Biochar Charging & Harvesting It
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2021
- Hi Folks! In this episode we revisit charging and inoculating the biochar we make on the Farm. We'll show an example of a harvest of "cured" biochar that is ready for application plus walk you through one of the many processes that can be used to get biochar into a more usable form in the Farm and Garden. We also spend some time discussing the various ways that charging and inoculating can be done, many of them low to no cost!
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Great video. You're like the Henry Winkler of growing stuff. You might actually say that No-Till and Biochar does actually help save the planet.
👍Hey👍 Thank you for the comment. We get that often. We are just trying to work on our tiny part of the planet and share our experiences. Thanks for watching.
This video speaks straight to my heart. I make biochar every year and like you I do open burn. I have never thought of using flour in my charging mix but I will now. I have access to a lot of wood and I prepare all summer for making biocharI. I make really big fires.But I used something that is shocking to some people but I use it and I have great success with it. I use deer bones from my local processor. When my fire is good and hot I add the bones and more wood. A harvest the coals from the bottom of the burn with an old shovel and put them in a 55 gallon metal drum half full of water and I keep a water hose close by. This quick quenching also helps with the fracking of the Embers. It's an all-day event and one of my favorite days of the year and the next day I do the charging. And just like you I like to have all my ingredients ready before I do the bioburn. Last year I made 120 lbs of bio bone char and now I probably have 10lbs left. I can't wait till the end of October so I can start the process all over again. I have two friends coming this year because they want to learn the process also. It sure will be nice to have some help. And teach this beautiful process to people that are eager to learn. Thank you for all your great videos. You are a great inspiration to me and I would love to know your opinion on using the deer bones
That sounds like an awesome tradition!
What do you use to charge it? I didn't really hear him say what they use to charge in the beginning in the video, maybe I just missed it though
Okay, he did go over it. Haha
Flour is a non sweet sugar source, and it promotes fungi growth not bacterial growth. Oats, rice, all good as well.
Had to watch 7 times. Rain sounds kept putting me to sleep.
Thank you for adding the alternative nitrogen options. This often gets left out. The urine option is so practical. Appreciate you taking the uncomfortable suggestion for those of us who are already doing that.
Really gratefulfor for all your bio char and jadam/ knf applications. :-)
I have a bucket with charcoal and I dump crushed eggshells on it and then urinate on that. My theory is, since urine is an acid it should dissolve the eggshells into usable calcium and the char will sponge up those minerals. Added bonus, charcoal prevents the bucket from smelling like a train station terminal
You guys are awesome and deserve way more subscriber's. Your content and approach to teaching it is so valuable.
Wow, what a nice compliment. Appreciate that you are watching. Thank you.
So nice to see the final product. Too many videos show their way of inoculating, but there's no "proof" that it works. Now I have to watch your video on how you did this.
Thanks for watching! Our biggest advantage is in our tunnels, annual application of about 1/4" as a top dressing with compost has helped water retention a lot.
I loved the sound of the rain! Much better than some crappy music. I throw in flour and sugar, although I now have a 10# bag of pancake mix that will serve the same purpose. I produce 2-3 gallons of urine a day, so I fill a two gallon watering can and add it. It takes about 6 gallons per 5 of char. Since the urine is rather diluted, you can add a cup of ammonia in there as well, but it works great.
Love the sound of rain here in Australia.😊
Grass clippings is a great source of nitrogen. Great video!!!
They can be, but they will change the texture/nature of the finished product. I would rather put clippings into my compost.
Learning new sustainable techniques from every video of yours . Thanks a ton for sharing.
Thanks so much for watching! K
This is by far the best two part videos on biochar ive seen. The explanations of your methodology ,your attention to detail and thoroughness of the process really makes this a top notch educational time investment. I only wish i had happened across it ten videos ago !!! hahaha well im glad i hit the gold on my last try . Thanks very much , I really appreciate your efforts I cant wait to use this method . Great video .Take care
Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Just learned about the first steps, this was helpful. Thank you sir!
Loving your videos, thank you.
Fascinating. Thanks!
Great advice from Henry Winkler himself
Thanks, very instructive.
