-
ICMag with help from Phlizon, Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest for Christmas! You can check it here. Prizes are: full spectrum led light, seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
How much biochar do you add to your living soil?
- Thread starter Growdo Baggins
- Start date
goingrey
Well-known member
That's a good question. I would imagine it is much better to have it mixed in with how the soil both gives to and takes from it. But I also don't really see any problem with having it at the top either.
Rico Swazi
Active member
the answer(s) to your question(s) raised in this thread (and others)
would be side by side grows
best way to learn is by doing , being observant, keeping notes
I've done biochar sides in the past on food crops lettuce onion beet etc. in living soils.
I didn't care for the results and believe a good deal of hype promoting its use is due to the biochar industry
the pic I showed earlier is from this side by side I am doing indoors at this time.
One is pumice rock compost base, the other wood chip compost base.
Both in healthy biologically diverse Living Soils over the past year two yrs
They will go out in the spring and do it all over again.
Rico Swazi
Active member
its got what plants crave!
Growdo Baggins
Active member
Is that grass clippings you use as mulch? I'm just now learning about covering my garden in mulch while everything's growing. Been trying to look around and see what type of stuff is good to use. My neighbors have hay fields they don't already herbicide or pesticide on. I was figuring on using that. I've been using it in compost piles.
Rico Swazi
Active member
Your situation sounds better all the time
Yes on the clippings, keep in mind the heat generated will turn them into gooey grey muck in a matter of hours. Spread them out immediately around your plants or on the compost heap , not too thick to create a mat tho, mix with lots of browns keeping an eye on temps, turning the pile of choosing when thermophilic. Are you turning your compost pile?
Pics below hopefully show what I mean on the grass clippings
Fairly dry yet still creating considerable heat. My preferred method of using grass clippings FWIW,
hay when I can get it, goes into compost production
Yes on the clippings, keep in mind the heat generated will turn them into gooey grey muck in a matter of hours. Spread them out immediately around your plants or on the compost heap , not too thick to create a mat tho, mix with lots of browns keeping an eye on temps, turning the pile of choosing when thermophilic. Are you turning your compost pile?
Pics below hopefully show what I mean on the grass clippings
Fairly dry yet still creating considerable heat. My preferred method of using grass clippings FWIW,
hay when I can get it, goes into compost production
Growdo Baggins
Active member
Hell yeah, I just turned both pulled yesterday and the one was hot. The other is pretty much done. It's been going since before summer but I kept adding things. There's a lot of worms in both.
St. Phatty
Active member
I use about 2% char and 1% wood ash, by weight.
I have a hunch - that the char "feels good" to the roots, and that like most chemical reactions there is an Electrical aspect to what works and what doesn't work.
i.e. the roots like the char because of its chemical and electrical characteristics.
A few days ago I swept up a pile of Madrone char from a fire 3 or 4 years ago.
I also collected some char from Tree Bark that I burned in a recent fire.
It actually makes a Ringing sound, like brass rifle shells or a metal knife.
I have a hunch - that the char "feels good" to the roots, and that like most chemical reactions there is an Electrical aspect to what works and what doesn't work.
i.e. the roots like the char because of its chemical and electrical characteristics.
A few days ago I swept up a pile of Madrone char from a fire 3 or 4 years ago.
I also collected some char from Tree Bark that I burned in a recent fire.
It actually makes a Ringing sound, like brass rifle shells or a metal knife.
Fungalfreude
New member
I've also been wondering about this, and am planning to use small chunks of biochar as the aeration component of my no till soil. Although not quite as porous as pumice (https://www.researchgate.net/public...r_implications_for_use_in_saline_environments), it is more porous than perlite (https://www.dorsetcharcoal.co.uk/post/biochar-instead-of-perlite-vermiculite) and has the added benefit over perlite that it doesn't break down in the soil, so you won't lose aeration over time in a no till soil due to soil compaction.
Add to that the fact that biochar also acts as a microbe habitat and perlite is just dead space in soil, and you have solid evidence for the suitability of biochar as the aeration component of your soil.
It's also more environmentally friendly than the alternatives, if you care about that sort of thing.
As an aside, if using biochar as a soil amendment at all, particle size comes into play. Check out this video
Add to that the fact that biochar also acts as a microbe habitat and perlite is just dead space in soil, and you have solid evidence for the suitability of biochar as the aeration component of your soil.
It's also more environmentally friendly than the alternatives, if you care about that sort of thing.
As an aside, if using biochar as a soil amendment at all, particle size comes into play. Check out this video
