[Terrapreta] biochar and no-till

[MFH]

Lou,

 

I guess there are many variables here - what sort of soil to start with,
what climate, how much humus is present, time of the year, size of the char
pieces, rainfall patterns.. some of the "known unknowns".

 

My thoughts are that char on its own is not going to wring any instant
miracles. For small plots like vege gardens I'm happy with the results of
trials of piling animal manure + worm castings + old straw + rotting citrus
+ char on top of existing dirt without tilling, and planting directly into
this layer.  After crop one the first 3-4" of soil has become rich and
friable under this layer. I'll add some more of this stuff between crops and
anticipate that the underlying soil will improve further.

 

But char is not humus. Adding 3" of char on top of any soil isn't going to
provide any quick benefit unless there are also some of the above. Maybe 3"
of char on the surface will be beneficial after 20 years of weather
patterns, but I've only got 140 good years left.

 

Sincerely, M

 

 

  _____  

From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of lou gold
Sent: Monday, 30 June 2008 6:20 AM
To: Terra Preta
Cc: greg nagle; Etelvino Henrique Novotny
Subject: [Terrapreta] biochar and no-till

 

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

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