How do YOU charge your bio-char?

[newguy41410]

"Charged Bio-char" is redundant.


M.O. wants you to need to use foliar sprays that they sell as "potions" to brand-loyal customers. Not that there is anything wrong with that if you want to spend extra money. However, if your soil is complete, healthy and alive absolutely no foliar feeding is necessary. Plants grown in a rich living soil just wouldn't need what M.O. sells.

if true, that would be bad ethics wouldnt you guys agree? i would think so. I would think it'd be a d-bag move of him to purposefully try to sway us to not charge our biochar in hopes we resort to his tonics asap. i really dont want to believe MO is a douche bag like that hahaha. I've got uncharged char in my mix. so... fingers crossed

 

[Siskiyou]

I'm not saying MO's M.O. is unethical for trying to sell their wares. I love capitalism. Theirs is just a different approach, and one that relies on foliars.

 

[CannaRed]

Yeah, I'm going to disagree with this. I've seen plants access to N when uncharged biochar is added to soil mixes with existing plants. Now when mixing soil, there's sufficient N to keep that from happening.

I use fish hydrolysate to charge my biochar (Black Owl is a great brand). However, you can use anything that provides a small amount of N to charge it. Urine, any N fertilizer, earthworm castings, even compost tea.

Not all biochar is created equal. Very important when buying it. I interviewed the owner of Black Owl Biochar on the subject if interested. Just google "cannabis podcast biochar" and it should pop up. Hope that helps.

No need to Google it. I have listened to every episode, I love your podcasts. Your knowledge of soil from your background combined with all the major players of our community create a wealth of information for your listeners.

While I have you here- how long would you soak in fish hydrolysate? And then how would add to my soil already in pots? Dump on a tarp to homogenize like said by previous poster?

 

[kushdream]

I mixed my biochar with the compost portion of the mix and let it sit for a week. then mixed with everything else. half went into a no till bed and the other got put aside, always kept moist. a month later as i had some of the happiest plants just packing on buds, i got a soil test on the other half. 8.4 ph, to high potassium and sodium. I'm still using the soil, done 5 runs in it. started good and just keeps getting better. go figure!

 

[Microbeman]

As Kushdream stated the correct way to charge char if relying on compost (please stop calling compost humus. It is NOT) is to mix the char with compost or vermicompost ahead of mixing with the soil. Ideally it should sit for a month+.

Let's not forget where biochar originated; the terra preta beds of the Amazon watershed. The char was left over wood from clearing fields with fire. There were uniquely contructed irrigation canals which allowed the flow of river silt, carrying a myriad of microorganisms and minerals (the bio part) and curiously there were broken clay pottery bits impeded into the soil.

This made for a happenstance or cleverly designed soil fertility which lasted for centuries.

I did not realize Mountain-o is Blue jay. If he is the Blue Jay who posted here before, he knows this stuff (or should).

 

[KIS]

No need to Google it. I have listened to every episode, I love your podcasts. Your knowledge of soil from your background combined with all the major players of our community create a wealth of information for your listeners.

While I have you here- how long would you soak in fish hydrolysate? And then how would add to my soil already in pots? Dump on a tarp to homogenize like said by previous poster?

Thanks for the kind words and glad they’ve been helpful. My concern is that a new grower might now distinguish between poorly made char and good biochar. There can be quite a difference in quality and plant response and even safety from toxic materials.

I just go with 1 oz per 10 gal of water and let it soak for a bit.

MM, I thought Terra Preta was from the breakdown of fires and clay pottery along the banks of the Amazon over successive generations. Do I have it wrong?

 

[Microbeman]

MM, I thought Terra Preta was from the breakdown of fires and clay pottery along the banks of the Amazon over successive generations. Do I have it wrong?

Partially. My point is that the concept of using biochar originated from observation of the Terra Preta beds. I did send you my small essay on this some years back. Some people have over emphasized the role of the clay pottery IMO.

My prose on the subject may be here somewhere.

