How to Make High Quality Biochar From The DOLLAR STORE (and Save 75-90%)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- Why spend $10-12/lb for biochar when you can make the best stuff right from the dollar store for 75-90% less. STEAL! Check out our new clothing line! http:www.freshpickedapparel.com
A tip for making it easier to get into the bad is cut the string stitching on the top of the bag & pull them & it will open like a zipper (one way doesn’t work but the other does, so trial & error to find the correct side) than you could spray a light mist of water into the bag to try help with the dust.
Keep up the great work!
I've been getting it by the 50# bag at Sam's, but it's a huge, backbreaking chore to smash it all down and sift it. Yesterday, I got the bright idea to run it through my electric wood chipper. The result was pieces about 1/4" to 3/8" in size, which is perfect for my tastes. I learned three things: 1) Don't do this if you are sweating. 2) Do this BEFORE you shower. 3) Use clothes you plan on throwing away, or do it naked. I'm also going to have to hose the chipper down, but this only took me 45 minutes, as opposed to 5-8 hours.
🤣
Consider making a ball mill from a steel drum. You can make it relatively airtight and also add some water so you don't have to breathe in all that dust. If you or someone you know can weld, then you're in business.
@@josiahhockenberry9846 I second the ball mill idea, much better to throw charcoal into a big drum and let an electric motor do the work than to try and smash it by hand.
The chipper might be dangerous if you're naked unless you wear a cup
Thanks for this info. I was reading the comments in hopes that some one would say they used a small wood chipper.👍
I suggest you also show how to apply the bio-char compost-tea mix to the garden bed.
^
I think he plans to pour it out of the bucket around the beds then mix in the bigger chunks
I also was waiting for the final step, the application rate... Great learning video!
Agree..I was waiting for "next steps". How to apply.
That’s what I was wondering as well
Dude, you are the Mr. Rogers of gardening...and I mean that in a good way! Keep on going, brother.
According to my research, you can also use ALL NATURAL HARDWOOD CHARCOAL BRIQUETTES because the only additive these briquettes have (which are made from lump charcoal dust) is a binder, such as cornstarch. If you soak them in a nitrogen rich solution (ie pee) they will dissolve into a slurry. you don't have to grind the lump charcoal down and risk ingesting the dust.
So that was you peeing in the bucket of charcoal briquettes
They are too fine. Normally you'd want your biochar chips at the size of your fingernails.
No, don't.
If you crimp two cans together and punch a tiny hole on one end, you can fill it with wood, sticks, even bones, and let it sit on a grill or fireplace. It'll spew the wood gas out the hole in a flame jet and once that stops (roll it around with a poker to be thorough) you can wait for it to cool and youll be left with a little bit of charcoal.
We've been heating our house off of oak we cut from our property. I've been collecting the charcoal left in the ashes everytime I clean out my fireplace.
I swear by biochar. I've had great results making my own version of Terra Preta. One thing; you definitely must wear a face mask if you need to pulverise. Even if you *THINK* the wind or air current is blowing the black charcoal dust cloud away from your face, an hour later when you sneeze or spit out you'll notice that the mucus will be jet black from the super fine airfloat charcoal. While charcoal is not as toxic to breathe in as, say, asbestos or silica dust, it is best to avoid inhalation of particulate matter into your lungs, no matter what. You can actually buy pre-pulverised horticultural-grade charcoal, depending on your location (you can find it online) and/or how much you are willing to spend (pre-pulverised might be more expensive due to the labour and energy costs involved in producing a charcoal granulate). Tip: wetting the charcoal chunks prior to pulverising will produce less dust.
Tell you what: I had the same problem with perlite.
They tell you to wear a mask, and I didn't.
I was coughing up perlite dust for 5 minutes.
Stuff is nasty.
I have just been exposed to the idea of making biochar. The process reminds me of what I have read of Terra Preta, the super productive agricultural soil made long ago in the amazon area. Thanks for verifying that.
The pulverizing should be done while the charcoal is wet and dust would not be an issue.
@@MarkTrades__ I've tried that, but bizarrely enough, dust is still generated. You see, charcoal initially has a high degree of hydrophobicity/water-repellency. The surface of the charcoal chunks were wetted, but the water never soaked though into the interior of the chunks. Not even after soaking for a day. So, when I attempted to crush what I assumed was entirely wettened charcoal, the bone dry interior of the charcoal chunks generated a lot of dust.
