Does Biochar Retain Nutrients in the Soil?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ย. 2014
- So far, as part our biochar field trial, I’ve shared lab results that indicate show no significant difference in pH but had more phosphorus and nitrogen than the control.
Today I'll be sharing lab results that address a fundamental Biochar product claim - namely, that it holds nutrients and reduces nutrient leaching from the soil. We’ll also see if a pepper grown in biochar amended soil is more nutrient dense than one grown in the same base soil with no biochar added.
In order to evaluate these claims, soil and tissue samples were submitted to a lab for trace element analysis.
The lab results will be posted on my website at www.albertaurbangarden.ca/wp-c...
Related Episodes:
Does Rock Dust Increase the Nutrient Density of Food?
• Does Rock Dust Increas...
Total Alberta Urban Garden Trial Harvest Results
• Do Rock Dust and Bioch...
One Yard Revolution Brix Testing
• Does Rock Dust Increas...
Does a Brix Meter Read Nutrient Density?
• Does a Brix Meter or R...
pH and Nutrient Availability
• Rock Dust and Biochar ...
A special thanks to Maxxam for helping us run the samples. For all of your analytical needs go to www.maxxam.ca
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of gardening with my parents and brothers. This channel is about low cost organic urban gardening in zone 3. I am by no means an expert gardener however I love to share my experiments and journey garden year round. Please feel free to join the conversation and if you think you might like this channel subscribe. Have a great day!
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This video confirms a few important issues for gardeners - 1) biochar does help to retain nutrients in the soil; 2) a plant will only take up nutirents that it needs. For those reasons - I would take issue with the idea that - if your soil is already rich in minerials and nutrients then there is no need to add biochar as a soil amendment.
There are a few other qualities that would make a good arguement for using biochar. 1) Biochar will increase a soil's water retention capacity. 2) Biochar has a very positive effect on the microbial life in the soil by providing shelter and storing nutrients for the microbial health and reprodution. 3) Research has shown that biochar, when used as a soil amendment improves soil structure by increasing soil porosity while decreasing bulk density, as well as enhancing soil aggregation. 4) Biochar attracts beneficial fungi as well as microbes. 5) Once biochar has been added as a soil amendment, there is no need for a repeat application. It will last for an extrodinary long time, it virtually does not decay or decompose.
When I apply biochar as a soil amendment, I not be adding it as a "fertilizer" for the benefit of the plants I am growing this year. I'm adding it more as a soil amendment for the LONG term benefit of supporting the life in the soil from now on. I know that the healthier my soil life is, the healthier the plants will be growing in that soil.
Just because my soil is fertile today without biochar doesn't mean that the present fertility is going to be a permanent condition. If there is a surplus being stored because of biochar, then future applications of fertilizers becomes less necessary. Water retention is also a big bonus.
In my opinion, there are multiple reasons for using biochar - all good. But yes, your garden was growing fine before you heard about biochar, and it will continue to grow at least that well if you never use it. I'm aware of the benefits, I am adding it, and at some point in the near future, I won't need to add any more.
The video is excellent. Thank you. I just wanted to make sure that the other qualities of biochar are not overlooked as a part of the discussion. Thanks.
Also in the University of Illinois studies, biochar had some great capabilities of absorbing commercial fertilizers, commercial Healthcare products and pesticides as well as some heavy metal concentrations and allowing a oxidation or phosphate to occur and reduce the negative effects of these elements in the soul.
I'm mostly interested in biochar for its dark color solar heating of my soil in early spring. My climate has a very long frost free period but the temperature stays very cool for the first 2 months of the season leaving my actual growing season relatively short.
I thought biochar was more about creating a home in the soil...for beneficial microbes and fungi.
he needs to watch some Dr. Elaine Ingham
from those homes bacteria and fungi could repopulate after extreme events like drought or flooding
Thanks for taking the time to do this test, and filming it. I find your videos very useful.
