[Terrapreta] Char sizes

[Larry Williams]

Max-------Richard Haard tried the cement mixer on some charcoal that  
we made and found it to hard to break up. For that batch of charcoal  
the "landscaper two-step" (stomp-stomp) was used on a concrete floor  
to greater effect. Since then we have observed that charcoal that has  
been "wetted" allows the charcoal, on most pieces, to break apart  
fairly easy with one's fingers. No, we will not used our fingers to  
do the next cord-plus batch of charcoal. I need to try wetting more  
charcoal in different ways to get a sense of what I like best. The  
wetting process, I believe, is an important part of the results that  
I had.

Over a period of eight months I plucked pieces of charcoal from the  
Weber grill and threw the pieces in a pile on the ground (well rotted  
wood chips) on a weekly basis. This occurred over three maritime  
seasons, two of which were wet. With a minimum of human urine (three  
or four times) used as fertilizer, the charcoal and charred wood laid  
on the ground. I was impressed with the rich human scent when the  
small pile was pick-up and transfered to the garden bed. I had no  
idea the strength of urine... the rain did not wash the urine away.  
The scent indicated to me that the charcoal had absorbed some urine  
and it is possible that it help to wet the charcoal.

During the early spring Richard and I dug around in this garden bed  
and found charcoal that was still dry. Rain water and soil had not  
saturated the piece of charcoal. This piece of charcoal may have not  
laid on the ground but came from the Weber. Again, this points to  
something else that assisted in the wetting process... urine?  
Bellingham gets around 35" (90 cm) per year.

Yes, I will get more serious about recording data. Numbers are  
other's strong point. This is a fun exercise to work on and who knows  
we may help to lower the percentage of atmospheric CO2. I will sleep  
on that thought... be well-------Larry



-----------------------------
On May 6, 2008, at 1:19 AM, MFH wrote:

> Larry – many thanks for all the excellent photos. Some of your  
> results like the swiss chard are stunning.
>
> Looks like a small concrete mixer in the background of one of the  
> photos. If a couple of river stones weighing a few pounds/kilos  
> were added to e load of char, this should pulverise it nicely in a  
> few minutes.
>
> Do you have any data that compares biomass weight of plants from a  
> char plot vs from an un-charred plot?
>
> Max H
>
>
> From: Larry Williams [mailto:lwilliams at nas.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, 6 May 2008 5:50 PM
> To: MFH
> Cc: Terra Preta
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Char sizes
>
> Max and list members-------With the learned folks on this list, I  
> really need a comment or two on whether this set of pictures  
> represent an effective component to the Terra Preta nova concept  
> that is being explored in the temperate Pacific Northwest.
>
> Do note that the soil was/ is very high in organics and has been so  
> for around 12 years. I have no way of knowing if Dr. Wardle tests  
> apply to this situation or not. I do know that the Swiss Chard  
> above these chunks of charcoal was 42" high. The largest that I  
> have ever seen in this garden or anywhere else. This is low fired  
> charcoal made in the presence of wood smoke and sizzling meat. Some  
> on this list may remember the Weber charcoal claim.
>
> The garden soil was as rich as I could provide. And yes, I blew the  
> second year's result, I believe, with to much lime when I have  
> never used lime before. Do look at the link provided. Your  
> gardener-------Larry
>
>
> -------------------------
> On May 5, 2008, at 6:37 PM, MFH wrote:
>
>
> I suspect that this has a bearing on the effectiveness of the added  
> char, e.g. the available surface area for a 1mm char particle is  
> likely to be relatively much greater than for a piece of char the  
> size of a golf ball.
>

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