Make Biochar — this Ancient Technique Will Improve Your Soil
I read this article earlier this spring in the Mother Earth News. Saw your discussions in the comments of this group. If you can't afford to buy "Green" then grow green. Below is a link to the PDF of the article, Mother's link had moved from the original location.
--Rob
http://www.carbon-negative.us/docs/BiocharImprovesSoil.pdf
Make Biochar — this Ancient Technique Will Improve Your Soil
By Barbara Pleasant
Last year, I committed one of the great sins of gardening: I let weeds go to seed. Cleaning up in fall, I faced down a ton of seed-bearing foxtail, burdock and crabgrass. Sure, I could
compost it hot to steam the weed seeds to death, but instead I decided to try something different. I dug a ditch, added the weeds and lots of woody prunings, and burned it into biochar,
thus practicing a “new” soil-building technique that’s at least 3,000 years old.
What’s biochar? Basically, it’s organic matter that is burned slowly, with a restricted flow of oxygen, and then the fire is stopped when the material reaches the charcoal stage. Unlike tiny
tidbits of ash, coarse lumps of charcoal are full of crevices and holes, which help them serve as life rafts to soil microorganisms. The carbon compounds in charcoal form loose chemical
bonds with soluble plant nutrients so they are not as readily washed away by rain and irrigation. Biochar alone added to poor soil has little benefit to plants, but when used in combination
with compost and organic fertilizers, it can dramatically improve plant growth while helping retain nutrients in the soil.
Amazonian Dark Earths
The idea of biochar comes from the Amazonian rain forests of Brazil, where a civilization thrived for 2,000 years, from about 500 B.C. until Spanish and Portuguese explorers introduced
devastating European diseases in the mid-1500s. Using only their hands, sticks and stone axes, Amazonian tribes grew cassava, corn and numerous tree fruits in soil made rich with
compost, mulch and smoldered plant matter.
Amazingly, these “dark earths” persist today as a testament to an ancient soil-building method you can use in your garden. Scientists disagree on whether the soils were created on
purpose, in order to grow more food, or if they were an accidental byproduct of the biochar and compost generated in day-to-day village life along the banks of the Earth’s biggest river.
However they came to be, there is no doubt that Amazonian dark earths (often called terra preta) hold plant nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium and magnesium, much
more efficiently than unimproved soil. Even after 500 years of tropical temperatures and rainfall that averages 80 inches a year, the dark earths remain remarkably fertile.
Scientists around the world are working in labs and field trial plots to better understand how biochar works, and to unravel the many mysteries of terra preta. At Cornell University in
Ithaca, N.Y., microbiologists have discovered bacteria in terra preta soils that are similar to strains that are active in hot compost piles. Overall populations of fungi and bacteria are high
in terra preta soils, too, but the presence of abundant carbon makes the microorganisms live and reproduce at a slowed pace. The result is a reduction in the turnover rate of organic
matter in the soil, so composts and other soil-enriching forms of organic matter last longer.
In field trials with corn, rice and many other crops, biochar has increased productivity by making nutrients already present in the soil better available to plants. Results are especially
dramatic when biochar is added to good soil that contains ample minerals and plant nutrients. Research continues (track it at The International Biochar Initiative), but at this point it
appears that biochar gives both organic matter and microorganisms in organically enriched soil enhanced staying power. Digging in nuggets of biochar — or adding them to compost as it
is set aside to cure — can slow the leaching away of nutrients and help organically enriched soil retain nutrients for decades rather than for a couple of seasons.
--Rob
http://www.carbon-negative.us/docs/BiocharImprovesSoil.pdf
Make Biochar — this Ancient Technique Will Improve Your Soil
By Barbara Pleasant
Last year, I committed one of the great sins of gardening: I let weeds go to seed. Cleaning up in fall, I faced down a ton of seed-bearing foxtail, burdock and crabgrass. Sure, I could
compost it hot to steam the weed seeds to death, but instead I decided to try something different. I dug a ditch, added the weeds and lots of woody prunings, and burned it into biochar,
thus practicing a “new” soil-building technique that’s at least 3,000 years old.