Great video, very easy to watch, tons of good information ranging from beginner level to advanced.
+1000 internets to Bare Mountain Farm
The best video I've seen to describe this process. Thanks so much. Liked and subscribed.
Good information, thanks for posting.
The best video on biochar, thank you.
Wow, thank you! That is very nice to hear
Love the idea of doing this at home. Thank you so much for sharing.
More than wecome @Sarah D
Great video.
Great video. Very informative. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it! Hope it is helpful for you. Thanksfor watching
Have to say the easiest looking method ever! Someone else used an old feed/seed sack to crush big pieces in, stomping on it.
Very good video thank you.
Thank you, glad you like it. Thanks for watching.
I really appreciate your obvious depth of knowledge!!! Thank you for sharing. I attempted to make biochar from purchased charcoal that was intended for BBQ’a. I phoned the company to ensure there were no chemical additives. I then immersed the product in manure tea for a month or two, then crushed it using my old Kemp hammer mill shredder - works great with a tarp strapped up around it contain the material. BUT… when I incorporated it into my potting mix (purchased Pro Mix) at 10% every single plant was dwarfed, and some never got over it after being transplanted. I was able to salvage most of the starts by applying compost extract (as per Soil Food Web - Dr. Ingham) The manure was aged horse stored outside, so not much nitrogen left in it and I suspect that char was absorbing the lion’s share of the nutrients. Based on your experience, I will incorporate at 2%.
Biggest unknown about purchased charcoal sold for barbecue purpose is that it is usually made at lower temps than pyrolysis to make biochar. The lower temp tends to leave volatile organic compounds (VOC's) behind. For a barbecue its great because it will allow the charcoal to burn, but for plants in high enough concentrations it negatively can affect plants. As a test before charging take some coal from the bag and crush it and rub it between your hands. If the black dust on your hands can be cleaned off by just rinsing your hands under water with no real rubbing it is good for biochar. If you need soap and a good scrubbing to get it off its full of VOC's and should be avoided.
@@BareMtnFarm good to know … I’ve been using royal oak, mostly washes right off very easily … but I may start burning it on a bit as I have found some unfinished pieces in there… good to know!
Also crush it before you charge it.
We have high temperature like Arizona in India . Hope this can be a wonderful ingredient for hot climate.
We'll @Parmbir Dhaliwal it should definitely help with water retention.n
Your presentation is more informative than the college studies that they have made videos on. I'd like to know how you got so much mycrorizal growth. Thank you for sharing.
Wow, thank you!
you woke me up after 50 years plus of gardening and I thought I knew it all he he/ back to basics has always worked for me/ I do a lot of planting in pots and flower beds so makes sense to use charged charcoal to prevent nutrients from being washed away. Many thanks what are you thought s on using hydroton in the garden? besides being expensive vs charcoal/wood products?
Highlight - The Oogy Factor - the new album by Biochar & Borage! Love it!
Great!! The oogy factor sure is real. Thank you for watching.
I have a food forest and a never-ending supply of woodchips. I think I'm going to try the biochar method. I have the perfect setup.
We hope you have great success. Thanks for watching and good luck.
Thanks for the information. Vary well done 👍👍👍. I think I will try pond duck weed it’s very high in protein and it’s free 😎
What is JMS? I'm new at this.
Watching here phillipines
Hello! Thank you so much for joining along with us.
Just subscribed
Thank you so much for joining us on our journey.
@@BareMtnFarm 👍
I make biochar in similar way, but mix potting mixture soon after.
Then try to age or mature the mix itself.
I bet this is a great video for people who already know what he is talking about. What's rock dust? What's charging? What's what's what's...
So sorry about the terms used @prisha91755 We do have earlier videos on Biochar that went more in-depth and talked about the terms a little better. I'll try to be better about slipping in definitions when bantering about.
Thanks for the excellent video. Just came across it. We currently at the Northern Illinois Worm Farm incorporate bio-char into our worm bedding, hence infusing the char into our castings. (This is still in the trial stage.)
Two questions, if I may: 1) In your opinion, is this a sufficient means of charging the char in the castings? And, 2) What is JMS?
Yes #Baremtnfarm, what is JMS?