Also read the first post by our friend Silver Surfer in the sticky on the subject;
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=73866

 

[Microbeman]

Here is my post from 2008
Please view it as hypothetical.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=1730603&postcount=26

What you have described sounds similar to conditions in Terra Preta beds. I do not really have an opinion on this as I have no direct knowledge, nor have I researched it extensively. I have often hypothesized and experimented with anaerobic and facultative anaerobes, especially strains of PNSBs similar to those found in EM. I had no profound revelations except that anaerobes have their place.

Analysis of the microbial constitution of Terra Preta soil is ongoing. I recently read that there is a large component of Aspergillus niger fungi. The significance if any is not yet known. Either, those ancient people really knew what they were doing or were lucky and flukey.

I have a cursory theory concerning those Terra Preta beds which are in bottomland areas but suspect it may apply to the upland beds as the Indigenous people likely transported soil and 'muck' to these low plateaus. It is as follows:

Re: Terra Preta

The Terra Preta soil regions are quite fascinating. After stumbling on the term on the Net I have done some quick reading to apprise myself of the surface information concerning Terra Preta.

It seems the current theory supports that this type of soil sustains carbons and nutrients over extended periods of time partially due to incompletely combusted organic materials (charcoal) and the interaction thereof with the soil microorganisms. The natives who
still have some bond to the history of this, maintain that if a minimum of 20 CM of the soil remains undisturbed by horticultural activities that the organismic activity re-sustains (re-invents) itself. This is not unlike a Winogradsky column which may provide a rudimentary laboratory example of what may be occurring here.

When one observes a map of the Terra Petra plots in the Amazon it is evident that there is a large concentration of them in close proximity to the larger trunks of the Amazon River and to the sea coast portion of the Amazon. https://www.geo.uni-bayreuth.de/boden...eta/TP_map.jpg

I also read that the indigenous people (IP) had built canals lined with special shaped (diamond) stones which allowed the flow of river silt. Now, knowing (or think I know {TIK}) that there are certain organisms (purple non sulfur bacteria,(PNSB) cyanobacteria, bacillus {N fixers}, yeast/fungi, protozoa, etc. etc.) in pond/river mud and in sea water and knowing (TIK) that sea water also contains a similar consortia of microbes (which may interact beneficially with the mud and forest microbes to create a broader spectrum consortia) and that there are large influxes of salt water up the Amazon; I may hypothesize that the IP flooded large paddies (beds, plots) with this silt/mud salt-fresh water mix. In these paddies were large amounts of incompletely combusted organic material (charcoal) remaining from the IP's method of clearing land. The result perhaps was the utilization of the charcoal by the microbe consortia to sustain itself and produce waste which resulted in the production and fixation of bio-available soil/plant nutrients. The organisms would naturally sustain themselves at the depths conducive to their aerobic/anaerobic and dietary lot in life, with fermentation occurring at the lower levels providing nutrients for the organisms above them. The phototrophic microbes (PNSBs; Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Rhodobacter sphaeriodes, Rhodobacter capsulatus; would naturally be somewhat closer to the surface to absorb light but not too close to hit air and the upper levels would consist of aerobic and facultative organisms (cyanobacteria, etc. if I'm not mistaken). This would support the statement that the system re-establishes itself if no more than 20 cm is disturbed.

Of course at some point the paddy/plot would be drained in preparation for planting but the microbial consortia presumably sustains itself with less moisture.

 

[trichrider]

i believe the clay shards were bedpans the inhabitants discarded and that the tera preta beds were sewer leaching systems for the population, or just direct dumps of sewer...there was/is a lot of char in terra preta...maybe they burned brush to eliminate the smell that became char. yearly flooding by the amazon would then cover with silt.

 

[slownickel]

I use amino acid from fish to charge my biochar. Nitrogen gets the system started. It is all about the C/N ratio. This is the cheapest around especially if you are on the west coast.

https://www.amazon.com/Fertilizer-1...&sr=8-122&keywords=amino+acid+fish+fertilizer

 

[Somatek]

i believe the clay shards were bedpans the inhabitants discarded and that the tera preta beds were sewer leaching systems for the population, or just direct dumps of sewer...there was/is a lot of char in terra preta...maybe they burned brush to eliminate the smell that became char. yearly flooding by the amazon would then cover with silt.

