Biochar

[rary]

Having come across the word biochar in several gardening topics, I wondered if anyone has used this in their vegetable garden, I know there are some companies marketing this but I would like to know of any proven results of using it, I have seen the Horizon film on utube but would still like to know if there are any of todays gardeners using it and are happy with the results

[ameno]

Biochar is basically just charcoal. It's almost pure carbon and is fairly inert, decomposing only very slowly.
It helps to improve drainage and water retention, just like any organic matter would.
The only one of its "unique" claims which has been reasonably well proven is that it helps to alleviate the problems associated with waterlogging in pots, as charcoal is good as absorbing toxins (which are created through anaerobic decomposition whilst the pot is waterlogged).

[rary]

Biochar is basically just charcoal. It's almost pure carbon and is fairly inert.

Apparently if untreated charcoal is added to your garden soil, it draws in a lot of the microbial life which is required for growth in the soil, biochar appears to be inoculated with microbes drawn from compost when added to it, or steeped in a liquid similar to a compost tea, therefore you are adding beneficial microbes to your soil and creating a long life benefit to the soil. But as I haven't used it I thought I would ask if anyone could verify the results of using it

[smallblueplanet]

Apparently if untreated charcoal is added to your garden soil, it draws in a lot of the microbial life which is required for growth in the soil, biochar appears to be inoculated with microbes drawn from compost when added to it, or steeped in a liquid similar to a compost tea, therefore you are adding beneficial microbes to your soil and creating a long life benefit to the soil. But as I haven't used it I thought I would ask if anyone could verify the results of using it

I saw an advert for this stuff in a free gardening paper. Hmmm I thought as I read the description, charcoal? So did you try it rary?

[rary]

I have created a small amount of char , crushed it up and added some to a pot of seaweed tea and mixed some in with some garden compost, I reckon that it would be a season or two before I would see any benefit from it and as I add a lot of seaweed to my garden I doubt I would notice any differences, though by adding activated charcoal to my soil I think it will be a benefit to me or some other person in the future, which of course I am quite happy with, leaving something in better condition than when I started

[smallblueplanet]

... though by adding activated charcoal to my soil...

I didn't fully read and inwardly digest the branded biochar bumpf, what makes the 'charcoal' active?

[rary]

If you mix the char with the contents of your compost bin is draws in bacteria and nutrients which are beneficial to the soil and plants, when the compost is spread over the soil, once the compost is used up the char remains in the soil, it can also be added to compost teas and similar, going by reports it helps create a fertile soil with long lasting benefits, I am a great believer of if you dont try, you wont know.

[smallblueplanet]

If you mix the char with the contents of your compost bin is draws in bacteria and nutrients which are beneficial to the soil and plants, when the compost is spread over the soil, once the compost is used up the char remains in the soil, it can also be added to compost teas and similar, going by reports it helps create a fertile soil with long lasting benefits, I am a great believer of if you dont try, you wont know.

Agreed in this case. Would like to see some pictures?

[rary]

So would I
It is not something you can photograph, it changes the quality of your soil over a period of time unlike ferelizer it doesn't disappear fro your soil, there is a utube vidio from BBC horizon which shows the effects and longevity of biochar in Brazil

[smallblueplanet]

So would I
It is not something you can photograph, it changes the quality of your soil over a period of time unlike ferelizer it doesn't disappear fro your soil, there is a utube vidio from BBC horizon which shows the effects and longevity of biochar in Brazil

Lol. I didn't think you had an electron microscope. I meant of the actual product you ended up with and used.

[rary]

Lol. I didn't think you had an electron microscope. I meant of the actual product you ended up with and used.

I have some photos which I will try to upload which showthe cans I use as the retort?
the second some material I use to make charcoal the char but anything organic can be used, such as wood or bones etc.

The third is the cans when they came out a the fire I
the fourth is the char in the can
The fifth shows the char before getting ground up

Hopefully the sixth will show the biochar before being added to the inoculant which can be in a compost heap or added to some comfrey, nettle or weed tea

[rary]

this is the sixth photo I tried to upload it shows the char ground up
This is not charcoal that you buy for burning, the material for biochar it's a lot softer than charcoal.
When making it there should be no inlet for air or you will finish up with ash the only hole is in the top to allow the gasses to escape

[rary]

As OH eats a lot of oranges, have finally found a good way to use them other than putting them in the recycling bin, I now turn them into char, and its so easy to crush down for inoculation with compost tea