More about Terra Preta?
Also known as Amazonian Dark Earths. After watching The secrets of El Dorado on http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/secret-el-dorado, I now have a new project. I want to begin to work on developing ADE on my allotment. It is not just down to charcoal though. There is a complex interaction between charcoal, nutrients, organic matter and mychorrihzal fungi. I have to thank Uriel 13 for putting me onto this. His suggestion is that it is not mychorrhizal fungi but yeast that is important in producing this kind of soil. He is suggesting sour dough yeast.
Whether it is mychorrhizal fungi or not, yeast is another avenue to follow. I don’t know where to get sour dough yeast from, however my local garden centre sells mychorrhizal fung.
As to producing my own charcoal, I think that I am going to experiment with various commercial charcoals first and I am going to mix them with blood fish and bone in a solution of undiluted comfrey liquid to start with. I am going to dry the resulting mixture to produce a powder because this will be easier to mix evenly though the top soil.
I have a particularly infertile area of soil on the allotment, (If you want to know why look on my allotment blog under benzo (a) pyrene). I am going to set up a proper comparison plot with several sections. Another problem is what proportions should be used to make the most efficient soil additive. I am going on the assumption that it is the adsorbsion of nutrient into the charcoal that is the inportant factor. Also the provision of micro habitats for bacteria and fungi may be important. The provision of very small crevices within the charcoal may prevent predation by other microorganisms. As yeasts can be very small, as other fungi, they may find a sanctuary within the charcoals labyrinth. The trial plots will be:
- One with charcoal on its own,one with blood fish and bone on its own,
- one with comfrey on its own,
- one with blood fish and bone and comfrey
- one with comfrey and charcoal
- and finally one with all.
- I would like to check out fungi as well, however that might make it complicated :-)).
I will grow peas on the different plots. They may confuse the issue because they have nitrogen fixing bacteria in their roots, however it will be the same for all plots and that is my rotation so get over it…
Trying to think of ways that the soil remake itself may not be too problematic. The increase in microorganisms within such a fertile soil may cause it, if they are produced in enough numbers. Any nutrient from decomposition seems to be adsorped by the charcoal and this also gives soil fungi a really good habitat. Together with an increase in the population of roots and leaf litter from above ground you are very likely to get an increase in volume of soil.
If the film’s suggestion is correct and the plots are set up like the ones reported then I should get enough information to convince myself of the value of this method of soil management. I doubt very much whether it is properly scientific, however it is good fun.