@@garycard1456 idk man - I got around to trying this out and when I wet the char, it kept the dust down almost completely.
We used to live in Idaho and we used wood ashes from our wood stove on our garden with manure from a nearby farm. Our garden was stupendous!!!
If I put wood ash straight in my garden would I burn my plans?
@@Figs4Life no
A Stewpendous idea!
@@Figs4Life you need to go easy on ash and don’t use it every year. It also doesn’t have the same long term benefits of biochar.
@@ashleycampbell8799 okay ty
I only BBQ with hardwood lump charcoal, and all the crumbs and dust (usually the bottom 10% of the bag) just goes in the compost along with the ashes. I’ve always laughed at garden centre prices for “biochar.”
I put a 30gal barrel with lid inside a 50gal barrel to make charcoal. Hardwood inside the small barrel with a small hole in the cap. Make a fire inside the big barrel that the small one sits in. Super easy and contained. Great stuff. Good luck my friends ☮️
Do you know how many biochar videos I've watched that don't explain what biochar does? How to make and use, sure, but nothing compared to your explanation at 3:40
Thank you, Luke. Thank you very much.
I wish I could love this comment like on FB. My sentiments exactly.
there is a channel called Skill cult hes going into some pretty in depth testing with this stuff
Mix biochar with your grass clippings to get your compost heating up and working well. The carbon will grab up that excess of nitrogen and slowly release it back into the soil. Usually grass clippings are to high in nitrogen and need a source of carbon to break down properly and promote good microbes.
To save you some time here is basically what Biochar does in the soil:
1) Adsorbs minerals and such (like a magnet attracts and holds iron filings).
2) Plants roots migrate to those minerals and can use them.
3) Makes a nice way to maintain moisture but lets excess moisture drain away - similar to using perlite in the soil but holds some moisture like a sponge does.
4) Makes a home for beneficial soil microbes and beneficial fungi.
5) Improves soil tilth (fluffiness).
6) Improves the nitrogen cycle and cation exchange.
Biochar could deter some pests.
Worms will consume very tiny particles as they eat other things, and their digestive tract will super inoculate the biochar in the castings. Double benefit.
You can make biochar even in a city so long as you have access to a grill - just takes 2-3 hours to make a batch, longer sometimes. Spend a day at the park :-)
I make mine in a wood burner stove since I need to heat with it anyway. It can be made in a fireplace (Biocharlie is made to do that). Gases burn and add heat just like it was a log but better.
About the small particles being used up. This is not entirely true. Depends on the material and the pyrolysis temperature mostly.
Powdery biochar can leech out of the soil up to 17% of the volume. But it has the greatest surface area for the greatest benefits.
Powdery type biochar is a great way to add it into a lawn/exiting garden/pot without digging/tilling. Mix with water and water the lawn. Benefits can be in hours.
Ideally you want it granule size (1mm or less). But various particle sizes are best because the different sizes have different reasons for the benefit.
Larger ones are like Hotels, and small particle sizes are like single family home in a way.
I make mine out of 100% oak wood pellets. I smash them in a bucket with a wooden pole to get the various sizes.
My process is a bit labor intensive but I do make good biochar.
I make the charcoal out of the pellets and while they are HOT from the fire, I quench them in a solution of sulphur free molasses, confrey tea, and a tad bit of apple cider vinegar with mother.
After straining out the liquid, I smash small batches, then put those in another bucket. Once that bucket gets about 1/4 full, I sprinkle in a small handful of organic fertilizer granules and small handful of wheat flour then mix well.
Takes me about 2-3 days to make a 5 gal bucket of it.
And the wood pellets cost about $5/bag plus tax.
If you do this buy heating wood pellets what have 100% oak on the bag!
Don't use flavored wood pellets or pellets that do not say 100%. Don't use regular grill charcoal as it has petroleum and other things in it.
The container used to char the pellets is stainless steel stock pot with stainless steel lid. Lasts a long time too.
A new unlined paint can also can make small batches. Be sure to poke or drill at least a 1/4" hole in the lid to release the flammable gases.
Paint cans usually last about 2-3 burns.
Application rate for biochar is generally about 10% to 12%.
But any is better than none. And exceeding 25% can be wasteful or detrimental.
Start low. You can always add more later. But extremely hard to remove the biochar if you have too much.
I put my biochar in the soil in the cold weather and let it do it's thing till spring planting.