Excellent stuff yall!!! Thank you for doing such important work so thoroughly and professionally, and for sharing the results along with your analysis! Bravo, much appreciated 🙏
Hey man looks like it’s been awhile since you’ve posted a video
Any chance to get a 3 year update on your experiment?
Thank you for answering some of the questions I have had . Especially after 55 years of organic gardening and not being willing to spend the money for professional testing.
your tests are the yardstick we all trust best info by country mile thanks
Awesome results ***** ! Very interesting to see how the biochar, control and rockdust groups have been doing and had a wealth of information by both you and OneYardRevolution . I didn't have a many surprises as the rockdust results and I'm pleased to see how it retains nutrients and excited to see how it performs in poor soils, great video Stephen thanks for the great detail :)
I am really glad you enjoyed the video!
Hi , fantastic informative video
Did you do any lab tests on the water holding quality’s of bio char in soils ? Was the water used in the test beds monitored per gallon or per litre in the test beds ?
I'd love to see a study on the functions behind biochar making such a major improvement in with my in-ground tomato plants. I have at least 70% less instance of blossom end rot, and virtually no sign of root knot nematode since I began using it to line the bottoms of my planting holes.
There are a number of sources looking at effects of biochar. try googling the alberta biochar initiative. the website has some great content.
I wonder whats going on there to help protect your plants from disease. it might be as simple as healthy plants resisting better!
End rot is usually caused by calcium deficiency and a deficiency may compromise the immune system allowing the nematodes to compromise the plant. Stephen's Biochar lab results show an increase in calcium from 23000 to 33000, that probably explains it.
Poppy B. as other's have stated, Biochar improves Calcium retention- and Ca deficiency is the cause of many kinds of tomato rot. Having had issues with tomato rot last summer myself, and having no time, money, or experience to compost, I am going to be sure to add Biochar near my own tomato plants this summer... (which is cheaper than buying fertilizer year after year- and a single bag of Biochar from the Vermont Organics Co-Op by way of Home Depot is actually cheaper in this area, at $30, than most good composting bins)
Poppy B. it's called air pruning. When you made the hole in bottom of the pot. Look into it. Every time a root touches air it rotts somehow it tells the plant to grow another root. Continuous process. When plant is in pot with no air roots kind of grow tangled, plant eventually suffocates.
Informative and good. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for saving me time 👍🏼
Thank you so much for bring this experiment. It reminds me to my Mom in Indonesia. Long time ago she always added biochar in to her soil/container garden before planting her flowers or fruits. The result is all her plants growing awesome. This is really working :)
Thats fantastic Anna! I am really glad you enjoyed the video!
Actual science in organic gardening.....What sorcery is this?!
Actual science needs replications. Otherwise you cannot compare groups
@@bravante5927 thank you
Must not know about tierra Prieta
I can see a tremendous benefit in sandy free draining soils where biochar would be an asset.
Would love to see you assess some of the diva biochars that charge exorbitant prices. Need your opinion. I took hardwood charcoal briquettes bound only with vegetable oil and soaked them in a barrel until they dissolved into a charcoal sludge. I took the sludge and mixed it with compost kelp meal and flour and let this mixture compost for 2 weeks after which I placed the mixture in the rows between my crops and harrowed it in. Did I waste my time? Too cheap to buy char or burn wood to produce. Thought the natural hardwood briquettes without any harmful additives was a great alternative
One of the major claims of biochar is water management for out of ideal water conditions. I would be interested if this was a factor taken into account too. Have a number of biochar beds that recieve different levels of water, one with drought conditions and one with heavy rain conditions.
Also, are you charging your biochar before putting it in the soil? I've seen a number of sources who steep in compost teas or similar to prime it with concentrated nutrients. I would also be interested if this made a difference as well.
Great info, thank you!
Thank you for you work and sharing. An interesting study well reported. Practical science at its best.
WoodRodent Thank you my friend!! I am glad you liked it!
Great information on how biochar can help to reduce nutrient leaching.
I am glad you enjoyed it my friend !
can the activated carbon retain nitrogen from urine?