What’s biochar? Basically, it’s organic matter that is burned slowly, with a restricted flow of oxygen, and then the fire is stopped when the material reaches the charcoal stage. Unlike tiny
tidbits of ash, coarse lumps of charcoal are full of crevices and holes, which help them serve as life rafts to soil microorganisms. The carbon compounds in charcoal form loose chemical
bonds with soluble plant nutrients so they are not as readily washed away by rain and irrigation. Biochar alone added to poor soil has little benefit to plants, but when used in combination
with compost and organic fertilizers, it can dramatically improve plant growth while helping retain nutrients in the soil.
Amazonian Dark Earths
The idea of biochar comes from the Amazonian rain forests of Brazil, where a civilization thrived for 2,000 years, from about 500 B.C. until Spanish and Portuguese explorers introduced
devastating European diseases in the mid-1500s. Using only their hands, sticks and stone axes, Amazonian tribes grew cassava, corn and numerous tree fruits in soil made rich with
compost, mulch and smoldered plant matter.
Amazingly, these “dark earths” persist today as a testament to an ancient soil-building method you can use in your garden. Scientists disagree on whether the soils were created on
purpose, in order to grow more food, or if they were an accidental byproduct of the biochar and compost generated in day-to-day village life along the banks of the Earth’s biggest river.
However they came to be, there is no doubt that Amazonian dark earths (often called terra preta) hold plant nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium and magnesium, much
more efficiently than unimproved soil. Even after 500 years of tropical temperatures and rainfall that averages 80 inches a year, the dark earths remain remarkably fertile.
Scientists around the world are working in labs and field trial plots to better understand how biochar works, and to unravel the many mysteries of terra preta. At Cornell University in
Ithaca, N.Y., microbiologists have discovered bacteria in terra preta soils that are similar to strains that are active in hot compost piles. Overall populations of fungi and bacteria are high
in terra preta soils, too, but the presence of abundant carbon makes the microorganisms live and reproduce at a slowed pace. The result is a reduction in the turnover rate of organic
matter in the soil, so composts and other soil-enriching forms of organic matter last longer.
In field trials with corn, rice and many other crops, biochar has increased productivity by making nutrients already present in the soil better available to plants. Results are especially
dramatic when biochar is added to good soil that contains ample minerals and plant nutrients. Research continues (track it at The International Biochar Initiative), but at this point it
appears that biochar gives both organic matter and microorganisms in organically enriched soil enhanced staying power. Digging in nuggets of biochar — or adding them to compost as it
is set aside to cure — can slow the leaching away of nutrients and help organically enriched soil retain nutrients for decades rather than for a couple of seasons.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on -
Here's the important part of the article for us gardeners...
How to Make Biochar
To make biochar right in your gardens, start by digging a trench in a bed. (Use a fork to loosen the soil in the bottom of the trench and you’ll get the added benefits of this “double-digging” technique.) Then pile brush into the trench and light it. You want to have a fire that starts out hot, but is quickly slowed down by reducing the oxygen supply. The best way to tell what’s going on in a biochar fire is to watch the smoke. The white smoke, produced early on, is mostly water vapor. As the smoke turns yellow, resins and sugars in the material are being burned. When the smoke thins and turns grayish blue, dampen down the fire by covering it with about an inch of soil to reduce the air supply, and leave it to smolder. Then, after the organic matter has smoldered into charcoal chunks, use water to put out the fire. Another option would be to make charcoal from wood scraps in metal barrels. (For details, go to Twin Oaks Forge.) I’m part of the Smokey-the-Bear generation, raised on phrases like “learn not to burn,” so it took me a while to warm up to the idea of using semi-open burning as a soil-building technique. Unrestrained open burning releases 95 percent or more of the carbon in the wood, weeds or whatever else that goes up in smoke. However, low-temperature controlled burning to create biochar, called pyrolysis, retains much more carbon (about 50 percent) in the initial burning phase. Carbon release is cut even more when the biochar becomes part of the soil, where it may reduce the production of greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide. This charcoal releases its carbon 10 to 100 times slower than rotting organic matter. As long as it is done correctly, controlled charring of weeds, pruned limbs and other hard-to-compost forms of organic matter, and then using the biochar as a soil or compost amendment, can result in a zero emission carbon cycling system. Burning responsibly requires simple common sense. Check with your local fire department to make sure you have any necessary permits, wait as long as you must to get damp, windless weather, and monitor the fire until it’s dead.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Lewis on -
Thank you so much for the easily understood directions to make my own biochar. I can't wait to do it as I have some nasty clay this would also improve.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on
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I've got a small metal firepit, and i want to save some good charcoal to mix with compost. My soil is pretty rocky, and could use some good minerals and biological matter. A local soil scientist mixes biochar with fish fertilizer and topsoil mix as he crushes the charcoal into small chunks.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on
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An Invitation to: A Celebration of Biochar
Make Biochar and Biochar compost with Sean Barry, Larry Williams, and
Rich Haard on September 19,20 and 26,27 at Fourth Corner Nurseries,
Sand Road, Bellingham, WA.
