If you have never heard of it, it's basically charcoal that has been made and prepared for use as a soil amendment. Char is already in some of the most productive soils on the planet...the grasslands. And fire was a natural part of that landscape. Through the eons, char has been incorporated into the milosols of the midwest creating the black fluffy rich loam that is very fertile. It has been discovered that 45-50% of the carbon in those soils IS char.
I have been making biochar for the last 6 years for incorporation into my garden soil. The absolute BEST way to {charge/inoculate/age/neutralize pH/increase reactive sites on the surface} is to Co-compost Biochar with your yard compost heap. The pile will heat up to 150-158*F and will stay that hot for up to a month. The surface of the char will transform becoming covered in organic molecules that will hold onto nutrients in a plant available form that WILL NOT WASH OUT of the soil. The Cation Exchange Capacity of the Biochar after transformation will increase around 500%.
Here is this years char after running it through my 5 gallon bucket charcoal chain mill...1/4" to ultra fine dust.
Here's one wheel barrel of this years batch...
I have each wheel barrel of char distributed on a 4'X4' X4' high leaf/grass/household waste compost pile in one of my raised beds. It'll cook all summer as I add grass clippings and household waste to the pile. The pile will stay above 140*F for until about the end of October.
I have been making biochar for the last 6 years for incorporation into my garden soil. The absolute BEST way to {charge/inoculate/age/neutralize pH/increase reactive sites on the surface} is to Co-compost Biochar with your yard compost heap. The pile will heat up to 150-158*F and will stay that hot for up to a month. The surface of the char will transform becoming covered in organic molecules that will hold onto nutrients in a plant available form that WILL NOT WASH OUT of the soil. The Cation Exchange Capacity of the Biochar after transformation will increase around 500%.
Here is this years char after running it through my 5 gallon bucket charcoal chain mill...1/4" to ultra fine dust.
Here's one wheel barrel of this years batch...
I have each wheel barrel of char distributed on a 4'X4' X4' high leaf/grass/household waste compost pile in one of my raised beds. It'll cook all summer as I add grass clippings and household waste to the pile. The pile will stay above 140*F for until about the end of October.
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