It can take biochar 3 months to 2 years to properly benefit the soil and plants.
Greatest benefit for biochar is in nutrient poor and sandy type soils.
Very rich soils it can help but not a whole lot.
About the youtube author - to reduce the powder problem just dampen the charcoal a bit.
Keeps dust down.
Watch Gardener Scott his video broke it down completely!!
Real biochar doesn't break down. Biochar is an extremely stable solid carbon compound that lasts for centuries if not millenials. That is, if it was gasified in excess of 500°C in an inert atmosphere (no oxygen). Biochar is most beneficial if made from garden/farm residues (straw, branches etc), as it turns biodegradable carbon (biomass) into non-biodegradable carbon (biochar) and usable heat energy, all the while eliminating pests and diseases that can grow on these residues. To put it into perspective, if all agricultural residue were to be gasified at 600°C without oxygen, we could substitute 7-8% of human's total (primary), annual energy consumption, all while sequestering 9Gt CO2 per year.
Yes I thought it was odd that he said it broke down after 3 years. The first time I heard about biochar was when I watched the "terra preta" documentary and scientists had estimated the Amazonian biochar was hundreds of years old.
@@dontjustbeanotherbrickinthewal then it seems you don't know a whole lot about science. And probably you haven't read any scientific article about biochar, otherwise you would know.
@@dontjustbeanotherbrickinthewal i don't see the connection between your video and the whole biochar topic. Biochar is a technology that has a tremendous potential in improving various parameters that matter to human kind
Well said!
The question is how did the ancient Amazonians determine what 600C was?
About straw and such - soft materials retain more minerals. Hard materials allow for more occupation of soil organisms.
Yes! This is the only real solution to Global Warming. Big Agriculture is not sustainable and will eventually lead to severe famines.
I love the way you teach and it helps me to understand why I’m doing something! You speak to the nerd in me and answer all the “whys’ “ that’s I have lol Thank you! First year of trying to grow a large food garden you have been amazing!
This is fantastic advice for those gardening on a budget! I love how your constantly thinking outside the box.
Hello, I really like your channel. But I just got to know what makes biochar biochar. It is made in a containet without oxygene and that makes the wood burn the way it only leaves the carbon. The biochar will absorb moisture and then release it when ground gets dry. It will also stay on the ground for over 300 years. Pretty cool!! This info is from the Finnish biochar-project, from MTT.
The basic charcoal is also beneficial for the garden, but it will compost and cannot absorb the water and nutrients the way biochar will. (the biochar will have 5-400 m2 inner cavities and basic charcoal has close to none)
Keep up the good work and happy gardening from Finland, where we are having the warmest autumn of all 😀
HIs enthusiasm is contagious and so refreshing. Luke always makes my day - and makes me a bit smarter with each video...
Thanks for the informative video. When I made it, I put a tarp over the bucket to keep the small particulates inside while I smashed it. I also pre-smashed it by driving on the charcoal between two tarps.
I'm a newbie gardener and I honestly have just been absorbing and applying all that your videos have taught me, thanks for the awesome videos MIgardener!!
I’ve gardened a few times and noticed some problems, now I’m learning all new techniques from this guy, I also watch Epic Gardener and Self Sufficient Me for great tips. Never would’ve thought of container gardening to save garden space, let alone what to plant in containers without the advice from these guys.
Thanks for sharing less expensive tip. Used biochar last year. Plants loved it.
Awesome video! Really loved that one, lots of great information. Biochar is cool too because you can use diseased wood which you can't normally compost, and it actually reduces pests and pathogens in your soil
I have a ton of wood lying around!
I just inherited my father in law's old house on some forested land away from the city. He left piles of logs and kindling all over the property. I want to make my own bio char now!
maybe look into hugelkultur as well
That's actually exactly what I'm doing! Creating raised rows using Hugelkultur!
I am learning so much from your channel. Thank you!! Walmart has 30lb bags for $17. Will be whipping this up ASAP.
Wow, what a coincidence!!! I spotted the same brand wood charcoal at my nearest Walmart just yesterday! Bought a 30# bag for only a little over $18 is all! Glad to know that I ain’t the only one that thought of this awesome idea! Have fun and happy gardening! 😊👍
suprisingly. I have bought alot of the charcoal at walmart for cooking at this royal oak hardwood lump stuff was the best I have found so far. Cooks hotter & for longer than briquettes and leaves the meat with a GREAT smkoy flavor rather than that kinda "kingsford charcoal & lighter fluid" flavor haha.
this is also what they mean when they say forests are huge carbon sinks. All that carbon came from the air. Trees make the best fertilizer. The reason being is all tress are nutrient dense containing a lot of nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, and oxygen, loads of sugar in the form of cellulose which bacteria love to break down into even more basic chemicals for plants.
