Biochar and natural farming

endainoz

What would ye recommend as an additive for slurry, would it need much time in the tank to work into fhr liquid? Sorry, I know this is a broad question, but would like to add something into the tank each year going forward.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388968#Comment_120388968

Go back a few posts and look to what @Jonnyc135 is doing. You won't get much cheaper than that.

You can also add Humic acid but it costs money. But there is a benefit. Don't add JMS unless you want to thicken up your tank. I did that and added some molasses and the slurry rose through the slats. Must have been a yeast effect. The cows weren't overly fond of where the slurry was spread but it did add body to the ground like it was dung spread.

Biochar if you want. It's never any harm. Seaweed water if you want too. If you're near the sea and have access to seaweed. Put it in ibc's with some molasses let it rot a bit. Open the tap in the bottom. Let the water in the tank. Fill up the ibc again with water and some molasses and use again and again.

Jonnyc135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388968#Comment_120388968

You can make the LAB yourself there tons of YouTube tutorials, the trick is to inoculate it in a 200 l barrel with about 20l of molasses at 30 degrees for about 3-4 days, a simple aquarium heater out of a pet store would work perfect you would want 500w one or 2 300w ones really. Even better if you had an old immersion heater or milk heater for suck calves.

There are cheap slurry additives like slurry care etc for 60 quid, if you weren't bothered making the lab yourself you could buy them and inoculate them in the barrel like above.

The key I think is the inoculation, it basically multiplies the bacteria by an order of magnitude and will get far better bang for your buck and works far better in the slurry. The molasses in the barrel turns acidic and will smelly like alcohol or ethanol when fermented after a few days. It will also turn an real orange colour as opposed to the brown watery molasses. When you smell this and it orange its ready to go. Basically the bacteria are breaking down and feeding on the sugar in the molasses which turns it acidic and into alcohol much like a poitin still or distillery. The more sugar or carbohydrates the more the bacteria will multiply.

That's roughly my take on it.

endainoz

Excellent info folks! I've seen a few videos on LAB alright, Chris Trump seems to be a pioneer of it in this part of the world. One last question: assuming I get innoculated LAB into my tanks, how long would it need to be in the tank before spreading? I've seen instructions for slurry additives and they're supposed to be in the tank for 90 days.

Limestone Cowboy

Finding all this very interesting and equally over my head at the same time. What's you're thoughts on the sobac products @Say my name or has anybody else on here tried them out.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120393863#Comment_120393863

Since I'm tagged..

I know absolutely nothing about them. I'm half tempted to try though since a farmer using them got an award and gave a good show of what they were doing to his land.

Jonnyc135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389790#Comment_120389790

I put it in as the cattle went in the end of October, you need to added it to the liquid part of the slurry at the bottom really, I don't think it works the best just being poured on the crust.

After we emptied our tanks in January, the last few liquid inches left that couldn't be sucked - I made another batch and poured it all over the slats on to this liquid layer. Can see it going white again where the fresh slurry being added under slats. Also it seems to work a lot better under the slats where the cattle are as opposed to the outside agitation points - leads me to believe the bacteria thrives off where new dung slurry being added every day.

Ak84

According to Nicole Masters, one should rip and drip. Subsoiling with a molasses and humic acid mix to drip into rips.

I think it's a carbon source for the awakening microbes.

I was wondering would a biochar and molasses and em1 mixture do the same?

endainoz

Edit* question answered above already.

Water John

Interesting study over 4 years published. This looks like excellent contributing research by a guy named Bernard Carey:

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/reducing-emissions-from-slurry-using-biochar-made-from-rushes/

endainoz

The LAB experiment has begun!

Two litres of rice washed water made, the ratio of milk to rice washed water seems to vary between 1 to 5 and 1 to 10. What would those in the know recommend?

endainoz

After one day mixed with milk, removed the curds a few days later and mixed with molasses. Have another batch that was a little bit behind so will add that to it all today.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680711#Comment_121680711

That glass container with the tap on the bottom. Does that have a name for that implement or what is it commercially sold as?

It's spot on for that job.

Tom Stack is all on the Korean natural farming and LAB is the basis of most of it.

What's your plan for this or is it a starting point to get your eye in?

alps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680711#Comment_121680711

How fast was the reaction with the milk?

Brave pulling that experiment on the carpet🤭

endainoz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680901#Comment_121680901

The carpet was perfectly fine, but yes might be an idea to have something underneath it for the future! The reaction took 4 days for one jar and 6 days for the other.

endainoz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680890#Comment_121680890

I'm not sure if the exact name, they're normally used for b&BS for juices and such. The idea I have is to eventually put it in the slurry tank, I probably only have a fraction of what I need to it's also a bit of a proof on concept at this stage.

This is the product as it is now. The LAB serum was bulked up with 6 litres of molasses and approx 20 litres of water. I'm not certain how long I'll have to keep it in the blue barrel before it can go into the tank, any ideas?

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121681128#Comment_121681128

It's getting a bit technical now and I've no real experience of LAB bar it is in the Jadam solution I made. I know LAB lives in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In the jadam there was a disc of foam on top of the solution. When this started to disappear it meant the bacteria was starting to die and what use is dead bacteria bar fertiliser. May transfer to what you're doing there in the container.

I wouldn't use all of it in your slurry. Keep some and add it to your lawn or place in a field and see if there's a difference. It'll possibly be swamped in the slurry, you should see benefit, but you definitely should if you keep back a bit and use it diluted or straight on your test plot. Otherwise you may think after what's the point.

People use LAB for brewing solutions with everything imaginable including urea if one wanted. They use air lock valves on top of the brewing containers.

Good luck anyway. You're ahead of us all.

Say my name

Scientific article of a recorded Rapeseed yield from application of biochar and manure and biochar with no manure but npk bag fert.

Which did better? And which application of 0 biochar to 45t biochar/ha did better?

And how many times was the land ploughed and the sprayer used?

Usually these articles are not accessible to the general public. But somehow this is.

Manure application followed by biochar application increases plant production regardless of soil dehydrogenase activity - Dvořáčková - 2023 - Soil Use and Management - Wiley Online Library

148multi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121686918#Comment_121686918

45t of biochar to the Ha is a big amount

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121691622#Comment_121691622

I know but sure it is trial work. Point made though biochar is a good addition with manure but there comes a point when too much is too much.

That said. I've grown myself in 100% char when it's been filled with nutrients. The 45t was obviously the hungry mark over the manure and it started pulling from the soil and then plant.

Jonnyc135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121681128#Comment_121681128

You'll see the molasses go from brown to orangey and start to smell like ethanol alcohol and it will be acidic if you had a cut on you hand it would be like lemon juice on the cut.

That's what would happen for me but I had an emerson heater keeping it at 30 degrees and usually took 3 days or so.

patsy_mccabe

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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1aZdKJOEAJs