Appreciate the analysis and work you've put into this. Seems to support what I've believed. That the plants take up what they need. Like a sponge dipped into water will only take up as much as it can hold. I think it is good to have the surplus in the soil however. Can't take up what isn't there.
I think we are starting to understand what is going on and your right they will only take what they need. Generally surpluses can be alright id just caution against huge ones as that might be harmful if imbalanced ;)
I am really glad you enjoyed the video!
Great investigation
Is there additional info in this video, as compared to the one uploaded previously?
Thanks as always for a very interesting project.
No sorry I had some technical difficulties I was trying to fix. My apologies. I will be ordering a new computer to help avoid these issues in the future.
This is awesome! Thank you!
All these years later this study still has great value and has been confirmed in multiple studies. Biochar for Sandy soil is great, but Microbes in all others is the key.
Can you pls help to clarify usage of well cleaned wood char ( washing machine), in aquaponics grow beds as media(flood and drain). People suggest that wood char results in denitrification (only in anerobic conditions ).
Sighting woodchar ability to consume nitrogen does innoculation of woodchar in compost work?
And later use it in aquaponics GB. Reason I want to do it because its cheap ,light weight and most importantly its available.
Another great presentation furthering understanding!
Glad I could help my friend !
Thank you for your ongoing and thorough scientific evaluation of biochar. I come from a warm, dry climate (zone 7). I live in a moderately-high altitude, also moderate to high wind area, so water-retention on the soil surface is also important (I also have many trees competing with the lawn and garden), and mulch is regularly blown away in the swirling wind we normally receive (although it stays well-put in many areas of my yard). In the spirit of water-conservation, I have tried biochar with mixed results, and I am now trying to incorporate volcanic rock dust to the soil to try and further lessen the frequency of watering. I have used biochar in my houseplants, which I notice have far better soil structure since, and recently tried mixing in volcanic rock dust, which I have noticed helps retain moisture far better, resulting in the need for less-frequent watering. I am glad for people like yourself and Mr. Dolan who have done the control-study analysis of how soil relates to vegetation output. Keep up the good work! My regards, Chris.
A course wood chip mulch might help you keep it on the bed and further retain more moisture. Just a thought !
I am really glad you enjoy Patrick and Is work ! I find it quite rewarding especially when people find value in it !
Are your grow beds next to one another, if so mycelium could have “balanced” organic compounds by moving them from richer to depleted areas.
Thanks for conducting this trial! I have always thought of Biochar as a boon to the home organic gardener not because our plants need help in the nutrient dense soil but as a way to lessen the amount of work involved in making compost to keep those nutrient levels up. My understanding is that its capacity to hold the nutrients means that when there is enough char in the bed you will no longer have to fertilize (other than a little mulch of course). This certainly seems to be the case in the Terra Preta soils and other less well known examples of rich soils existing many hundreds of years after they were built with char.
Check out the first three videos in this playlist. I go into more depth on how biochar did through the trial and why.
I am glad you enjoyed the video and trial. I love conducting them :)
th-cam.com/play/PL5mfR-r4BXH1WwrNIH29H-KI4LGrEfHFd.html
Love your vidz!! So many actual facts to back what you say. Awesome =)
Was there any significant yield difference? Between the beds? I'm thinking holding certain nutrients could help improve yield or even perhaps lower it by holding it in a manner where it cannot be accessed by the roots.
Oh so fascinating. Thank you for doing these experiments. It is so fascinating to see the actual results. I am looking forward to seeing if the rock dust preforms better in the second season. But this alone tells me biochar might be very beneficial in my soil.
If you have poor soil I'm going to theorize Biochar might be a better product for you :)
Great Video, thanks for putting so much effort into soil and plant analysis of nutrients. Is there a Vitamin % analysis between the pepper from the different groups, this would help us understand whether plants are able to manufacture more Vitamin and Organic Compounds. Is there a way to tell which group has more soil microbes?. Thanks
Vitamins are a reflection of the elemental makeup but no I did not do it as the test was very expensive.