Alex Quaesar - now that is something I didn’t know - thanks for that information! 😉👍
Alex Quaesar - I have filled multiple raised beds of mine with the forest black topsoil - my vegetable plants flourished in this stuff!
@@jeffcampbell479 No problem, truth is you can get the same effect by using regular topsoil, biochar, and wood ash. The caveat is wood ash has a lot of unique nutrients and compounds that are extremely beneficial to plants, however to release those compounds for plant use they require specific mycorrhizal species, Suillus granulatus, and Paxillus involutus. These species can extract various toxic elements like lead and titanium from your soil and produce fairly edible mushrooms, but only if you're not sensitive to the antibodies they produce. Paxillus Involutus if you're hyper sensitive can kill you if you eat one raw. They only grow in acidic soils, such as those around pine trees. Unfortunately the calcium carbonate in wood ash neutralizes soil and makes it hard for micorrhizal to grow. so it's important to keep in mind balance, there isn't a one size fits all so you'd have to experiment.
Explains the hugelkultur method that buries tree limbs in raised beds. The decaying wood acts as a nutrient source and water-absorbing sponge that gives up it's moisture on dry sunny days. Do a Google search.
I’m a beginning gardener thanks so much for the informative videos enjoy very much
At the end of last year I picked up extra bags of compost. I'll be able to use that for doing this. Telling us how to do this ourselves in the pit is appreciated. I do have a pit, and last year I cleaned out the ash and have that in a bucket. But now I know I can't use that ash. However, I do have maple tree branches I can do with what you've said.....for free. Thank you.
A couple of points:
1) biochar doesn’t break down in anywhere near 3 to 5 years. There are deposits in the Amazon that are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. It may take 3 to 5 years for the biochar to become fully charged up if one doesn’t put it full of nutrients before dumping it into the ground. That may be where there is some confusion.
2) I have read on a few websites that hardwood charcoal is somewhat less effective than true bio char carbon produced in a stove specifically meant for producing bio char. However, it is for easier and probably for cheaper to simply buy the hardwood charcoal and use a bit more of it (say 15% -20%, vs. 10% “true” biochar) to obtain the same degree of effectiveness.
FWIW, I think that the idea presented in this video is fantastic, as it will encourage many more people to start using bio char. I have purchased three bags of hardwood charcoal over the last week or two, and I definitely plan on grinding it up and mixing it with compost for my upcoming garden. I am also going to be using worm castings as part of my compost, and I am seriously considering growing my compost pile completely through the use of worms. Apparently, if the biochar bits are small enough, the worms swallow it along with food waste and other decaying biological material, and charge up the tiny bits of biochar from inside their digestive system. This is a way to combine the benefits of both bio char and worm castings.
You are certainly correct about charcoal's longevity, but I've got to ask you what the difference is between the carbon in this charcoal as compared to the carbon in what you're calling "true bio-char"? What is the definition of "true bio-char"? 😉
@@IAMSatisfied I think that the main difference is that when you’re buying mass produced bags of hardwood charcoal, some of the wood has not been fully combusted. So you’re really not buying 100% charcoal. Compare and contrast to charcoal that you make yourself with a top down burning technique. Chances are that it will be 100% charcoal. That difference, if it truly exists, is why I suggested in my original post that one simply put a bit more of the store-bought, charcoal, properly charged with nutrients, into the soil to obtain the same effect.
Here is a follow-up: I used your method last fall, to break it down and used it as-is. This time, I then ran it through my blender and turned it into dust and really small pieces. One bag of charcoal will make two gallons of powder/BB-sized pieces. Use one cup per square foot. Do the math to figure how many cups there are in a gallon, and you will know how many bags to buy. I charged my charcoal with straight urine and it worked out great! I produce 2-3 gallons of it a day (long story), so I use it for everything.
What size bag?
@@markmcfarland5291 That was a 15# bag, but I now use the 50# bags at Sam's and run it through the wood chipper. It makes even-sized 1/4" pieces. You have to resharpen the blades afterwards though.
