Biochar -- anyone using it?

[HydroExplorer]

Originally Posted by bughunter99

How were native Amazonians managing to contain the gases to create this product I wonder? How were they burning things anaerobically?
I crush the leftover chunks from the firepit and throw them in the garden. Do the plants like it? No clue. I throw too much other stuff in there to tell.

Well, a modern way to make charcoal is to intentionally build a retort and pyrolize wood with it.

The old, low-tech way is to start a fire in a pit and then backfill it to create an oxygen poor environment. Let the fire smolder for a while (overnight, maybe a day or few) and then dig up your charcoal.

I'm planning to build a rocket stove to make my own charcoal. Rocket stoves are purpose-built to burn wood gasses, so it should be relatively easy to modify the design to add a retort and just burn off the excess wood gasses from the wood you're turning into charcoal.

As for charcoal left over from a campfire. You would want to rinse it before using it. The ashes that will probably be present will effect your pH significantly. You would also want to crush it to increase surface area and then innoculate it with fertilizer and beneficial bacteria and fungi.

[HydroExplorer]

Originally Posted by beeman

Softwood biochar works just as well.
I am reserving my judgement on the indiscriminate use of Compost tea. I recently did a soil test, to find my Ph is now at 7.9, far in excess of the normal requirements of regular vegetables. For the last few years I've been dumping Compost tea (It can't do any harm, is the mantra) well it does raise the Ph of the soil. My compost tea tests out at 7.9, so can guess why my garden is now 7.9?
Now I need some advice as to how to get my garden down to about 6.0 Ph. Anybody?
In the mean time I won't be using Compost tea.

I had a problem where my vermicompost was coming in at a high pH like that. In my case the problem was that I was composting a lot of egg shells in my worm bin.

Egg shells are ~94% calcium carbonate. They will make things alkaline.

That said, be careful adding acidic stuff to a compost bin. I know if you add citrus rinds you can end up with a fungal bloom. Supposedly you can add them in moderation. I added 1 rind and I had fungus everywhere.
but that was before I started composting egg shells so maybe I could have composted citrus rinds with egg shells.

I was just making vermicompost tea for a folear feed so I wasn't concerned with soil pH.

[beeman]

Originally Posted by HydroExplorer

I'm planning to build a rocket stove to make my own charcoal. Rocket stoves are purpose-built to burn wood gasses, so it should be relatively easy to modify the design to add a retort and just burn off the excess wood gasses from the wood you're turning into charcoal. .

I made up a similar unit, but found the amount of biochar produced was very low for a garden of my size.
The answer, a barrel in a barrel. I took a 55 gallon punched holes around the bottom, placed another with similar holes inside. Filled both barrels with wood offcuts , replaced the inner lid, and lit the outer barrel from the top.
The heat from the outer burned off the gasses from the inner, eventually those caught fire. I allowed the fires to die down and found the inner barrel full of perfect charcoal. The amount of loss is only about 10%, which is far better than a straight fire.
I have used about 15 inner barrels on the garden and it does work, less drought effects and the produce grows much better.

[Redbaron]

Here is a review of the science behind biochar when where and how it functions and a way to get a grasp of when is is appropriate or not; what we know and don't know.

[Axixic]

I started making my first biochar a couple of weeks ago.

Down here we can buy charcoal that is all wood without any additives so instead of making my own charcoal I bought a bag of charcoal. I broke up the chunks and it is soaking in worm castings tea.

One person said to soak it for 3 days and another said for 30 days so I'll soak it for two to three weeks.

I have bags of composted horse manure that I will mix in the soil with the biochar. I guess I will know in a couple of months if it makes a difference.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Axixic

I started making my first biochar a couple of weeks ago.

Down here we can buy charcoal that is all wood without any additives so instead of making my own charcoal I bought a bag of charcoal. I broke up the chunks and it is soaking in worm castings tea.

One person said to soak it for 3 days and another said for 30 days so I'll soak it for two to three weeks.

I have bags of composted horse manure that I will mix in the soil with the biochar. I guess I will know in a couple of months if it makes a difference.

If you do the soak thing in compost tea, make sure it is AACT and don't let it go stagnant. Otherwise you could do more harm than good by colonising the biochar with anaerobic pathogens.

[Old chef]

Do wood ashes work similar to Biochar? I produce about 6-10 gallons of ashes a day. I use wood for cooking in restaurants.

If so how much can be used. My raised beds are 4' x 36'

Old chef

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Old chef

Do wood ashes work similar to Biochar? I produce about 6-10 gallons of ashes a day. I use wood for cooking in restaurants.

If so how much can be used. My raised beds are 4' x 36'

Old chef

As a general rule no. Ashes work completely differently. You can use ashes. They do provide water soluble minerals, but little to no carbon. They also can change the PH significantly. So use in moderation and always check PH first. As a general rule, any situation that requires lime as an amendment will also work fine with ashes.

Best Management Practices for Wood Ash as Agricultural Soil Amendment

[Axixic]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

If you do the soak thing in compost tea, make sure it is AACT and don't let it go stagnant. Otherwise you could do more harm than good by colonising the biochar with anaerobic pathogens.

Maybe I misunderstand what AACT means. Do you mean to keep the water moving?

If so, what difference would that make? Pathogens can live in water that is moving. Amoebas live in warm stagnant water but when the biochar is in the ground that will kill amoebas so I don't know what you mean by pathogens that are harmful to plants.

Maybe Dr. Carolyn can explain it since she is a microbiologist (I hope I got that right.)

[Axixic]

Originally Posted by Old chef

Do wood ashes work similar to Biochar? I produce about 6-10 gallons of ashes a day. I use wood for cooking in restaurants.

If so how much can be used. My raised beds are 4' x 36'

Old chef

A woman down here who gave a speech about biochar was asked about ashes and she said no you need he charcoal to hold the nutrients.

Soak the ashes and try it. If it works tell us about it. I'm a strong believer in finding out for myself. It doesn't always work out to well but I try.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Axixic

Maybe I misunderstand what AACT means. Do you mean to keep the water moving?

If so, what difference would that make? Pathogens can live in water that is moving. Amoebas live in warm stagnant water but when the biochar is in the ground that will kill amoebas so I don't know what you mean by pathogens that are harmful to plants.

Maybe Dr. Carolyn can explain it since she is a microbiologist (I hope I got that right.)

actively aerated Compost tea. It makes a difference because the reason for the using of compost tea to activate biochar is to pre inoculate the material with beneficial microorganisms......organisms that will largely die or go dormant 20 minutes after all the oxygen is gone. Meaning the tea will feed the anaerobic organisms and the biochar will be colonised by them instead. Maybe a better solution if you want to age the mix would be to simply use the worm castings, instead of worm casting tea?

[Axixic]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

actively aerated Compost tea. It makes a difference because the reason for the using of compost tea to activate biochar is to pre inoculate the material with beneficial microorganisms......organisms that will largely die or go dormant 20 minutes after all the oxygen is gone. Meaning the tea will feed the anaerobic organisms and the biochar will be colonised by them instead. Maybe a better solution if you want to age the mix would be to simply use the worm castings, instead of worm casting tea?

A better solution is that I ignore you. How about that?

[Tapout]

I have done some research on biochar and made a few posts in the past about it, but I won't go into depth. All biochar is not created equal heat is a major factor in the quality of the char.

Now what just the hell is biochar... Think of it like a reservoir for a radiator in your car.