Terra Preta Update

In the June 2009 farm newsletter we shared how we were making charcoal and experimenting with it to make Terra Preta soil in our garden. We applied about an inch and a half of charcoal and incorporated it in the top six inches of soil in a three foot wide strip across the rows of vegetables in half of our garden. Unfortunately, we did not see any improvement in growth, drought resistance, or brix improvement to the plants grown in the charcoal enriched soil in any of the years since then. I suspect that there is some other ingredient in Terra Preta soils that make them so productive.

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