Hello together,
don't know if anyone remembers this topic here, it has in any case all the time on me. I found very impressive Bernhard then attempts:
http://www.baumfarn.at/treefern/viewtopi...hilit=holzkohle
And then a real terra preta hype has broken out in recent years, where the charcoal also plays an important role.
HAB informed me at least something (neutral!), the positive effects on plant growth and health are relatively well documented and can be explained also sound - probably mainly with the surface structure and the high cations exchange capacity.
So I this year times properly charcoal small carved, bucket plant Earth thus mixed and tested on approximately 200 plants including Amorphophallus/Typhonium/Arum, Passiflora, Aristolochia, Brugmansia and more. There were only non-serious control group tests and without objective evaluation of the results, no science, it wanted to make but only to see whether this makes sense for me under practical conditions. My patio plants blend is composed as follows:
6 Parts unit Earth T (or one of the almost identical competitive products...)
2 Parts perlite
2 Parts expanded clay (temporary solution, dear lava or broken expanded clay didn't...)
1 Part vermiculite (clay minerals must also be...)
1 Part charcoal
1/4 Part of rock flour (K.A. bringing obs, harm tuts anyway not...)
As you can see I used much less coal than Bernhard, the effect was still evident. Fact that the coal with organic mass, nor with mineral fertilizers was treated, she has hampered initially obviously the nutrient uptake of plants. The vines, Brugmansia, Colocasia and Xanthosoma grew first almost not or with significant deficiency symptoms up to leaf margin necrosis. Root development was enormous but from the outset, had never before seen a such strong root system in all these plants. This made later well paid, the above-ground growth was seen on the season extremely well, the flowering ability also.
When the Aroids me striking that that still stand now in September as the summer long not to end were still. Everywhere still strong roots, much more tubers than usual have blasted the pots green leaves and absolutely no fungal. This was a significantly different picture last year.
Am curious on how, will I leave the vines time some years in this substrate. The Aroids I will prepare for next year a little bit different the Earth, to vll. the start-up difficulties something to avoid.
VG Philipp