JADAM microbial solution
Can you use soybean meal or cottonseed meal as a nitrogen source? This is a great site!
Your soil will hold much more beneficial nutrients,bacteria,fungus, etc
Hey I have a Bear mountain here in NE bc 🇨🇦! But no gardens just bears..lol
That is really funny.☺️ But our name is Bare Mtn. Farm, bare like naked. Thanks for watching and the chuckle
How do I apply this to already established perennials . Should I top dress or dig it in a bit?
What is the ratio of flour, molasses and the charcoal to be mix?
What did you inoculate it with?
Great video! where can you purchase the black tray you used for mixing the biochar?
I have seen trays like that at homedepot. Over in the masonry department. They use it to mix mortar. Very sturdy
@@michaelripperger5674 Thanks Michael. Yes I like sturdy!
Hi @Michael Ripperger is spot on! We got the trays in the masonry section of our local Home Depot. I would guess the same would be at Lowes too.
I have several cubic feet of char from last winter’s burn so I think I’ll try inoculation using a small amount of fresh spent beer mash. Works in my compost as a Party Food. The other product I have is the waste material from my fermented fish hydrolysate… would make a good fungal food, but I’m wary of the stench for a few days LOL… can you comment please.
I think both would work. I would think the smell would abate fairly quickly with the char. You wouldn't need to add but maybe .5-1% by volume to inoculate.
Great video. Once you are ready to use this charged biochar as potting mix, do you use it as is or do you mix it with other products to develop your own potting mix? This is very interesting!
Hi @Mark Jakubek We use it as a component in our own mix, but you could use this in commercial potting mixes too.
How would you feel about adding wood ash for inoculations? Great video. Thank you
I mean you could, but the charcoal is already full of ash
Yeah I'm not sure either what the benefit would be as the natural biochar still has a small amount of gray ash in it. Our goal in the inoculation is to get biology attached in the onpen pore spaces of the char. So adding more minerals probably wouldn't help you reach your goal. You definitely want to add things to char that will feed the biology allowing the population growth that's pretty fast. So things that are carbohydrates like flour, wheat bran, green grass etc gives the biology easy food to digest and allows their populations to grow pretty fast.
@@BareMtnFarm I once was following a process of Rudolf Stiener for biodinamic farming I would call it a substitution were I took a barrel and filled it up with water and placed oak bark and comfry and nettles and used an aquarium air pump inside the barrel not sure what you would call this scientifically but after the next few days it would stink and you could see the oak bark resins come to the top. I took a submersible pump ran this water on my crops and boy did the grow. The nettles gave off such a horrid stink but I loved using this method. Have you or any one else have this experience?
Can I use LABS mix with molasses/brown sugar like the one you made in one of your video to inaculate the biochar?
Hi @Jo Cox You could use the LAB mixture but it wouldn't have as diverse biology as when using say worm extract tea or pure worm vermicastings, or even JMS. The goal on the charging is to get as wide a diversity of microbes as possible.
Your right you need to charge the biochar and if you don't you will be unhappy with the results. Biochar adds carbon and a home for the microbiology.
Yeah, @Craps Dealer carbon in general with biology has an affinity for nitrogen so raw biochar application to the soil will tend to reduce nitrogen availability until things balance out in time
Can you use spent coffee grounds as your nitrogen source? And if so, how much would you use for a 5 gallon bucket?
Yeah I'd think that would work fine for a nitrogen source. Not sure on how much but by volume I'd try 25% to start, maybe. Then see what happens. I think the key is that there is enough to be mixed thoroughly in the char
Where do you get those large black trays
concrete mixing tubs from home depot or other home improvement store.
I must have missed this.
How long do you leave this sit when charging before you inoculate?
It is somewhat dependent on ambient temperatures. In cool temps 45-60F about 3 weeks is enough, in more summer temperatures 2 weeks can be enough.