Awesome! We’ve started adding charcoal in to our chicken bedding, it keeps smells down, soaks up any liquids, and makes the compost even better.
Thank you for all your excellent tips and training!! I really appreciate all you teach.
Brother thanks 🙏🏼 so much for sharing this I was looking for a video with this info man thanks for everything you do 👍🏼👏🏼!!!
I've been making charcoal in my woodstove and getting 3 to 5 gallons a week this Winter. Getting the stove hot enough to micro fracture the bio char would turn it to ash, so I keep the stove down around 200 or 250 degrees. When I get enough charcoal, I clean out the stove and put it in a steel bucket. I hit it briefly w/ air from a shop vac to micro fracture the char before quenching it. I'm charging it w/ horse and chicken manure.
Wow! I've been wanting to try Biochar for awhile now. Making it seems much cheaper. Thank you Luke.
I love your explanation of Biochar. Will you do a video of how you apply it to your garden bed, how much, should it be watered in , etc? Once it’s applied in your garden bed, can you plant immediately? Can it also be used in potted plants or veggies?
Gosh, my husband uses that to grill. I have heard of biochar but again didn't know what it did except it was "good". Awesome video!
Great job I watched till end! Lots of great information 👍 I was learning about Biochar 🌱🌱🌱
VERY IMPORTANT: USE ONLY PLAIN HARDWOOD CHARCOAL WITH NO CHEMICALS!!!! I know he said it but it deserves repeating. Just plain, hardwood charcoal with no chemicals added.
I plan to make a slurry of rain water, worm castings, manure, silica, liquid kelp, azomite and other organic fertilizers, ph it down to 6.3 and then mix in the charcoal.
How many chemicals would be added to "hardwood charcoal"?
@@unafilliatedx2310 you would be surprised. there are videos by bbq masters comparing different types of hardwood charcoal and some brands give off chemical off gassing
@@unafilliatedx2310 Hopefully none. But if someone were to think just any charcoal will do, they could be adding unwanted flammable chemicals to their garden.
Dave, what do you plan to use to ph it down? We have alkaline soil and this has been a concern of mine.
@@EarlyMusicDiva I don't think a relatively small amount of biochar is going to make any changes in soil Ph, especially here in Michigan. For alkaline soil (which we do not have), my understanding is that the long-term solution is compost, compost compost. Add leaves, organic matter, straw, etc.. and over time the soil should become more neutral. If your soil is so alkaline that you have problems growing, you might want to consider straw bale gardening which is part of my overall strategy. Every year I get about 10 straw bales, get the centers "cooking" with water and high nitrogen fertilizer, and then when the centers are broken down enough so you can dig holes into them, I plant straight in to the bales. Tomatoes seem to do best, but I've also grown potatoes, carrots, peas, parsnips, beans, flowers, etc.. straight in to bales. By the end of the season they start falling apart so I combine them into my raised beds where all the organic matter very quickly breaks down into rich composted material.
Wow, I never knew that. I'm going to have to try it this year.. Thanks for this video!
Goes to the dollar store and buys a bag of charcoal
"So that was a HUGE success!"
Man I really love your optimism. Great video again! As usual I learned a lot.
Me too. ♥ 😂 I love the excitement
HAHAHA, best comment ever! LMAO. indescribable. SNL need to do fcking sketches...
Love that idea
Just wanted to let everyone know that it's not 'charcoal' ~ did you notice that he walked past the charcoal & was looking for a specific form which is 'hardwood lump'
@@MsSunstoned Yeah, it is just charcoal. Natural charcoal. What it is not is charcoal briquettes. He walked past the charcoal briquettes. Hair = split.
Important to note that an N95 mask like the one Luke wore (or N99/N100) is best, not your average surgical face mask that you usually see people wearing in clinics, hospitals, TV shows, etc. Surgical masks only keep droplets from entering/exiting your nose/mouth, whereas the N95, N99/N100 will filter particles such as smoke, dirt, and dust. Thanks for another fun and educational video!
where can I get this mask? What is the price ?
I have a small pack stove in my shop for heating. It works great for making biochar. Just get a good fire going for 1/2 hour and then load it up with wood and close the air intake and exhaust. The exhaust valve has a small hole so it doesn't completely close off, allowing gasses to escape and not smoke up the shop.
I was looking at building something to make biochar but now I know I don't need to- thanks!!!