Interesting idea, I just assumed the char was from burning clearings to grow crops and assumed that was the accepted theory. A quick search turned up this;

"The origin of Amazonian Dark Earths
Already at the end of the 19th century, Smith (1879) and Hartt (1885) reported the existence of dark earths in the Amazon, which had a dark color and were highly fertile. The origin of the Amazonian Dark Earths is not entirely clear and several conflicting theories were discussed in the past. Camargo (1941) speculated that these soils might have formed on fallout from volcanoes in the Andes, since they were only found on the highest spots in the landscape. Other theories included a formation as a result of sedimentation in Tertiary lakes (Falesi, 1974) or in recent ponds (Cunha-Franco, 1962). Further theories are mentioned by Smith (1980), which all did not hold against later investigations. It is now widely accepted that these soils were not only used by the local population but are a product of indigenous soil management as proposed by Gourou (1949). Later surveys confirmed these findings (Sombroek, 1966; Smith, 1980; Kern and Kämpf, 1989). Whether they were intentionally created for soil improvement or whether they are a by-product of habitation is not clear at present. This is in part due to the varied features of the dark earths throughout the Amazon Basin."

It's always nice learning you're assumption is wrong & correcting it.

 

[trichrider]

uh oh, i need auto-correct for my speculations.


i've been dumping char into the bucket where i collect food for the vermiculture.
it gets well mixed and fed to the worms which digest the 'bio' into the 'char'.


i've also used ACT, or fish hydrosolate to similar results.


i don't think i've created terra preta though, however hard i tried to imagine it happening inside in pots....

 

[CannaRed]

Thanks for the kind words and glad they’ve been helpful. My concern is that a new grower might now distinguish between poorly made char and good biochar. There can be quite a difference in quality and plant response and even safety from toxic materials.

If a grower cannot easily or safely acquire black owl or comparable, would "Cowboy" brand hardwood charcoal be acceptable?

This brand is usually at the big box stores.

 

[MrBungle]

The big thing with bio char is there is no green wood left... It all has to be charred completely through...


I don't know if those charcoal brickets for cooking food are fully charred through

 

[CannaRed]

The big thing with bio char is there is no green wood left... It all has to be charred completely through...


I don't know if those charcoal brickets for cooking food are fully charred through

Cowboy brand is solid hardwood charcoal. It's not the compressed saw dust briquettes that Henry Ford invented- (Kingsford)

 

[MrBungle]

I've seen the cowboy brand... I guess its more of a lump than a briquette.. I would still smash a couple lumps to see if its charred through.



Cause while the complete charring might happen, I don't know if that is actually what they are trying to achieve in their process.. so some still might be "green"

 

[xet]

I just made a double batch of biochar.

First I made my char from various dry sources. Shredded mulch, untreated pine, and even some fresh dog manure.

After I hosed the fire down I moved it all to the bucket that had some standing water.

I spread it out to ensure all was soaked and no longer burning.

I added diotomaceous earth, several scoops of Happy Frog potting mix, few table spoons of pink salt for the 600+ minerals, Cacao powder (magnesium and more), fresh brewed coffee grounds, chicken manure, urine, and that is it, real basic. It soaked for a few days in this and I am letting it dry out and I will mix into my soil when my plants move from container to ground. The most important part of this step was crushing the char as fine as possible. The largest pieces now are ~3/4 the size of a soda bottle cap ranging all the way down in size to a fine slurry of char.

 

[trichrider]

i use a ball mill, i want it as fine as possible for the maximum surface area.
no chunks. the worms must be able to pass it.


it's all good though, it will harbor plenty of microbes and nutrients even with lumps and bits.

 

[newguy41410]

What BlueJay aka mountain organics had to say about raw versus charged biochar recently

Taken from the following IG post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk4EB66hAH9/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=snphbhsddz8

 

[Siskiyou]

I strongly encourage anyone who wants to actually learn about this topic to research deeper than instagram.

Posting it larger does not make it more correct.

I would much prefer to use biochar harvested from my worm bin than bits of char that are not yet full of nutrients and beneficial microorganisms. I am not saying that is better, it is just how I prefer to do it. OK...I'm saying mine is better.