I may be late on the subject but have you tried biochar in making a vermicomoost?
Another great video! Thanks, Stephen!
keyplayr61 Thank you my friend!
How long was the biochar left in the soil before testing? Because that can also play a big part in the outcome.
I'm quite curious, how much did you paid for those lab tests?
Would you be intereted in testing humics and comparing them to bio-char?
Not to many gardens or farms can do crop yield test when putting a bag of worm castings for every 6' sq. of garden and then adding something else to see if that something else is going to make a differnce
Great video
Thank you very much for carrying out this trial. I look forward to your trials on poor soil. In the long term it would be extremely interesting to discover whether biochar has the effect of continually recharging the soil, as was implied in the documentary of Terra Preta where the soil was being mined.
It will be interesting to see ! Thank you for following along :)
That goes to show that biochar will feed your soils not your garden. But by feeding and caring for your soil you care for much more that nutrients but pest control and long term nutrient levels. That is soo important for the long term gardener and food forrest Gardner. Thank you very much for your input. And for the great ideas to build the healthiest soils I can for my forrest.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Thank you my friend :)
Hello i added charged biochar to my pear tree but after few days the leaves turned yellow and brown . What possibly
Could have gone wrong ?
It would be interesting if they could test the plots all these years later. Biochar advocates say that biochar will add fertility to the soil for centuries. This is likely to be BS, but it would be nice to have a long-term study.
is it ok to use 50% biochar and the other 50% will be wormcast and compost?....pls advise, newbie here...
I am so glad I found your channel, I have learned so many things already. I am very thankful to you. Coming to the topic of Biochar, do you think it will be a good idea to use them in potting mix? I feel that lot of nutrients gets leached out from pots and there is a constant need of re-fertilizing them during growing season. Looking forward to your feedback.
I am really glad I could help !
Watch the first tree videos in this playlist. It should help answer your questions.
th-cam.com/play/PL5mfR-r4BXH1WwrNIH29H-KI4LGrEfHFd.html
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable Did not realise this was part of series. Will check right away. thanks
yup ;)
Thanks Stephan, I saw all your videos on Biochar. I guess, I don't really need Biochar in my potting mix. I was looking at Biochar as nutrient retention component in the soil.
if you have a good humus content there is no need ;)
Considering the results of the biochar what have you I'd be interested in a follow up that pitted biochar + enriched (exactly as in this video) vs enriched soil vs biochar + poor soil and just poor soil. I'd like to see starting and ending soil comparisons, and starting and ending plant weight. That would be rinsed with all root and top structure.
V helpful video.
Can I use the coals from my fire pit? If the chat material has ash with it would it effect the nutrient content? At baseline the soil here in Denver Colorado is nutrient poor and mostly clay. This sounds like it would work great just wondering if I can use a free resource vs buying it.
+sean weir if its ash from a wood fire absolutely I did a clip evaluating wood ash and once added to a compost it releases a lot of nutrients. If it is charcoal from the store or treated wood/ particle board I would avoid its use.
I’ve heard this same claim before, good soil doesn’t need Terra Pretta, (bio-char), but since I live in Phoenix AZ, we certainly can change the harsh dry clay soil in the Valley of the Sun.
Nice investigations on the topics of biochar (this video) and rock dust. Interesting to note that the plant will only take what it needs, and leave the surplus behind. Only a deficit will ultimately affect the nutritional value of what you grow. Can't wait to see your follow-up review of biochar when supplementing poor-soil conditions.
I look forward to expanding the trials next year and really getting into the analysis :) looks like you might be right about the nutritional value. I might have to dig deeper
Makes sense to me , there’s also many claims about free fertilizer from weeds and peel’s soaked in water but no analysis given , so thank you very much ,
Glad I could help
Thanks very much. Your videos are very helpful.
Glad I can help my friend!