Biochar doesn't break down. Terra petra is amazonian soil that has biochar from 1000yrs ago. One of the other benefits of using biochar is that you're basically locking carbon permanently away.
Thanks for the tag-along! MI is just like i remember it; in Royal Oak, as a matter o fact!
buy it before winter. let buckets sit with water so it can freeze. the next summer it breaks up nice. add it to your fertilizer for best results. this has been the best way i found to make your own over the years. of course a fire is great to make large amounts.
Great Video! Also, Menards (midwest) sells lump charcoal for $5.31, for an even cheaper value.
I have fibromyalgia and my gardening efforts have often suffered from my having flareups. My intention of what I think I should do is always on a scale of being a dreamer and what I can actually do does not necessarily match up. So I keep looking for the ideas that pay off long term like perennials and fruit trees and a ton of what I can learn about permaculture. Thanks for this idea! I went out and bought a bag of the hardwood charcoal today, same brand and everything as it turned out. I am about to go outside this evening and inoculate some of it. I am also going to put out some cardboard and some of the free "mulch" I picked up 7 bags worth of at the side of the road.
I bought some Bio char in a bag from Lowe’s a few years ago. I put a hand full of it in each plant as I planted them. Everything seemed to do real well that year. I’ve been looking ever since locally, haven’t found it. I seen a bag on Burpees site but the price was ridiculous. Thanks for the video.
That’s an amazing trick!!!! Thank you so much for this tip and all other information you always share on your channel!
Not a trick. Science.
This isn't real biochar. That's why it breaks down after 3 years. It still has wood and related compounds in it. This method is convenient, but much less effective. You could buy this stuff, then burn it more until the volatile compounds that give the meat flavor are gone. Then it could be real biochar. But you're still buying something that you still have to burn more. Real biochar doesn't have that volatile flavor stuff. I like what you're doing with the compost tea and crushing it though. For my garden, I"m making the real stuff. I agree with Jonas Lecholt.
Loven this, so affordable and oh so easy!! Thanks Luck!!!
Thank you for this video Luke!!!!!
Do you have a follow up video of how the biochar affected your plants? And was it sufficiently changed before using? Thanks
Thank you Luke excellent explanation!
I've been thinking about using store biochar for a while and was thinking the price would be to high, but you made some great points
Great idea, thanks for all your tips
I love that you used a store we all have.
I have learned so much from you...thank you
OMG this is crazy. I watched so many videos on BioChar and kept thinking is this just charcoal! thanks so much for this video. so grateful.
It’s not just charcoal…
@@Grateful_Grannieso does this method actually work or is this just charcoal
Feb 2020: I really like these N95 masks...
Well, so much for that. :P
I'm a prepper and my cat dumped my tub of medical supplies over the other day. When I went to put everything back in, I discovered a whole box of them, LOL. Didn't even know I had them. Not that I need one anyway. I had the virus back in March. Still, good to know they're there, in case something serious presents itself in the future.
@@D.A.Hanks14 you still need those masks more than ever. People are getting reinfected with the virus after 3 - 5 months. You're not out of the woods yet!
@@sgibau They may be getting re-infected but they aren't dying. Second time around is also a lot better than the first because the antibodies are already present. What most people are catching the second time is actually SARS; same family, different vintage.
@@sgibau We'll never be out of the woods. That's what "new normal" means.
@@sgibau Can we at least do ONE thing (gardening please) without the COVID nonsense taking over the conversation?
I have been using hardwood lump charcoal for my grills/smoker for 15+yrs, and adding the leftover bits to my soil and compost for 12+yrs. That Royal Oak you used is very good stuff. It is my second favorite behind Wisconsin-made "Grove" brand lump charcoal. Many other brands are not very good.
I made my own charcoal last year from my tree pruning. Ended up with 150+ gallons of charcoal I mixed into the garden.
I designed a double stacked steel drum system that doubles as an incinerator. It’s 2 55gallon drums stacked end to end and welded together open between. There is a hole in the very top that makes up about a 1/3 in the back. And the upper barrel has a hole in the front in the middle around 12x12 ish. The bottom has 4 holes for oxygen to get it started and hot. Once it’s hot you bury those holes with dirt. You just keep feeding in wood. It burns extremely hot with very little smoke. This is because the wood is burning in a low oxygen environment near the bottom but as the smoke rises up, at the top of the barrel it’s mixed with oxygen and burns off inside of the barrel, which adds more heat to the system and makes for nearly no smoke out the chimney. Unlike every single other method of producing charcoal. It was such a hot process I was able to do this with green wood too, but I don’t recommend it as it slows the process and creates a lot of steam smoke.
