[Terrapreta] pulverizing charcoal

[David Yarrow]

i'm not doing science here.  i'm just growing food in a kitchen garden on my 
patio.

one further detail:
when i start spraying char to prep it for soil use, i will heat some up, and 
then spray it to generate steam as in charcoal activation.  at the very 
least, i expect this steam treatment will fracture the char and allow the 
water, minerals and microbes to penetrate deeper into the char.

for a green & peaceful planet,
David Yarrow
44 Gilligan Rd, E Greenbush, NY 12061
www.championtrees.org
www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
www.farmandfood.org
www.SeaAgri.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kevin Chisholm" <kchisholm at ca.inter.net>
To: <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 9:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] pulverizing charcoal


> Dear David
>
> Thanks very much for your detailed description of how you are proceeding
> with your charcoal tests.
>
> Could you please tell us a bit more about how you are going to structure
> your tests, and measure the results, to come to a conclusion about the
> benefits of charcoal?
>
> Kevin
>
> David Yarrow wrote:
>> thursday last week, i spread my first batch of biochar on one of my 
>> garden
>> beds.  the char was produced by my friend dan kittredge in the process of
>> burning underbrush he is clearing from land on the concord, MA farm he
>> manages.  he brought me two medium size plastic sacks full -- perhaps 
>> 25-30
>> gallons.
>>
>> i decided to reduce the sticks and branches to dust and chunks, and i 
>> needed
>> it done quick.  my insights say large chunks of char are slowly, 
>> gradually
>> invaded and inhabited by water and microbes (weeks, maybe months), while
>> small half inch or less particles are quickly saturated with water and
>> overrun by fully diverse microbial communities.  so the smaller the 
>> particle
>> size, the faster the char will be fully performing its multi-function 
>> soil
>> magic.  and in my spring vegetable gardens, i want the char to get into
>> action almost immediately.
>>
>> my method was primitive and personsal.  i closed each sack and pounded it
>> with the broad side of a square-headed 3# hammer, then screened it 
>> through
>> half inch hardware cloth.  the larger pieces that wouldn't pass the 
>> screen
>> went back in the sack for more abuse with the hammer.  this was repeated
>> three more times until all that was left were a few chunks of hard 
>> uncharred
>> wood.
>>
>> i don't like smashing char, since the physical force crushes and 
>> collapses
>> some of the micropore structures.  such a brute physical process requires 
>> a
>> lot of energy -- i worked up a sweat swinging the heavy hammer and 
>> shaking
>> the screen.  but the whole operation only took 30-40 minutes.
>>
>> the char was spread on the middle half of my kitchen garden, covered with
>> compost, traprock dust, greensand, rock phosphate and sea minerals, then
>> various brassicas, lettuces, endive, and herb seedlings were transplanted
>> in.  my first biochar soil test.
>>
>> later this week, i will repeat this with a bag of comercial hardwood
>> barbeque charcoal.  i'll get another bag of commercial charcoal and try
>> soaking batches in various solutions, including fresh water, sea mineral
>> water, EM water, compost tea, and urine to compare how quickly the char
>> absorbs water and becomes easy to crush.
>>
>> for a green & peaceful planet,
>> David Yarrow
>> 44 Gilligan Rd, E Greenbush, NY 12061
>> www.championtrees.org
>> www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
>> www.farmandfood.org
>> www.SeaAgri.com
>>
>>
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>
>
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