. I sampled with a hand  
  held soil coring device, and took samples uniformly in each 17 foot  
  long test bed. They were dried and screened to remove lumps and pieces  
  of wood/charcoal etc.

  We sent the samples to the soil lab and had a standard soil test run  
  with for organic matter, major, minor and trace elements, Cation  
  exchange capacity (CEC) and associated base exchange percentages for  
  K, Mg and Ca.

  There were a few anomolies in the data set that should not be  
  surprising as there is no reason to expect a 500 long by 4 foot wide  
  section of a farm field be uniform in analysis. In addition, without  
  doubt there is sampling error. One of the control samples read  
  abnormally high the first reading and then fell into the same pattern  
  as the other control plot. This is the reason why control ranking is  
  skewed in the data set.  Otherwise the data is remarkably consistent  
  and I feel I have learned something about using compost and charcoal.

  I obtained a program to plot on an x,y and z axis any three items for  
  each treatment plot. I chose to look at Organic matter, CEC and  
  Phosphorus. It gave me a cute 3D image that ranked the data sets on  
  all three parameters at once.

  Item by item there were changes from June to October. In all of the  
  plots soil Phosphorus ranged from 5 to 8 (PPM) in the spring and from  
  7 to 12 in the fall. Organic matter also increased from 3.4 to 6.5  
  (% ) spring and 4.1 to 7.5 in fall. the CEC also changed  10.8 to 15.3  
  (MEQ/100g), spring and 9.3 to 13 in fall.

  The rankings shown by this  program indicate synergistic effect of  
  compost and charcoal. Charcoal1 tended to score higher as is expected  
  since it is a fine powder.

  (Cm= compost, F=Fertilizer,C1= John's Charcoal, C2=Larry's Charcoal,C=  
  Control)

  If we take all 4 readings (duplicate sets taken twice) as averages,  
  the 3 way comparison, (of OM, P and CEC) , sorted things out this way

  Cm+C1 > Cm+F+C1 > Cm+C2 > Cm+F+C2 > C > Cm+F > F+C1 > Cm > C1 > F > C2  
   > F+C2

  Relative rankings 1 to 24 were averaged showing this spread

  22, 22,16.5,15.5,13.5,12.5,12,11.25,10.5,8.5,7,6

  This indicates to me there is a synergism between the compost and  
  charcoal.

  I'm looking forward to more data next season from the same plots

  Best Wishes

  Rich Haard, Propagation Manager, Fourth Corner Nurseries, Bellingham,  
  Washington



    

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