Love ALL your videos Luke!
2:13 Can't quit laughing how you tossed the bag out of the scene.
🤣🤣🤣 so subtle
But, a good way to break up into smaller pieces.
About six months from the time you made that video, I decided to try mixing biochar into my potting soil., so I did what you did. there's a dollar general in my neighborhood. I needed to break the charcoal into bits that would go through a 7mm sieve... in my apartment. What I did was to lay an old brick in the bottom of a cardboard box, cut a small hole to fit the end of my shop vac hose, cut a larger hole to fit my hand through and went to work with a 2 lb. short-handled sledgehammer. The vac pulled out the dust from crushing, but sifting made more, and my hands were filthy up to the elbow. Ugh. I used the charcoal that was left in the bag for the barbecue, then went online. When I looked for horticultural charcoal, it cost way too much. I also saw aquarium filter carbon. Still way too expensive. What I finally found, still expensive, but not so bad, was coconut shell charcoal sold for filling air filters. That's what I've been using ever since. I only need a little bit, (about a pint to a bushel of soil mix) so a ten-pound bag lasts me over a year.
Could you please explain what you mean by "breaking down" in a few years? Sorry I have to ask, but all the scientific literature I've been reading indicates the benefits last for several hundred years. I'm also curious about why you're not using an air pump to inoculate the slurry and feeding it with flour or molasses. Seems like that's the way most people do it. My understanding is that oxygen is required to keep if from going anaerobic and populating the char with "bad" bacteria.
There's a big circle of cinder blocks where a local tree removal company burned all their chipped wood, I collect the charred lumps and ashes and use them as drainage in my planters. I pound them down to smaller size with an old brick too, and mix the resulting powder and grit into my soil.
Wow great video! Thanks Luke!
I've done tons of research into biochar, and used those exact charcoal briquets for terrarium soil maintenance but somehow NEVER made the connection to just use that charcoal to make biochar!! I always figured I would have to make charcoal! Thanks so much for this video!
You have to use lump charcoal not charcoal briquettes
Briquettes have fuel added to them, you would not want to put them in your garden.
cool I well definitely have to think about making that for my garden beds
When I 1st started my container garden, I just tossed chunks of charcoal midway in the container. This will be year 3 for a garden and I still have pieces in them. I also bbq and use natural lump charcoal. Once the ashes cool down in the grill, I put it in the containers
Once you have finished cooking on the barbecue, extinguish the fire with water then let it cool down. That will prevent too much of the charcoal from burning away, but if you let it burn down naturally, you will have more ash, which is also beneficial.
Nice Content Man :) Looking forward to buying some Trifecta + This month...
As a kid I learned gardening from my grandmother sh was born in 1901
Hey Luke, watching this video for the umtinth time, had to really laugh this time listening to your comment on not being able to find small wood lying around, not true this spring after the big ice storm that took out our power here south of Jackson. We're still picking up sticks and twigs, lol. Thank you for so many informative videos and your positive attitude 😊
I am trying to make biochar myself using a typical weber original grill. I start a small fire on the bottom of the grill, & basically try to pile on another layer quickly to where it ALMOST smothers the fire.
Then I nurse the fire back by using a stick to lift part of the burn media to get more air in there, etc. Once that layer lights up, I wait for it to turn white over a majority of the surface & then I repeat the process of adding more material to smother the previous layer.
I do this until the grill fills up, throw one last layer on & try to get it to burn as hot as possible, THEN SPRAY WITH SOME WATER TO SHOCK THE WOOD & PUT THE LID OF THE GRILL ON AND CLOSE ALL VENTS. This creates more cracks in the char ideally (water) and the lid keeps the water you just sprayed from smoking up the whoel neighborhood & ensures the fire gets smothered.
I'd say I got maybe 50% efficiency from this in the grill on my first attempt as alot still converted to ash, but I had a nice fire going and a great smell in the neighborhood & still got biochar out of fallen limbs, pine cones, pine needles, & pulled weeds from in my yard.
