Biochar: Just Wow! And it is All But Free
There are many warnings out there today. Keith St. John of Canadian Permaculture Legacy (YouTube) says we have only 55 years of topsoil remaining. High carbon levels in the air are causing disasters. But charcoal greatly accelerates what sunlight, water, and plants can do to build the soil and clean the air--to a wake up and pay attention degree!
Perhaps you are aware of charcoal being used in cleaning up oil spills and post-hurricane cleanup. But do you know the amazing effect it can have on your garden, both in the short and long term? It can amend your soil as follows for 1,000 to 2,000 years! Forest fires, within reason, have been considered beneficial in the long run. Carbon is stabilized into the soil.
Biochar harbors microbial life necessary for healthy plant growth in the same way coral does, in microscopic pathways for the absorption of water (it holds a lot!) and nutrients. Its water holding properties make it useful in sandy soil, preventing the draining away of nutrient-laden water. It is like a sponge, releasing water slowly. Clay soils are "fluffed up" by biochar, so the roots of plants are able to grow through easily, respire, and benefit from good aerobic microbiology. Carbon is stable, but it is also reactive in that it both absorbs and passes off electrons to make bonds, so can 'interact' with plants, making the nutrients more bioavailable.
Biochar sequesters carbon from the air as plants use carbon dioxide, which travels down to the roots. Carbon is also released to the soil when a plant drops leaves or dies.
So how would you make and use biochar? This 25 minute video shows a simple backyard method, which I will describe below (if you live in a city and cannot burn, read below for a solution):
Pollution from the burn is minimal compared to a smoking fire. The heat can be used to cook with, if you do not want the energy wasted.
Make a little oven from an oil drum (or you can burn in a trench), cutting out part of a side which will face up with the drum laying down. Place it in a safe-for-burning area with a supply of water nearby. Fit dry smaller branches (hardwoods are best, or other biological materials can be used; corn cobs, bones, pallet boards with no chemical spills, but watch for the nails) up to 3 inches wide into the oven. They should be closely lined up to be more air-tight; I would use straighter branches and save the curvey ones for kindling in the woodstove. Once you have as many as you can pack in, light one upper corner of the wood on fire. It is the top we want to burn, and the heat will vacate gasses from the lower wood, leaving it a charred honeycomb structure. It will become a self-sustaining reaction. As the top becomes black, tamp it down so the char falls to the bottom. You can add more wood to the top when there is room.
This will be a clean burn without much smoke. (If there has been rain recently, your wood might be too wet, and the fire will become smokey. Evaporating this water will keep the wood from becoming hot enough for a proper burn.)
Once all the wood is burned black, fill the drum with water and allow it to cool. Do not leave the biochar to smolder and become ash (which makes the soil more alkaline, so it depends on what your soil pH is whether you should include any in your soil). Even if it is cool after smoldering, it has chemical reactions occurring and can injure you, so do soak it, and spread it out as soon as possible. The pieces ideally should not be white on the surface or brown in the middle, and they should break up under pressure.
Perhaps you are aware of charcoal being used in cleaning up oil spills and post-hurricane cleanup. But do you know the amazing effect it can have on your garden, both in the short and long term? It can amend your soil as follows for 1,000 to 2,000 years! Forest fires, within reason, have been considered beneficial in the long run. Carbon is stabilized into the soil.
Biochar harbors microbial life necessary for healthy plant growth in the same way coral does, in microscopic pathways for the absorption of water (it holds a lot!) and nutrients. Its water holding properties make it useful in sandy soil, preventing the draining away of nutrient-laden water. It is like a sponge, releasing water slowly. Clay soils are "fluffed up" by biochar, so the roots of plants are able to grow through easily, respire, and benefit from good aerobic microbiology. Carbon is stable, but it is also reactive in that it both absorbs and passes off electrons to make bonds, so can 'interact' with plants, making the nutrients more bioavailable.
Biochar sequesters carbon from the air as plants use carbon dioxide, which travels down to the roots. Carbon is also released to the soil when a plant drops leaves or dies.
So how would you make and use biochar? This 25 minute video shows a simple backyard method, which I will describe below (if you live in a city and cannot burn, read below for a solution):
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| Keith St. John at Canadian Permaculture Legacy on YouTube |
Pollution from the burn is minimal compared to a smoking fire. The heat can be used to cook with, if you do not want the energy wasted.
Make a little oven from an oil drum (or you can burn in a trench), cutting out part of a side which will face up with the drum laying down. Place it in a safe-for-burning area with a supply of water nearby. Fit dry smaller branches (hardwoods are best, or other biological materials can be used; corn cobs, bones, pallet boards with no chemical spills, but watch for the nails) up to 3 inches wide into the oven. They should be closely lined up to be more air-tight; I would use straighter branches and save the curvey ones for kindling in the woodstove. Once you have as many as you can pack in, light one upper corner of the wood on fire. It is the top we want to burn, and the heat will vacate gasses from the lower wood, leaving it a charred honeycomb structure. It will become a self-sustaining reaction. As the top becomes black, tamp it down so the char falls to the bottom. You can add more wood to the top when there is room.
This will be a clean burn without much smoke. (If there has been rain recently, your wood might be too wet, and the fire will become smokey. Evaporating this water will keep the wood from becoming hot enough for a proper burn.)
Once all the wood is burned black, fill the drum with water and allow it to cool. Do not leave the biochar to smolder and become ash (which makes the soil more alkaline, so it depends on what your soil pH is whether you should include any in your soil). Even if it is cool after smoldering, it has chemical reactions occurring and can injure you, so do soak it, and spread it out as soon as possible. The pieces ideally should not be white on the surface or brown in the middle, and they should break up under pressure.
If you cannot burn where you live, you can purchase 100% Hardwood Lump Charcoal; it is made from hardwood in the same way and does the same job. But you will need to continue as follows.
At this point, the biochar is like an uncharged battery, and you must"charge it" by inoculating it with nutrients, water, and microbes. If it is put in the soil as is, it will draw nutrients and water from the soil, which is not our goal in gardening. Mix the biochar with about 1/3 manure, 1/3 veggie scraps, and 1/3 compost. You can add flour, sugar, molasses... Nutrient rich water from a pond with fish, frogs, or other life would be the best liquid to add in. Urine is fine, too; in nature rain, urine, and manure mix with charcoal. Allow the mix to ripen.
All in all, the simple use of biochar jumpstarts the production of rich topsoil and is carbon negative for the atmosphere.
Thanks to Canadian Permaculture Legacy, Living Web Farms, and Tedx Talks, all on YouTube.
All in all, the simple use of biochar jumpstarts the production of rich topsoil and is carbon negative for the atmosphere.
Thanks to Canadian Permaculture Legacy, Living Web Farms, and Tedx Talks, all on YouTube.
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