TERRA PRETA: How to make perfect, fertile soil

Excavation of ancient sites belonging to the Aztecs, Incans and countless other unknown tribes that inhabited the Amazon and beyond for tens of thousands of years has yielded the most valuable discovery of all time. World class, nutrient rich, high quality SOIL!

Going by the name of Terra Preta, this chemically perfected process allowed civilizations to thrive for dozens, if not hundreds, of generations prior to colonization of the Americas. To keep it super simple for readers, here is the formula for you to begin creating your own Terra Preta on your own property.

-Charcoal, otherwise known as Biochar, or burnt wood.

-Bone. Yup, bone, from dead animals. Good news is, you can forage this for free, or ask your local butcher for their scraps, dry it out in the sun (safe from animals) grind it down and you have high quality bone meal. *Fish bones are best if available

-Broken Pottery. That's right, recycle garbage, find a pottery club, ask for their scraps. Put a post on social media that you'll take people's old pottery. Upcycling into your future food and medicine!

-Compost. Organic food scraps (and more!) that include:

• Grass clippings

• Tree leaves

• Vegetable food scraps (coffee grounds, lettuce, potato peels, banana peels, avocado skins, etc.)

• Black and white newspaper

• Printer paper

• Most disease free yard waste

• Cardboard

• Wood shavings or sawdust

-Manure (e.g. cows, horses, rabbits, hamsters, etc.)

These can be added to your gardens, farm or yard in layers, or if you have a mixer strong enough to process it all, that would create a truly supercharged mix of nutrients for your future food forest.