You need to quantitate biomass in conjunction with nutrient analysis in order to determine uptake per plant. Plants can grow into their limiting nutrient availability thus the biomass "dilutes" the greater uptake. This is particularly true of Nitrogen. Tissue analysis might not show much impact insofar as Kjeldahl Nitrogen but biomass may increase tremendously. A better measure may be "total uptake/plant".
Thank you for sharing. Quite irritated that I had to sift through 10,000 videos about crap, anecdotes, claims and conjectures to get to a video with some scientific basis for its claims!
+maxdecphoenix I am more than glad that I could help!! I have more videos in this series if you would like i can shoot you the link.
***** it's cool, i can navigate youtube :p was planning on checking out your other results when i have more time this afternoon. Just happy to find a definitive series that wasn't produced by a homeless looking. hemp-clad communist eco-tard.
The playlist is on my main page a few down. it starts with all three videos with the 2015 results paired with the rock dust trial I am running at the same time.
maxdecphoenix
here-here
Excellent video Stephen.
Thank you my friend!
Can you please mention selenium and perhaps iodine levels in your experiments they are known to help prevent cancer, obesity, intelligence for iodine, and selenium is needed to prevent neuro muscular disease as well as heart disease and cancer, according to Joel Wallach N.D. of the "Dead Doctors Don't Lie" videos and books. As an organic gardener I'm trying to grow food with all the nutrients I need for total health. Thanks, I appreciate all the work you do. Also, I thought biochar is supposed to hold in moisture, which is important where I live.
I heard your produce won't be any differnent, but it speeds up time until fruiting and so get going earlier in season.
I’d like to see you do the analysis with mycorrhizae and Bacteria blends using the same soil. One bed being a mycorrhizae inoculated bed, the being a Bacteria only bed, the third being both and the control with nothing.
The info I want to send is on a disk and I don't have access to a computer until tomorrow.
But for now. Does rock dust cause a rise in ph and if so, would precipitation reactions (nutrient lock up) explain why there are less nutrients available in the rock dust trials?
Just a though
+yathatisgood nope there was no measurable pH change in the soil from the rock dust or biochar although each of them have different pH when in their base material.
I don't actually have a CD reader it did not come with my current computer.
Have you tried charging it with a high nitrogen substance, like manure?
Cool experiment. I think this is great, but as you point out, there is a limit to what can be derived from any experiment and always possible confounders that we aren't thinking of. I know that ashes are rich in minerals and especially calcium at around 25% to 45% lime, much higher than most people are aware. That fact might confound results since the increased mineral content could be due to ash. In other words, you may have simply added more nutrients to the biochar bed that have simply not washed out yet. I've actually added ashes to a control bed just to possibly offset this factor, though all kinds of testing would be necessary to do this in anything like a controlled way and frankly, I don't think it would be worth it. Even if the ash is washed off, the char could still absorb and hold the minerals.
Vegetables obviously don't just randomly suck up everything that is in the soil, but rather take what they need. So, I think you're right that if the soil is already basically replete with minerals, they aren't necessarily going to show any difference in the nutritional analysis of the produce. It would seem more likely that you'll see a difference in the poor soil trials, just as organic produce is sometimes found to have better nutritional scores than modern farm produce, probably due to the use of complex organic fertilizers v.s. mostly just major macro-nutrients, or possibly due to soil health/microorganisms etc...
I think the real test is going to be in the long run as these things all even or settle in over time. This little research piece I did on historical use of charcoal has some compelling accounts of old charcoal pit sites and their continued fertility. There are a few such accounts, but croll down to this one:
>The Farmers’ cabinet, and American herd-book, Volume 11
From the Farmer and Mechanic
Comparative Merits of Charcoal and Barn-yard Manure as Fertilizers.<
turkeysong.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/some-citations-on-biochar-in-europe-and-america-in-the-19th-century/
My own experiments are less controlled, but I'm really looking for major differences and setting them up to observe over as long as possible... as long as I am alive I guess! If I don't see major, obvious, practical, working differences, then I'm not really interested in using the stuff.