Some Background
Biochar is charcoal, plain and simple - charcoal converted from
biomass. The name Biochar was coined to differentiate it from charcoal
because Biochar is meant to be used in soil. See http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
Sean Barry is coming to Bellingham, Washington from Stillwater,
Minnesota to promote the production and use of Biochar. Sean is
engineer and owner of Troposphere Energy, LLC. He is bringing a
portable kiln he has built for us to test and use. This is a tool that
can make positive inroads to combat global warming/climate change and
to promote soil improvement research using charcoal-in-soil
techniques.
This kiln he is bringing here is an open source technology -- A United
Nations, Food & Agriculture Organization portable kiln, that can make
~700-1000 lbs of Biochar in 24 hours and is designed to be operated by
2 people. It can be used anywhere in the world where there is biomass
and requires only basic wood cutting tools. By helping Sean perfect
this prototype kiln, we can learn more about making Biochar and share
it for gardening and/or farm research.
Events Scheduled
Saturday, September 19 - Setting up, firing, and monitoring the kiln
Sunday September 20 - Harvest and breakup the Biochar product
Saturday September 26 - Another kiln run, this time with dry garden
waste -- AND making Biochar based compost with Larry Williams
Sunday September 27 - Again, harvest and breakup of Biochar and
distribution of Biochar for in-soil research in gardens or on farms.
Who will attend this admission free event? Are you interested in
production and use of Biochar? Then you are welcome to attend.
Safety concerns and working farm location require proper clothing,
gloves, shoes, and attendance at a safety discussion. Loading the
kiln is safe and
more hands help. After that, there is not much activity, managing
fire draft and moving stacks. Likely, we will have an evening
barbeque on Saturday.
Open discussions will be ongoing and Sean will be available all of
September 15-30 in the Washington area to bring the kiln to where
there is biomass that can be converted into Biochar.
Event Contacts
Registration application and local information -- Richard Haard,
haardrichar...@gmail.com or (360) 201 5174
Kiln information and appointments for other demonstrations -- Sean K.
Barry, http://www.troposphere-energy.com,
sean.ba...@juno.com or (651)-285-0904 (Work/Cell), (651) 351-0711
(home/fax)
Thank you ahead of time to any who can come!
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Permalink Reply by Philip Small on
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Sean Barry (above) is going to make some charcoal in Spokane while on the road to Bellingham from Stillwater, MN. Larry Williams, Bellingham, will be with him. They plan to fire up Sean's kiln on Tuesday morning 9/15 at the Barr Regional Bio-Industrial Park site at Exit 254, I-90, (map) 30 minutes west of Spokane. The public is invited to join in the celebration. Larry Condon, Barr, is providing the site and contributing the 10 yds of CDW (2x4s, pallets, etc.). Fresh Abundance/P.E.A.C.H. is also participating. For updates, contact me. Philip Small. psmall2009@landprofile.com, 509-838-9860 (work) 509-844-2944 (cell)
Side note: The Barr project is very interesting. (link to ppt presentation)
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