Wow, so full of great information. I'm going to Dollar General now. Thanks
Great content Luke! Nice diversity with the "buy or make it" concept.👍
Where was this vlog last year when I was Buying biochar? Thank you for making this informative vlog
Thank you for posting . Just bought Royal Oak lumps. Thanks again !🇺🇸😎🇺🇸
I just read a 14-page study titled Qualitative Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds on Biochar. One of the conclusions was "It is important that the presence of individual VOC compounds and the combined effects of these compounds be elucidated because their presence may cause diverse responses from biochar additions to soils or other growth media." In plain language this means you're rolling the dice putting charcoal that will burn into the soil. You can find the paper (and lots of other great info on biochar) on the USDA website by searching for: voc biochar spokas 2011
If you have wood ash. You can save to put in driveway to melt snow. Also keeps the weeds down in a gravel driveway. And you can make soap with ash. Its a good resource.
Really good to know. Little pots and trays are OK with pellets and perlite, but biochar is great for the bigger jobs like beds and planters. Thanks!
Field trip! Great info thanks 😀
Thank you this is a simple safe way. Especially in Southern California with the burn 🔥 ban, active. This is safe. Thanks 🙏 Jane
I like that you brought something good about forest fires (they aren’t good, but knowing there is a good thing about it is cool).
they actually are GREAT. They are just inconvenient for the people who decided to live in the forest they happen in regularly.
Great idea! Thank you!
Hey, I was wondering for this growing season, if you could do more with herb growth and care? I want to grow herbs in the garden or as separate from the garden, but don't really know what I'm doing.
Great info! And way to save!
Is Royal Oak similiar /same as the charcoal product that can be used to reduce odors in and around a house?
So, wood stove ash actually has a double plus, not only do you get ash, but you do get chunks of charcoal that make it through.
I’ve a fireplace insert that I harvest the ash and the char also, and worm castings to mix with the char.
You should see PrimitiveTechnology's video on making wood charcoal at home, it's really really cool!
th-cam.com/video/GzLvqCTvOQY/w-d-xo.html
Note you need a lot of mud doing it the ancient way haha
Only take a baril whit cap and burn a wood chunk in it in fire
🙄
Great idea! Thanks for sharing.
That scoop of compost was beautiful. 👍🏻
I was pleased you also said charcoal, because this is what you call biochar appears to be. Charcoal burners were a traditional profession in Britain until very recent times and were an important part of forest management. They would build big domes of wood covered by turf and periodically watered on top during the process. It was a skill to make sure that the wood completely became charcoal but also that it didn’t burn.
Makes for low to medium quality biochar, grilling charcoal.
@@ugponicsnah the difference is negligible using hardwood lump charcoal vs charcoal made for the purpose of biochar, guess what its practically the same process. If you don't think so, look up how hardwood lump charcoal is made.
The difference is not negligible, it has been quantified with experiments. Grilling charcoal and biochar are both made through pyrolysis, heating organic material with limited oxygen. But biochar production typically uses higher temperatures, ranging from 600-1000°C, compared to charcoal's 400°C process.
This higher heat creates a more activated biochar with a larger internal surface area. This increased surface area gives biochar unique properties like improved water retention and the ability to adsorb contaminants, unlike standard grilling charcoal.
@@ugponics they both will have water ratention and ability to absorb ions. Like I said, the difference is *negligible* .
@@ugponicslol stop saying standard grilling charcoal, you're misleading people. Standard grilling charcoal can be briquettes. Don't go there guy. It's lump hardwood charcoal, and check out how it's made. Stay mad buddy.
I have made my own biochar. And have used charcoal instead - If the charcoal is light and sounds like glass... its biochar! But the key here is the glassy sound. Great video!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!! I was wondering how I was going to make biochar in my backyard.
Great video. I have a 30lb bag. I'll mix this weekend but I am not sure WHEN I should add the biochar to my beds. Such as 1 month before planting, or right before planting or as soon as soil can be worked? Any suggestions?
Because of extreme arthritis, I have used a portable concrete mixer. It pulverizes everything great. You might want to try it.
👍 I mix my soils that way. What a back saver. Lol. Works great.
Luke...Bio Char IS an amazing Garden amendment....but please let me caution you against using anything made by Royal oak....I worked (very briefly) at the Royal Oak charcoal company in East TN back around 2007....and the reason I say briefly (2 days)....I'd get home after 8 hrs beathing air that constantly smelled like gasoline...and contantly cughing and sneezing black. all of the different types of briquettes are made in the same building on different production lines.....you might be putting contaminants into your soil you're not aware of, my friend
The video I didn't know I was waiting for you to make!