Do you have an idea of what percentage by volume 1/2 pound per square foot is if dug in to 12" deep? and how deep were the beds? That doesn't seem like a lot of char. I'm shooting for 15% and up lately and deep. The last two beds I did are 20% and 30%, both to 2 feet deep (yes, that is a lot of charcoal!!!). The bed I'm working on next will be three equal sections of around 20%, 30% and 45% by rough volume.
Keep up the good work. I appreciate your attention to detail and integrity in performing these experiments. Following.
Steven Edholm Thank you my friend for leaving such a great comment. I think your right over time we will. see any differences in good soil. if they exist. I have also set up a poor soil trial to see if there is any differences there as well.
I chose to keep the study as a simple elimination to keep it as easy as possible to measure the effects of the product oh its claims.
with 1/2 pound by volume we are probably getting close to 10%.
I do like the idea of not having to use as much fertilizer, though. The terra preta they found in the Amazon rain forest is still fertile from thousands of years ago… so it holds onto those nutrients for a very long time.
Great idea that your going to use poor soil too. I think you could grow anything in the bed you have with the mix you put in.
Thanks for doing the tests and all the work you put in.
I think we can't not do the poor soil test now ;)
My understanding of the benefits of biochar is that, in soil that is depleted and needs regular infusions of good compost and organic matter to help produce healthy plants, Biochar will reduce the amounts of compost and fertilizer needed as it provides an environment where the necessary microbes can grow and thrive, (which if it isn't there will get used up or dissipate). ?
Was there a yield difference? I can't imagine higher npk wouldn't increase growth?
How and why did you decide to use half a pound of biochar per square foot of soil surface? That could be quite a lot in a shallow bed or very little in a deep bed. Why not use a measurement of comparative volume or mass?
Great episode! As you point out, biochar may not be worth the added expense for the home gardener who's working with fertile soil where there's a surplus of essential elements. Again, it seems that annual soil testing may be a better approach to ensure all the essential elements for plant growth/health are there for optimum nutrition.
You know I'm starting to think a few simple practices in the garden can even save you the time and money of those tests if everything is goring well. I tell you my friend we are going to make this gardening thing cheap again ;)
Hmm... So, if the plant only uptakes what it needs, is there something that causes more absorption by the plant to produce more nutrient dense fruit? On to more research...
Is it possible to making a potting mix with 70% hard wood charcoal + 30% worm compost for my flower plants? Actually i don't know how to convert the charcoal to bio char.
Charcoal is not the same as biochar. I would stick with the wormcastigs.
I find it nice that you and Patric take the time to do these test and triles
BUT as you showed in your vidio thes beds were all filled with new soil that was the first mistake
work your normal soils by just adding to the top NO TILL that would be scientific ,but not in one year it takes time
What is with the water retension with the Biochar ? its the same as your test with rock dust
it doesn't work over night
I have been working my garden for over 30 year's I don't dig or till I only put on the top natur does the rest or do I know more than the natur this works for me my plants and soil show me the results
as I said I find your test very intereting but as I see you are makeing all the mistakes as most scientist do go and have a look in the woods and observe natur. but keep up the good work
Richard the choice to use new beds was a deliberate one. These products are being targeted to home gardener whom usually have great soil anyways. The second set of claims is that they work right away.
So this years trials did not support those claims.
Your right about the native soil application these products may work better over longer time periods in poorer soil conditions. So I am working with the local university to get a trial set up to investigate those conditions.
To take time into account we will continue for a few more years yet.
I’m interested how that would help my lawn. I’m going from chemical fertilizers to organic. I tested a small area with humic acid and kelp and it made quite a difference in drainage as well as made the grass a dark green.
I'm finishing year two of biochar and compost for the lawn. Some say it doesn't migrate well without tilling but I pulled a blade aerator before plug aerating and it gets it where it needs to be without tearing up the lawn and starting over.
Hi, I live in Edmonton, Ab and was wondering if you have a local source for biochar that I could purchase from. Thank you
I have some for the trials David and would love to have you participate.
