Greg Martin

Syd Smith wrote:

Greg Martin wrote:I have 7 selections that I'm growing in zone 5 Maine.  This past winter we got to -20F and they all survived.  Mine are planted under fruit and nut trees and seem quite happy.  A few of them are in what I would consider near full shade (little to no direct sun, but not forest dark) and seem happy.  A few are in partial shade and they are quite happy too.

Do you mean 7 different varieties? I'm not familiar with varieties of it! Are they performing differently? Different flavors? Very interesting!

Some have only been in the ground for a year and I haven't tried those varieties yet....I'll have to do a side by side taste testing in a year or so.  I am looking forward to that.  Truth is I'm still getting used to the flavor and best uses.

3 of the 7 are variegated landscape ornamentals and the variegation patterns are quite different from each other.  They are very pretty.  The other 4 are solid green with size and flower color variations.  

I have 7 selections that I'm growing in zone 5 Maine.  This past winter we got to -20F and they all survived.  Mine are planted under fruit and nut trees and seem quite happy.  A few of them are in what I would consider near full shade (little to no direct sun, but not forest dark) and seem happy.  A few are in partial shade and they are quite happy too.

Salish Blue is currently available here.

Where does a lizard go when his tail falls off?
The retail store.

For me, I like 10 acres.  One acre of intense human use space and 9 acres of intense wild space (permaculture zone 5, if you will).  I feel like I need the nature space almost as much as nature needs it!  I do forage in the nature space, harvest a tiny fraction of wood and reintroduce native species into my nature space, so it's not total hands off, but the wildlife is also most certainly not hands off on my 1 acre

I asked my date to meet me at the gym.  
She never showed up.  
That's when I knew we weren't going to work out.

A couple of data charts I like sharing on what is happening with the peak temperature used in forming biochar:



Both charts indicate that 500C (plus or minus) may be optimal for use in the soil.  As a reference to how hot that is, that is the temperature where you'll first start to see objects begin to glow red.

The electron donor and receiver groups are both important for aiding soil bacteria to carry out their metabolism at a lower energy cost, helping them aid plants in putting on more growth and yield.

Thank you for posting this John.  Hoping everyone gets to understand just how important biochar is for our soils and for the soil microbiome, which has evolved with biochar for as long as plants have been on the land.  Biochar has been a natural part of the soil for 100s of millions of years and it's wonderful to see that people are finally beginning to appreciate its importance.