Terra Preta In Temperate Climates

[Black]

I have not been on this site for 5 years and one of the first topics/ideas that I saw had to do with Terra Preta in temperate climates. For the last five years I have had a Terra Preta garden in Fort Collins, Colorado, and I wanted to see if Terra Preta does what it claims and could I do it and get results.

 

Here is what I have learned:

1. It makes an immediate impact in biological activity. I had a solid clay soil before I amended it with about 80 to 100 pounds of charcol/biochar in a garden plot 10 feet by 20 feet. Almost as soon as I put the biochar in I had worms! Using the worm population as the first indicator of biologic activity Terra Preta does make a difference!

 

2. Because of Colorado's akaline soil I used pine needle (acidic parent material) biochar along with pure charcol and have always had good luck with tomatoes, but for the first 3 years of strict organic practices I did not get a productive garden but more of a struggling one. Terra Preta does not replace orgainic material and I started adding more orgainic material each year.

 

3. During the third year my garden production went way down. Reason is that my clay soil overwhelmed the Terra Preta/orgainc matter in my soil. So I started to fertilize and got very good results but realized that I needed more and more orgainc material if this was going to work.

 

4. These last two years I have added more and more orgainic material but my soil still wants to turn back to clay anytime I don't pay attention to it but remember it was solid clay to start with.

 

5. Conclusion: Terra Preta will enhance a soil but does not replace the need for a balanced ecosystem based on good soil practices.

 

Questions:

1. Because of our temperate climate and reduced biological activity in the winter, how long does it take to make a good Terra Preta soil?

2. Is it possible to replicate the results obtained in the Tropics? Or does Terra Preta need year round biological activity to work?

3. What is the best blend of Charcol/Biochar to orgainc matter?

4. What "recipies" do we need for different types of soil? Clay vs. sand or alkaline vs. acidic?

5. How many years to obtain a self sufficient system? Is it even possible in a temperate climate?

6. Is Terra Preta cost effective in temperate climates?

 

 

My own personl conclusion is the charchol/bio char helps but that alone does not make "Terra Preta" soil. I also feel that until we get widespread studies of how to make Terra Preta in temparate climates and various types of soil we may be trying to apply a "tropic" solution to a "temperate" problem.

 

Thanks to all,

R. Black

[Essay]

....Almost as soon as I put the biochar in I had worms!

...Colorado's akaline soil....

 

Terra Preta does not replace orgainic material and I started adding more orgainic material each year.

....realized that I needed more and more orgainc material if this was going to work.

 

4. These last two years I have added more and more orgainic material but my soil still wants to turn back to clay anytime I don't pay attention to it but remember it was solid clay to start with.

 

5. Conclusion: Terra Preta will enhance a soil but does not replace the need for a balanced ecosystem based on good soil practices.

 

Questions:

1. Because of our temperate climate and reduced biological activity in the winter, how long does it take to make a good Terra Preta soil?

2. Is it possible to replicate the results obtained in the Tropics? Or does Terra Preta need year round biological activity to work?

3. What is the best blend of Charcol/Biochar to orgainc matter?

4. What "recipies" do we need for different types of soil? Clay vs. sand or alkaline vs. acidic?

5. How many years to obtain a self sufficient system? Is it even possible in a temperate climate?

6. Is Terra Preta cost effective in temperate climates?

 

 

My own personl conclusion is the charchol/bio char helps but that alone does not make "Terra Preta" soil. I also feel that until we get widespread studies of how to make Terra Preta in temparate climates and various types of soil we may be trying to apply a "tropic" solution to a "temperate" problem.

 

Thanks to all,

R. Black

...as for question #6, there are many co-benefits to account for also.

 

Thanks for posting and sharing your experiences. And thanks for your work; you've done your part to save the future, and so earned your place in heaven! :)

 

To your points--yes, charcoal added to any soil will attract worms. I think they like grazing on the microbes that colonize the biochar. They also eat the char and help distribute it through the soil profile. And in clay soils especially, charcoal helps to keep the soil aerated better and resist compaction, which allows roots as well as worms to explore the soil more easily and extensively.

 

Your choices for how to amend the alkaline soil makes sense. There are different perspectives on how to define biochar and Terra Preta. From the idea that Terra Preta is an actively growing, self-sustaining, and self-fertilizing soil that also contains clay sherds, to the more general idea that any soil blackened by carbon richness is "black earth" or Terra Preta, a wide spectrum of definitions exist.

 

So if you're trying to make a sustainable self-fertilizing (Amazonian TP) soil, that would explain your experiences and comments. Soil does grow, and it'll grow faster with extra carbon (biochar) in the soil, but soil normally grows slowly enough that cultivation will exhaust it --even with extra char-- unless organic matter is replenished through some external input.

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The story of Terra Preta tells of a special and unique soil, with many beneficial properties that seem to derive from its complex composition.

 

The lesson of Terra Preta tells us that any soil may derive similar benefits by incorporating aspects of Terra Preta's complex composition.

 

In the Amazon, there is a rain of organic matter always filtering through the soil--almost too rapidly for most roots to catch--but adding black carbon (char) slows the leaching and oxidation of organic matter, so that it can build up and thus make the soil grow faster and also make it more productive.