I would like to participate. I would just need more info on what is required for the trials. The bulk of my garden is the rain gutter system with 5 medium in ground beds. I could construct some raised beds if needed. let me know.
David if you go to google + and search for the home garden field trial community we have the trial outline posted there. Read through it and let OneYardRevolution And I know if you would like to participate.
We would love to have you.
The way you mixed it takes the longest for your Char to be inoculated now if you’d charged it prior to just blending it . There’s a
Guarantee your results would have been different.
Excellent video. It is widely known that good soil won't benefit from biochar and poor soil devoid of nutrients will benefit from biochar. Your test does show an improvement is good soil which is very interesting. Did you test pH throughout the growing season? Nutrient availability is very dependent upon pH. Isn't nature awesome!
I can't wait to learn more on your trials in poor soil.
You are right we set out to test the claims on a home gardens. I will be testing trough out the growing season this year to see what happens through out the season. I am going to do a poor soil trial as well to see the difference.
@@AlbertaUrbanGarden was the poor soil test done?
I think it could help to innoculate biochar with liquid fertilizer jadam methods
Where are your other videos about these beds?
There is a playlist on my main TH-cam page.
It gets confusing with all the hype over the internet about organic growing.
I'm confused as what to use now, I was set on Rock Dust but watching your other video has changed my mind.
Any ideas on a good selection to use in beds? What's really needed to get a good organic crop without wasting money on useless products?
Compost my friend and a good mulch ! You can cut in a pitting mix, peat or coir mix at a 1:1 to help :)
Not much need for other products
Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable very
I'd also like to point out that surplus nutrient in soil may not have an effect the first season, the question becomes how capable of sustaining enrichment is the soil. So a starting and ending soil breakdown would be helpful to see how much nutrient is leeching out of the soil throughout the year.
Marcus G We will be expanding the trials this year to include a poor soil location and additional sampling to see what is really going on. Make sure to stay tuned !
isn't 10x increase setting the bar rather high?
The University of Illinois studies on biochar have shown that there is a nitrification inhibiting factor to biochar. However, overall the benefits of biochar do seem to outweigh some of the drawbacks. It would appear, that buy old shower after four or five years or more in the ground in your souls has the best overall effect. So to conclude, biochar used successively through the planting years wood in 5 years plus become the most beneficial.
What was the size of the biochar particles? Wouldn't that have a significant impact on the results as well?
Yes which is why I got mine from the university doing the research on it.
+Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable
what was the size of the biochar particles size?
Thanks for that Stephen. I am looking forward to your test with poor soil. It's all very interesting.
I am glad you enjoyed the video!
What is poor soil? Lol
What type of medium will you suggest? Sand and clay with Bio vs our existing Bio bed from 2014? Will we need a control for the sand/clay?
Sabine RiverAuthority native soil is the best as it is likely the poorest that is easily available. Yes you would need a control under the same conditions.
Sabine RiverAuthority I can show you some bad soil! My backyard is filled with construction clay!! I could probably make my own bricks with it.
Thats exactly the type of situation we are looking for. It would help understand for more traditional gardeners what these products do.
hello albert it is nice but i need help on biochar because i am working a research on biochar please
How can I help you.
a (new ? )and enlightened perspective--plants only use what they need,do we really need all these item purchases? but still is showing they have what they need.i will keep watching its very interesting.
you know I think we project our consumeristic nature on them we always take more then we need. Nature very rarely does :)
I make my own charcoal, to give an insulated home, through the winter, for bacteria that already exists in the soil. This way less die in the cold. Come spring the soil is more active quicker. Since I don't buy biochar from a company, I was unaware of the claims they were making to sell their product. Maybe biochar is more effective in harsh climates, because of its insulating properties. And since it just helps bacteria survive, the population should grow over the years. And would need to be tested after a winter. If you wanted to do a test for that ;) This is a good informative video. I had no idea that biochar helps to retain some minerals and nitrogen! Pretty cool!