I am new here. What do you think of my idea for using bio char? You made me reconsider how I incorporate biochar. I’m on the edge of country but cannot make my own biochar. I bought two 30 pound bags of royal oaks lump charcoal (idea from Migardener)and broke them into smaller pieces. I have three new raised beds that I recreated Terra Preta by putting pieces of pottery, charcoal and other things layered about a foot deep. I really wanted to plant the beds so I did not inoculate the charcoal. My plan was to use a pitchfork throughout the rest of my garden to gently push the tines into the soil lift forward and just put a little bit of charcoal throughout the garden figuring that it would eventually be inoculated and not disturb established plant roots. I’ve had a no dig garden for about two years full of native plants, flowers, some fruit trees and vegetable garden. I wanted to get some of the charcoal down further so that in time it will help hold the water better. I don’t water very often but California is officially in a drought which could get a lot worse. Now I am thinking I will inoculate the bio char for a few weeks with other things. Then push the pitchfork into the soil throughout the yard. Mix the and lightly dust the inoculated charcoal and other thing together and add it throughout the yard one area at a time then water. Perhaps some of the small charcoal mix will settle down into the holes further down. It should not hurt the roots. Thank you for giving me ideas. I was going to put plain charcoal in. What do you think of my idea? Thank you for encouraging us to have the best garden possible. I will check out your other videos
Hi @Lori Deal You raise interesting points about biochar and Charcoal. Although people seemed to be getting success from using some pure wood charcoals with no additives as a cheaper solution to commercially available Biochar there are some important qualitative differences that allows Ag grade Biochar to give consistent better performance. Number one is that Ag grade Biochar is made at much higher temps of + 600°C versus barbecue charcoal is made at ~400°C. The higher temp Biochar process burns off volatile organic compounds and makes the Biochar essentially inflammable. These volatile compounds depending on their concentration can actually inhibit plant growth. The higher temp Biochar because it lacks these volatile compounds actually has more pore space and lb for lb will offer better nutrient & water holding capacity. As a last note the higher temp process also tends to put the carbon remaining in a more stable resistant form that will not reduce into CO2 gas from microbial action very easily.
On applying Biochar charging it and inoculating it first will avoid the problem of raw Biochar trapping nitrogen and other nutrients in a temporary way preventing access to your plants. Using raw charcoal or Biochar could result in poor plant growth for a season depending on how much char is added. So if you want to omit this step then add very small amounts of charcoal over time. Sorry for seeming to be such a downer on your plan but I wanted to give you some information about this which may negatively impact what you're trying to accomplish. Also checkout Pacific Biochar. They are based in CA and have a fantastic process.
@@BareMtnFarm I appreciate the feedback! I will check them out!
@@yadealone -I use char bliss, a good product
@@kenkirkland5927 Thankyou!
@Lori Deal, I made the mistake of using commercial lump charcoal. You will find a description of my problem in the more recent comments. Live and learn.
Worm tea and molasses should be good
True, this is another good alternative as worm castings have excellent diverse biology.
Just found your channel and really enjoyed the video great information explained very well easy to understand, i recently made a batch of biochar, im in Canada im wondering if it will be ok to keep the biochar out in my greenhouse were in the winter it will get down below 0 degrees celsius. Will this kill any of the biology in your opinion or make it any less effective when i can use it to work into my beds around late May here in eastern Canada. Thanks.
I quenched with well water and some added molasses, yarrow fpj, and a little urine. I then 24 hours later put in a container and added a aact worm castings tea some rock dust, a little blood and bone, some insect frass and some worm castings. Its now just innockulating in a big bucket in my green house current temps in green house between 1 degree celsius- 18 degrees celsius. Your thoughts or anyones would be much appreciated.
I wondered the sane thing. But I think we’re fine letting it get cold or even freeze. The microbial life will just go dormant like it does in nature.
Would this help acid loving plants like blueberries?
You can charge the biochar with anything like.. blueberries are acid lovers toss some sulfur in your normal mix and 👍.. you can get it pretty much anywhere then cover with wood chips they love it
You can also use your spent coffee grinds from after you make coffee at the base of the blueberry plant. This is an acidic source that most people already have on hand. Instead of throwing them in trash, just put at base of the bush.
Is quenching necessary if you are using a drum method?
If you mean a double retort system with a drum inside a drum the answer is usually no as you don't open the retort until its completely cooled. However this form of char will be extremely thirsty for water and at this point using a compost extract or worm extract tea would begin the process of balancing the char and adding biology.
