[Default] On Sat, 15 Dec 2012 19:59:06 -0500,Alex English <[email protected]> wrote:
>Andrew, >Perhaps you have seen solubility charts? > >http://www.avocadosource.com/tools/fertcalc_files/ph.htm >It is slightly different for soiless media. >Very much a chemist's take on soil fertility. > Thanks Alex, no I hadn't come across them before but then I'm not a grower. Hydroponics or soil less media are at the other end of the spectrum from Dr Karve's ideas of feeding the micro organisms to have a healthy soil. Still the chart does illustrate Frans's point. Getting back to the start of the thread: I had always supposed most people would value their wood ash for its mineral content and spread it on crop ground. If this is the case then wood ash must have a higher buffering capability than a biochar made from the same wood?? Or is wood ash application a recognised problem on basic soils? I remember, when I was following your lead and producing a high char ash from a woodchip boiler, that the proprietors would not use the wood ash as they grew mainly shrubs which required a slightly acidic environment. The chap explained at the time that horticultural crops were generally best on acid soils and that it was farmers that applied lime to grow food crops. Your chart seems to demonstrate that the trace elements we need in our food are all most available in a "very slightly alkaline" soil. AJH _______________________________________________ Stoves mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: http://www.bioenergylists.org/
