Some places need to be wild
Thanks Eric, the trees I cleared from the pastures (now crop land) I piled up and covered with soil to make hugelkultur piles. I'll be planting perennial clover, flowers and veggies on them. Once they break down I planned on using them to then use to supplement my soil in the crop fields. I also DON'T burn fields anymore, that was many years ago but was thinking that was a poor mans version of biochar. But now instead I do cover crops like clover in fall/winter and then cut them down before they flower/seed and get maximum organic material and nitrogen fixation from them doing that in the spring. I use 3 different types of clover as they mature and seed here at different times so I match crops with cover crops. I also am only tilling (disc etc) now till I get my land correct as when I started it was only grass w/ some saplings popping up in old cow fields. I also have a major issue with coffee bean weed (Senna obtusifolia) so atm I have been using a turning plow (flip grass) then adding 6-8 tons of composted breeder chicken manure, lime (according to test results as some fields didn't need lime) and then disking this in. I also had a neighbor chisel plowed my fields and plan on doing this myself but most other tillage I'll reduce or eliminate as my farming practices dictate. I am planing on making permanent 48"x4" tall raised beds.Eric Hanson wrote:So let’s start with what you have at present. As I see things, burning is kinda like anti-carbon farming as C is being taken from a sequestered state (vegetation) and being released into the atmosphere. True, a small part remains in the form of ash, but much, much more gets released. Fire has its place in permaculture, but I don’t think this is the best way to sequester C. Instead, I would focus on growing a cover crop that puts down deep roots. Deep rooted plants drag carbon underground to their roots. Each year about 1/3 of their roots die and become part of the soil. Were it me, I would leave this grass permanently. Consider using the grass for compost, or alternatively use a flail mower to really chop the grass to bits and decompose in place.
Regarding the area you cleared, what exactly became of the wood? If it is burried, great! This would be an excellent opportunity to make some substantial hugel mounds. At any rate, I personally would work on getting some fast growing plants, either woody perennials or fast growing annuals to be cut down and their mass returned to the soil as quickly as possible. In any case, I would avoid outright burning.
However, an alternative option would be to grow vegetation for pyrolysis, making biochar to be spread into the soil.
Regarding your earlier disking, around here, people are likely to advise against disking. The reason is that disking, especially regular disking will kill a lot of beneficial fungi growing right at the surface of the ground. These fungi store a surprisingly large amount of carbon as long as they are alive.
C Rogers, please don’t take anything I have said as offensive. Some of the past tactics are not going to help C farming, but no matter, we are going forward from here. Ultimately you have the land and the desire and this will work wonders!!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask,
Eric
C Rogers wrote: Once they break down I planned on using them to then use to supplement my soil in the crop fields.
Idle dreamer
Some places need to be wild
Eric Hanson wrote:Bio-intensive farming is all about getting our biological ducks in a row and making them all get along while they do their biological role. For example, cow eats grass, cow poops on grass, microbes in poop enhance soil fertility. Next year, thanks to the cow, it’s urine, the microbes from its poop all make the ground more fertile for other crops. My personal mini-example: I no longer care about making a hot pile of compost. I make my piles in the garden and whatever compost I get I get. I am more interested in all the composting goodness, chemistry and microbiology all seeping into my garden soils. That land is then magically fertile. I would say that you are off to a good start. Get as much biology into the soil as possible. Consider cutting down your cover crops to make compost heaps just to grow the biology in the field. Make lots of compost and get it into garden beds. Personally I am working on making all of my garden beds into raised beds filled with woodchips. Those chips are being broken down by wine cap mushrooms I introduced. I grew my first vegetable crop since introducing mushrooms this year. I was astounded by how well the crops grew without adding any fertilizer whatsoever. I am coming to realize that the biology is more important than the chemistry.
Eric
Some places need to be wild
Eric Hanson wrote:20 tons of chicken manure!!
Wow, you should have plenty of nitrogen for your land. Given that you have that much chicken manure, I would be tempted to find a way to compost it with some carbonaceous material. Any chance you can mix some of that manure with the wood in your hugel mounds?
If you want to apply it to the ground, who am I to say this is a bad way to use it?
This puts me in an unusual position. Normally I am scavenging my ground looking for sources of N. I planted comfrey mostly so as to have easy access to N and other nutrients. Growing my mushroom beds has given me a new appreciation for the importance of microbes in the soil.
But wow! You have it both ways! You have both the nitrogen and the microbes! You have a lot of potential there and I bet you can make very good use of it.
Let us know your thoughts on adding some manure to your hugel mounds.
Eric
Tyler Ludens wrote:
C Rogers wrote: Once they break down I planned on using them to then use to supplement my soil in the crop fields.
Personally I wouldn't do that since disturbing them will release substantial carbon to the air. Best to leave them alone and plant new trees next to them (not on top).
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