[Terrapreta] biochar and no-till

[May Waddington]

Just another thought... we have established a policy at BD farm that we will
mulch, mulch and mulch. This is very different from local traditional
practice. Locals "clean" the sandy soil at least twice a year... maybe the
charcoal beneath the mulch will be protected from strong winds....

2008/7/1 May Waddington <may.waddington at gmail.com>:

> In the experiment we are designing at the Buriti Doce farm, we are
> definitedly counting on the rain to do the trick. The soil is rather sandy,
> the weather is extremelly hot and dry at this time of the year. We are
> planning to apply the char/mixed with organic materials just before the
> rains come in, later on this year.  According to Kevins suggestion, the
> finest we grind the char the better, uhn? Another reason for waiting on it:
> dry months are very windy! It would blow away!
>
> May
>
>
>
> 2008/7/1 Kevin Chisholm <kchisholm at ca.inter.net>:
>
>  Dear Etelvino
>>
>> Lou asks a very important question.
>>
>> If the char was spread on the surface, how could it get "migrated" to
>> depth without tilling?
>>
>> At the present, I can see only two possible mechanisms:
>> 1: Being ingested by earthworms, and being discharged at depth
>> 2: Powered charcoal being washed down earthworm holes or burrows.
>>
>> If earthworm ingestion was a mechanism, how finely ground would the
>> charcoal have to be, for the earthworms to ingest it?
>>
>> Do earthworms deposit any of their castings below the surface, or do they
>> bring them to the surface and deposit them there?
>>
>> Can you see any other mechanisms that could get a significant quantity of
>> char to depth, other than possibly earthworms, or the results of their
>> activity?
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Kevin
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>  *From:* Etelvino Henrique Novotny <etelvino.novotny at gmail.com>
>> *To:* lou gold <lou.gold at gmail.com>
>> *Cc:* Terra Preta <Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> ; greg nagle<gnagle2000 at yahoo.com>
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 01, 2008 12:06 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] biochar and no-till
>>
>> Dear Lou, I didn't make a revision on the subject or some experiment,
>> but I suggest the application of the fine grounded charcoal together
>> with some cultural practice, for example seedling or fertilizer. May
>> be the concomitant application of charcoal with fertilizer (no-till
>> system) could add the beneficial effect of decrease nutrient lost,
>> mainly N...
>>
>> All the best, Etelvino.
>>
>> 2008/6/29 lou gold <lou.gold at gmail.com>:
>> > Can someone direct me to to articles that explain how
>> > biochar is applied to the soils without tilling? I'm
>> > interested in the application process for both farm
>> > and forest contexts.
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > lou
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Etelvino Henrique Novotny
>> Embrapa Solos
>> Rua Jardim Botânico, 1024
>> CEP 22460-000
>> Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil
>> Tel: (+55) 21 2179-4599
>> Mobile: (+55) 21 8545-1170
>> Res: (+55) 21 3411-8802
>> Fax: (+55) 21 2274-5291
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Terrapreta mailing list
>> Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
>> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
>> http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
>> http://info.bioenergylists.org
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Terrapreta mailing list
>> Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
>> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
>> http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
>> http://info.bioenergylists.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Proteja o meu email como eu protejo o seu! Não facilite a captura de
> endereços para o envio de SPAMS. Utilize o Cco para replicar mensagens. Não
> divulgue mensagens sem limpar endereços anteriores e retire os "enc" e "fwd"
> dos campos de assunto. Assim evitamos riscos de contaminação! Grata.




-- 
Proteja o meu email como eu protejo o seu! Não facilite a captura de
endereços para o envio de SPAMS. Utilize o Cco para replicar mensagens. Não
divulgue mensagens sem limpar endereços anteriores e retire os "enc" e "fwd"
dos campos de assunto. Assim evitamos riscos de contaminação! Grata.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /attachments/20080701/d2bbf665/attachment.html