I awakened to a light dusting of snow this morning, our first winter storm of the season. In the time it took to make a pot of coffee, the snow changed to wet and dense, with a temperature hovering at 36ºF.
We are right at the edge of this storm so it's difficult to predict how much snow we will actually get. The Weather Liars say from 1 inch up to 8 inches. I am pretty well prepared if we lose power, except I overlooked the scant amount of cat food on hand.
I hope it's enough snow for a decent blanket over my garden beds for several days; I started prepping the beds last week with some biochar and organic worm castings covered with a thick layer of leaves. I wish I could get someone to come and till it all in but it may have to wait for early spring.
Darius,
ReplyDeleteWhere are you? near the Valley?
If you haven't seen them;
The broad smiles of 1500 subsistence farmers say it all ( that , and the size of the Biochar corn root balls )
http://biocharfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=75
All political persuasions agree, building soil carbon is GOOD.
To Hard bitten Farmers, wary of carbon regulations that only increase their costs, Building soil carbon is a savory bone, to do well while doing good.
Biochar provides the tool powerful enough to cover Farming's carbon foot print while lowering cost simultaneously.
Another significant aspect of bichar is removal of BC aerosols by low cost ($3) Biomass cook stoves that produce char but no respiratory disease emissions. At Scale, replacing "Three Stone" stoves the health benefits would equal eradication of Malaria.
http://terrapretapot.org/ and village level systems http://biocharfund.org/
The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF).recently funded The Biochar Fund $300K for these systems citing these priorities;
(1) Hunger amongst the world's poorest people, the subsistence farmers of Sub-Saharan Africa,
(2) Deforestation resulting from a reliance on slash-and-burn farming,
(3) Energy poverty and a lack of access to clean, renewable energy, and
(4) Climate change.
Mark my words; Given the potential for Laurens Rademaker's programs to grow exponentially, only a short time lies between This man's nomination for a Noble Prize.
Research:
The future of biochar - Project Rainbow Bee Eater
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20090211-20142.html
Japan Biochar Association ;
http://www.geocities.jp/yasizato/pioneer.htm
UK Biochar Research Centre
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/sccs/biochar/
Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.
Cheers,
Erich
Erich, I posted a long reply, and it has disappeared! I agree about Biochar, and I also believe it is a critical component of building High Brix. See the sidebar for 2 articles I have written elsewhere on those subjects.
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