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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 21, 2009 7:32:44 GMT -5
Really Grunt? hmmm... OK. Is there a particular layer that you would find them in? That sure makes me a lot more hopeful for my soil. We have the latest "Dead Soil" plant indicator coming up right now, sand spur. Nasty stuff =o( Not as bad as what we had in Florida, but pretty bad none the less. Last year's research says that it won't grow in good, nutrient rich soil...
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Post by grunt on Apr 22, 2009 1:20:14 GMT -5
Jo: If there are any worms at all around (and you said you had seen one), they'll find the pit on their own. Alan posted something earlier on the compost and vermiculture thread about the depths you find them at. I was only going on what I have seen here, on my soil. If they seem scarce at the surface, I can usually locate them about 13" to 15" down, sometimes deeper. And they like moist soil.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 22, 2009 7:26:14 GMT -5
Yea, the one worm I saw was about 300' from the TP pit and in the top soil layer. We are really just learning about our soil layers. Mostly thanks to our sons developing interest in digging holes! ::laughing:: A VERY two edged skill! They had to back fill their first project which was about 10' away from the house and move it to the forest margin. From the pit they were digging as well as from digging the TP pit, the top 2 layers are very clearly visible. The top layers is a sort of sandy loam which will keep some water but seldom more than a day or two and the second layer is a pale, crumbly clay. I can't really say more than that at the moment, however, I am encouraging the boys excavation projects because it is very revealing and enhances our knowledge of the soil not to mention enhancing their hold digging skills which will be put to work this afternoon when they will be digging the holes for the 4 new trees we are planting to celebrate Earth Day!
I really appreciate the encouraging words about the worms!
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Post by mnjrutherford on May 1, 2009 9:26:14 GMT -5
That is heartening Grunt! Sometimes I get discouraged and it great to have someone bolster my spirits when that happens. Thanks! =o)
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jun 27, 2009 8:58:10 GMT -5
We are having a problem keeping the pit fired. We feed it daily with food scraps and dog poo. Garden trimmings go in close to daily but more likely every other day. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Perhaps the "mass" should be stirred or "lifted" somehow?
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Post by davidintx on Aug 2, 2009 18:13:11 GMT -5
I am a little confused about the high vs. low temperature talk about charcoal production. Several of the links with attendant pictures show a gasification process which involves in my mind high temperatures to burn off the gases and produce the charcoal. Now, maybe the really high temperatures are involved only in the burning of the gases and not in the actual wood being burned. I'm not real clear on that. Others talk about doing a regular fire or pit burning but limiting the temperature of the fire by putting sand, soil, organic matter of some sort on the fire to keep it under control. Or even misting the fire to keep it under control. This therefore creating more of a smoldering type of fire which you put out before it completely reduces the wood or other biomass to ashes. Are these merely two different methods of accomplishing the same end result or is one method definitely "better" than the other as far as producing "good" charcoal? Do both methods produce charcoal but of different quality? I have a wood-burning stove which I could use to slow-burn wood, but you would not get the high-temperature burn-off of the gases, but is that just as good or better possibly than the other method, but just takes longer to produce charcoal? I've enjoyed the discussion, but this is not real clear in my mind.
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Post by grunt on Aug 3, 2009 0:40:28 GMT -5
Dave: The sort of backyard charcoal production that produce the gasification you talk about are considered to be low temperature. High temperature burning would also destroy the residues that are considered to be essential to create charcoal that can be activated. There is a difference of something like 400 degrees C between low and high temperature burning, if memory is not misleading me.
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Post by silverseeds on Aug 3, 2009 2:08:33 GMT -5
I intend to try this with one bed and see how it goes. I had a fire last night, and kept pulling the coals out of the bottom, and piling them up.
I got a decent pile of black coals in the end. I intend to rinse off the ashes so I dont overload on potassium. You need to "charge" the charcoal, with a fertilizer, otherwise it wont do its full scope until nutrients build up in it. For the charging I intend to use a organic fertilizer from the store, and some compost tea.
anyone see anything wrong with my intended methods? I didnt get a chance to read the thread, about it yet in this forum, but I will.
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Post by davidintx on Aug 3, 2009 10:18:21 GMT -5
Thanks Grunt for the clarification. So, in all practicality, the backyard gardener cannot produce high temps in the charcoal production without sophisticated equipment, furnace, etc. So, no worry there. Trying to evaluate this statement, "Wood charcoal, but not that from grasses or high cellulose made at low temperature, thus has an internal layer of biological oil condensates that the bacteria consume, and that is similiar to cellulose in its effects on microbial growth" from your March 11 post where you had copied a statement from Wikipedia. What does "high cellulose" have reference to? You had highlighted that statement in reference to explaining that this would rule out corn stalks as good material for charcoaling, because of the lack of aromatics. Is corn in the grass family? What else would be representative of "high cellulose" that would not be adequate for charcoaling at low temps?
Hey Silverseeds. What kind of fire did you do? Just a typical campfire type of fire or did you use one of the containers talked about to hold the wood so as to burn it indirectly?
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Post by bunkie on Aug 3, 2009 10:48:12 GMT -5
...... You need to "charge" the charcoal, with a fertilizer, otherwise it wont do its full scope until nutrients build up in it. For the charging I intend to use a organic fertilizer from the store, and some compost tea. .............. i remember alan and someone else talking about 'charging' the charcoal with urine... |
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Post by silverseeds on Aug 3, 2009 11:17:05 GMT -5
yes I read that too, wasnt sure the best route so I was going to use all three actually, I just didnt want to write urine, or pee. lol
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Post by bunkie on Aug 3, 2009 11:21:02 GMT -5
;D
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 3, 2009 11:27:05 GMT -5
Holy cow Zac! You have got to get over that! ::laughing:: You'll have to read the "F Word" thread a few times. THEN you won't have any problems writing any word at all! Ain't that so Bunkie?!?!? ;o)
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Post by grunt on Aug 4, 2009 1:59:59 GMT -5
David: Corn is just a very large member of the grass family. If I remember correctly, so is bamboo.
I think the they rule out anything that would not be considered wood, as not having the aromatics. Since they have been unable, so far, to duplicate terra preta, I think it is a moot point, so long as you can activate the charcoal (charge it with nutrients) by what ever method, be it upping your beer intake before you walk past the charcoal pit, or saturating it with compost or manure tea. For our purposes, it simply becomes a storage medium for nutrients, and therefore, bacterial life forms. Adding one or more of the Mycorrhizal concoctions would also be a plus. You might have to up the charging some to make up for the lack of aromatics, but I think the end result would be the same for us.
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Post by silverseeds on Aug 4, 2009 2:21:45 GMT -5
david, Im not sure, was this in the thread on terra preta here? If so I still didnt get around to it. I dont knw what container you man. do I need to use a certain way to make the charcoal? I have just been making fires, and putting weeds on it, to keep it half smothered, I pull out the coals on the bottom and let them cool in a pile. I also dripped some water onto the fire a few times. I let it get hot, and heavy flames, then cool it down, let it smother awhile while I pull out the coals.
from what I did read so far, you want them up to a inch. Its going to take me awhile to ge enough for all my beds, if this first bed I try, does as good as it seems it could. alof of the big issues with my soil here, are directly rectified, by terra preta. Im going to research it heavily once I get some more time.
Ive hear dpeople say it can give excess potassium, this is only an issue if I used the ashes as well right? I intend to use only the coals....
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