[Stoves] [biochar] Re: Report on APBC - first two days

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Christa



That is what I heard at the time. Is there not a different application that
continues? I am thinking of something reported on

http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/permaculture/mailarchives/permaculture-li
nks/msg00175.html

where it says

“For Forests:

The results of long term experiments released in 1986 showed that in a
forest where pine seedlings were remineralized, after 24 years the wood
volume was four (4) times higher than in the untreated area.”

This is quite a different approach to the SO2 (SO3, actually) killing trees
issue (which was well covered at the same time).



“For Agriculture:

The best source of soil minerals is simple crushed gravel dust. In 1976 John
Hamaker spread gravel crusher screenings on part of his ten acres in
Michigan. The following year, in an area of sparse rainfall and dry summers,
and with no irrigation, his corn produced 65 bushels per acre, compared to
yields of under 25 from other local farms.

Moreover, when independent analyses were done, Hamaker's corn was found to
contain 28% more protein, 47% more calcium, 57% more phosphorous, 60% more
magnesium and 90% more potassium than the same type of corn grown with
chemical fertilizers nearby.

Twenty years ago the USDA published studies which showed that cement kiln
dust (a less-satisfactory source of minerals) also produced better crops,
but they couldn't understand "what element" in the dust was responsible and
dropped the matter.

Don Weaver grew 18-foot pole beans on remineralized soil (Jack and the
Beanstalk?) and got two to four times the normal organically grown yield.
Alan LePage of Vermont grew a crop of carrots averaging 1-1/2 feet long. And
there was no insect damage to any of these crops. Hamaker estimates that on
fully remineralized soil, American agriculture could grow four times as much
food as it is capable of now -- or the same amount of food at about
one-fourth the cost -- and with no pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

So this is more like what Dr AD was talking about: making minerals
available. Is it not true that if SO3 were acidifying the soils, it would
make more minerals available through accelerated decomposition? Buffering
with lime would tend to reduce the acidity and limit the availability of
minerals, correct? I think it just killed the trees directly.



It is interesting that the permaculture site also points out that the
minerals are not there to be available to plants directly, but to
micro-organisms:



“Remineralization causes a phenomenal growth of the microorganisms in the
soil. It increases the nutrient intake of plants. It counters the effects of
soil acidity, prevents soil erosion (just for that reason it would be worth
applying rock dust), increases the storage capacity of the soil, contributes
to the building of precious humus complexes, has anti-fungal properties, and
when you spray it on plants it repels insects as well. The plants and trees
become highly resistant to insects, disease, frosts, and drought.
Remineralization also enhances and speeds up the process of composting, so
if you're composting for your garden, consider putting on some rock dust. It
can be even more effective than just directly applying it to the land.”



As very little of the forest in Europe was ‘dusted’ and it all recovered
there is a case for arguing that the SO2 was responsible. The action of SO3
(not SO2 as I read it) is directly on the leaves so I wonder if putting
ground limestone on the soil would make any difference? I am pretty sure
that what I was reading did not involve limestone but was for minerals to be
replenished, not a change in the pH of soil.



In the early 90’s a paper Rock Dusts in Agriculture: Insights on
Remineralization and Paramagnetism By Steve Diver

http://www.paramountgrowth.com/images/rockdust_sdiver01.pdf talks about
remineralising soils in order to promote healthy soil in order to prevent
the return of the next ice age, which he and others quoted saw as being
caused in part by humans (the coming anthropogenic global ice age).



“Composters who amend their windrows with rock dust say the trace elements
contained in the rock

Minerals function as biocatalysts in microbially-driven enzyme reactions
critical to the breadkdown and buildup process”



Yeah. That is what I was referring to. Some people were doing that in the
forests in Europe.



Adding ground rock to forests or anything else seems to have started to be
popularised by the book “Bread From Stones” by Julius Hensel in the 1880’
s.



I looked around and did not find a single reference to ground limestone
being applied but that only means I didn’t perhaps look enough.



It would be really interesting to see a knowledgeable combination of Dr AD’
s sugar treatment, powdered granite and biochar applied to farming. They all
seem to be centred on changing the bacterial environment.



Regards

Crispin



+++++++



Crispin, if you refer to the activities in the 80s to combat the effects of
'the Waldsterben' due to acid rain, that rock was limestone to mitigate the
acidity... and it did help on a short-term basis. the long-term mitigation
though came when they cleaned up the sulfuric emissions from the high
chimneys that caused the acid rain in the first place.



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