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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Reposted after notification of failure to deliver.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Dear AD<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>I presume you have heard about a fad (craze? activity?) in Europe of walking through damaged forests and adding powdered rock with several claims made about how that assisted the forest to regain health.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Do you think this is rooted in the silica availability? Or is the claim spurious? It is reported from the UK as well but I have not read details.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>If the crop/forest in question would benefit from added, freshly broken rock, does it not make sense that adding rice hull biochar (which is more than 1/2 silica) would have equal effect?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The electrical properties mentioned by Tom certainly grabbed by attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Charged clay particles (which just means they are smaller than 2 microns) in an electrically conductive environment with lots of finely structured silica (basically a sponge) might release the needed minerals more efficiently than otherwise might be the case.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Combined with Ron's report that there are a wide variety of chars with very different properties if will not surprise me to find that your poor results trying biochar amendment and the success in other places can all be fit into a single paradigm. You need the right kind to char to get any benefit where you are.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Thanks<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Crispin<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>+++++++<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Dear Crispin,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>the so called insoluble minerals in the soil actually do dissolve in water, albeit in extremely small quantities. They cannot be detected in tests using only chemistry based on their detection in a test tube by using specific reagents. All minerals absorbed by plants growing in nature come from this soil solution. Powdering rocks helps the process of dissolving the minerals in water, and that is why addition of rock powder to a field often gives higher yield than a field to which such dust is not added. Even silica has to be dissolved in water, before plants can take it up. Silica and silicates constitute almost 30% of the earth's crust, and therefore it is the most abundently available mineral in the soil. Therefore I don't think that adding more silica to the field would give you higher yield.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>