What did you do to the plain charcoal to get it to where this video begins? I have no idea what you are doing!
Hi, we have a few videos that may help you, to see what we are trying on our farm. Here is the link to our playlist on Biochar.
th-cam.com/play/PLnphCU8rCuwo-hlASyOVFJpmrxPLPgU8M.html
Hope this will help you and thank you so much for watching.
I put the biochar in my brewed tea bucket then put other inputs including urine…..
Interesting. Watch some University lectures saying It will last 1000 years , or more in the soil..
Hi @Charles Coker Yes, the carbon in this can last way beyond our lifetimes! Pretty amazing the stories of the Terra Preta in the Amazon.😀
Archaeologists have found agricultural beds enriched with biochar that have been in existence for over 9,000 years. They still outperform soils nearby that were never inoculated.
@@BareMtnFarm so adding biochar to the soil once is enough?
Could you use comfrey leaves as nitrogen.
Yes, you can use any quick growing green material even fast growing weeds that have not yet gone to seed.
What is JMS if you don't mind my asking?
Jadam Microorgnism Solution. This gentleman has several JADAM processes in his videos
Great info ... thanks. However it seems to me that it's not BIOchar until AFTER it's got life in it. Before that, it's just charcoal. Of course charcoal itself has its uses but it will never perform like a Terra Preta system on its own so it shouldn't be considered biochar IMO.
I see your point. You are correct that the key to the process is inoculating biology into the charcoal to make it useful to plants. However, eventually even charcoal applied directly to soil will over time develop the same characteristics as inoculating the char before applying.
@@BareMtnFarm Thanks, and you're correct about what charcoal will do eventually. The terra preta effect is another thing though but now I'm splitting hairs. I really liked your video.
Really interesting Topic. I tested my soil and already bought the fertilizer. Can i just add the biochar to the soil "uncharged" Im farely new to biochar it seemes somewhat counterintutive because I've been always told that the dark soilmix for graves is darker because they added ashe which is bad for plant growth. So from what i have undestood so far ist that the most important part is to burn the material without oxigen and dont let it go to ash. Or did I get it wrong
Soil should be charged with organic material such as worm castings or compost tea with some rock dust and black staples molasses to feed the microbes. Also add some rain water to the mix
I tried some with just fertilizer over it and you NEED to charge it...it kept the fertilizer away from the plants...someone else said, you could actually charge it with fertilizer for 14 days.
Do not just put it straight on the soil without charging it… You must wet it first … then add stuff that encourages microbes and fungus like the flour or oat meal and black strap molasses, but I think you can use maple syrup, real maple syrup… but u still want minerals and nitrogen
so you're telling me a gasifier would make the best quality bio char?
Plastic around the char?
Last video I saw you were picky about a zip-lock hanging in your brew-
protip: don't let environmental noise throw you off your game, just ignore it and keep on filming
Pro tip: cut your landscaping fabric with a fine tip blow torch not a knife. You won’t unravel
Thank you for the tip. It does work well. Thank you so much.
What's jms?
Here is a link to the first part of making JMS. th-cam.com/video/3HQ7s-xLyc8/w-d-xo.html There are a few videos we have done explaining how we make it and how to use it. Hope you check them out. Thanks!
@@BareMtnFarm thank you!
what is jms
Hi, JMS stands for JADAM MICORGANISM SOLUTION, we have a playlist of several videos on making and using the methods of JADAM organic farming. This is a learning experience for our farm. Here is the link
th-cam.com/play/PLnphCU8rCuwrZQ23v-YNf1NCUycjSc2al.html
We hope it is helpful and thank you so much for watching.
It's a brock😂
The biochar does not feed the plants - the plants don't consume this type of carbon. That is why the half-life of biochar has been evaluated at about one thousand years. The biochar acts as a reservoir for the nutrients and more importantly the biologicals that benefit the plants.
If you want to skip him repeating himself over & over-go to the 9 minute mark.
Thanks @Brad Johnston some days I just can't be succinct. I'll watch for that! thanks for watching the video!