Biochar does better in poorer soils but in most rich garden soils it's neutral.
yeah, my soil probably isn't the greatest
might work best to build on top with a raised bed. or try biochar!
what is the difference between biochar and plain old charcoal?
additives in the charcoal and the fact that charcoal is not completly burnt meaning it needs to decay. I could avoid Charcoal
thanx you
my pleasure!
I use biochar to reduce waterlogging and compaction.
I'll follow this. Thanks.
snookmeister55 I am glad!
I'm starting to think of plant nutrition the same as I do about food science. For every study elevating one supplement, or nutrition fad, there's a study to suggest the opposite. I suppose each gardener should garden as he pleases without worry, and to use all things moderately. I look forward to your future trials! -Eric
Eric its all about your own results. I use controls so you can see the evidence and make your own decision. I think moderation is important as well! Did you see OneYardRevolution video this week?
Yes I saw Patrick's video, and his conclusion was unexpected, as was your rock dust analysis. I enjoy both your, and his channel, and the different approaches to gardening than my own.
mygreenzebra I am glad you enjoy what we are producing for you! I have evolved as a gardener so quickly since I started producing TH-cam videos! I even achieved an important result this year not needing any store bought fertilizers!
Very intersting results! I wonder if biochar would be especially effective in sandy soils since this soil type is prone to leaching?
In my opinion, anything that reduces nutrient leaching is good, even if there is a surplus, because it reduces potential contamination of water supplies and it retains those nutrients for future growing seasons.
DMC Grant Well we have to be careful with surpluses as well. OneYardRevolution did an episode on sunday addressing that as well. Your right in most cases leaching is a bad thing. if its organic though Its much more likely to be caught by your lawn or a tree on the way there instead of the soluble salts fertilizers.
it is much more difficult to over-fertilize when growing organically and plants dont seem to mind as much. Ever see a plant get burned alive with chem fertilizers? Not prettty :0
DMC Grant it makes it much harder your right my friend ;)
Best I could do was mix in some chopped fall leaves and pour urine on the mix every week or so.
Had no compost and stores not selling it right now.
Only compost I would use is cotton burr or Black Kow if I could buy it locally.
Others I cannot trust.
Ground right now is basically frozen.
Use of biochar was wide spread in tropical soil studies of historic pre columbian amazon. In regions with poor soils(sandy soils) or high leaching(tropical rain forests), biochar makes sense. I don't thin you need it in rich temperate soils. This nutrient analysis is just one study topic for biochar, because it also has the ability to sequester carbon.
Very interesting results! I'm starting to think that the most meaningful test could be on amending soil know to be nutrient poor. I think that you're on to something in saying that a plant won't generally be taking up more nutrients than it needs to.
MrChipGardener the evidence is driving us in that direction :)
biochar is particularly applicable in the tropics
where low nutrient soils are common
thus the development of tera preta
Was this someone's high school science project?. Testing the plant's tissue is a poor test.. A plant is a balanced organism.. It will consume what it needs to maintain that balance.. Logically, there should not be a significant difference in plant tissue tests if they both came from reasonably healthy soil and plants.
A better test of the effects of biochar is to actually test the soil.. As gardeners our primary concern is to build healthy soil.. Our secondary concern is to grow plants.. The soil, in turn, takes care of the plants.
Does biochar retain nutrients in the soil?. Does biochar improve the soil?. Of course it won't add more to the soil if you already have 100% healthy soil.. How could you make perfect more than perfect?
I wonder if the soil nutrients would have tested even higher if you added azomite into the biochar inoculation
As it would happen I am running the same trial on rock dust too. Here is the sister video :) th-cam.com/video/mwF3TFOzIik/w-d-xo.html I also did an analysis on just the rock dust and compared it to autumn leaves. th-cam.com/video/PkOwPAPDAZ0/w-d-xo.html
Let me know what you think.
WHOA, AT 3:20,I WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PYRAMID AND THE GEOMETRY OF THE STIRINGS AND PATHS YOU HAVE LAID OUT.