 

In temperate climates, clay soils will benefit from added charcoal because of the physical effects (better aggregation, aeration, water balance), chemical effects (better nutrient retention/exchange, oxygen/water penetration and exchange, buffering capacity), and biological effects (increased biodiversity improves soil resilience, plant nutrition, and disease resistance).

 

But--since this isn't the Amazon Rain Forest--you will need to add extra organic matter (a daily compost tea might simulate the Amazon), which the (charcoal enhanced) microbial biodiversity will cycle into plant-available nutrients, and which will better penetrate and further improve the (charcoal enhanced) soil structure, and which will be more easily retained, buffered and utilized by the (charcoal enhanced) soil chemistry.

 

You've discovered that: Charcoal "will enhance a soil but does not replace the need for a balanced ecosystem based on good soil practices." And this is a valid conclusion. Terra Preta is already a complete soil, so you can't "enhance a soil" with it.

"A soil" is a product of its environment, so we can't expect to exactly recreate Amazonian TP soils in a different climate; but we can expect to derive benefits from the lessons that carbon-rich, dark (TP) soils anywhere can teach us.

 

You're doing as well as can be expected, it seems to me. Keep up the good work. Maybe in a decade or so, your Colorado "Terra Rossa" soil will become Terra Mulatto, and then finally a unique Colorado Terra Preta.

 

Bravo!

 

~

Edited October 18, 2012 by Essay

[Knothead]

I have not been on this site for 5 years and one of the first topics/ideas that I saw had to do with Terra Preta in temperate climates. For the last five years I have had a Terra Preta garden in Fort Collins, Colorado, and I wanted to see if Terra Preta does what it claims and could I do it and get results.

 

Here is what I have learned:

1. It makes an immediate impact in biological activity. I had a solid clay soil before I amended it with about 80 to 100 pounds of charcol/biochar in a garden plot 10 feet by 20 feet. Almost as soon as I put the biochar in I had worms! Using the worm population as the first indicator of biologic activity Terra Preta does make a difference!

 

2. Because of Colorado's akaline soil I used pine needle (acidic parent material) biochar along with pure charcol and have always had good luck with tomatoes, but for the first 3 years of strict organic practices I did not get a productive garden but more of a struggling one. Terra Preta does not replace orgainic material and I started adding more orgainic material each year.

 

3. During the third year my garden production went way down. Reason is that my clay soil overwhelmed the Terra Preta/orgainc matter in my soil. So I started to fertilize and got very good results but realized that I needed more and more orgainc material if this was going to work.

 

4. These last two years I have added more and more orgainic material but my soil still wants to turn back to clay anytime I don't pay attention to it but remember it was solid clay to start with.

 

5. Conclusion: Terra Preta will enhance a soil but does not replace the need for a balanced ecosystem based on good soil practices.

 

Questions:

1. Because of our temperate climate and reduced biological activity in the winter, how long does it take to make a good Terra Preta soil?

2. Is it possible to replicate the results obtained in the Tropics? Or does Terra Preta need year round biological activity to work?

3. What is the best blend of Charcol/Biochar to orgainc matter?

4. What "recipies" do we need for different types of soil? Clay vs. sand or alkaline vs. acidic?

5. How many years to obtain a self sufficient system? Is it even possible in a temperate climate?

6. Is Terra Preta cost effective in temperate climates?

 

 

My own personl conclusion is the charchol/bio char helps but that alone does not make "Terra Preta" soil. I also feel that until we get widespread studies of how to make Terra Preta in temparate climates and various types of soil we may be trying to apply a "tropic" solution to a "temperate" problem.

 

Thanks to all,

R. Black

 

Ditto on the bravo. I'm trying to do something similar here in Florida. My soil is mainly sand and shells.

May I ask how you went about inoculating your bio char? I've been mixing it with sawdust and using it for cover material for a composting toilet. I also add it to the worm bins. I've also just added it directly to the compost pile. So far I've not mixed it directly in the soil except where I burn leaves and ground litter in place.

[Turtle]

I have not been on this site for 5 years and one of the first topics/ideas that I saw had to do with Terra Preta in temperate climates. For the last five years I have had a Terra Preta garden in Fort Collins, Colorado, and I wanted to see if Terra Preta does what it claims and could I do it and get results.

...

4. These last two years I have added more and more orgainic material but my soil still wants to turn back to clay anytime I don't pay attention to it but remember it was solid clay to start with.

 

 

Thanks to all,

R. Black

 

 

try adding some sand?

 

ammending clay soil with sand

Significance

There are many types of sand, but they're not created equal for soil amendment purposes. You need an especially coarse or sharp sand to amend the soil for better drainage. The wrong sand has too-fine particles that will stick with your clay to form a mush, that dries concrete-hard, making things worse, not better.

 

Types

Look for coarse sand, which is sometimes called builder's sand. Do not grab sand from nearby beaches, rivers or playgrounds. Head to your local garden center or home improvement store to get the right sand.

 

Proportions

You may need to as as much as 50 percent sand to your clay soil to loosen the drainage. Bachman's recommends buying sand in bulk rather than in bags. Your local landscape center should sell bulk sand, as will a sand and gravel supplier.