Composting with Biochar
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 พ.ค. 2024
- With Rick Laing of Salt Spring Island Biochar
www.saltspringislandbiochar.com
Other helpful Biochar resources:
55 Uses of Biochar:
www.greenbelt.ie/sites/defaul...
Terra Preta by Ute Scheub:
greystonebooks.com/products/t...
What a fantastic setup you have. I started making biochar two years ago and it's so addicting. I burn up a lot of waste yard debris and branches, even free oak pallets that aren’t the chemical treated kind. I'd love to have your biochar kiln, that’s the ultimate. Mine is a kon tiki style one dug into the ground and lined with brick, following the proper dimensions. It's amazing to watch when it’s going strong with no smoke at all and swirling flame patterns. I have two 5 gallon buckets inoculating now. My first step is mineral inoculation, I have it filled with urine and after a week you can smell ammonia so strong. I drain that after a few weeks and then add bone meal and wood ash and let that brew for a few weeks. Then I'll move on to the bacteria part with worm castings, JMS, leaf mold, quaker oats and flour and let that run wild for a while. It's so thrilling to poke around my beds now and see biochar that's been in there for years just doing its thing forever. Check into Jadam Korean natural farming and the JMS microbial stuff you can make so easily from your forest floor soil. You'd have another batch of local microbes and boy is that ever beneficial and free. I do so many varied things to add variety and believe that's crucial.
Thanks. About a year ago I did describe in the comments how to build my 8 ft kiln from 2 sheets of 1/8 inch steel. My original kiln was a Kon Tiki made from a 4 x 8 sheet but the larger kiln is faster and works better with forest material. Try to get the urine soaked biochar into the compost before it starts making ammonia. Cheers, Rick
Please put out more content if you are able, you seem to be a wealth of good knowledge and your garden speaks for itself.
Hi Karen, I said and also wrote in previous comments that herbivore manure, like sheep, horse, cow etc, is ok added to the compost but not cat (or dog) feces. I flush the cat feces down the toilet daily and then weekly, add the woodchips, biochar and only the urine from the cat box to the compost. The urine is high in nitrogen just like ours and absorbed with the biochar, adds nutrients to the compost. Layer with 10% biochar, compress, cover with plastic and do not turn and you will have compost in 3 months. Cheers, Rick
A very different approach to 99% of youtube videos. You seem extremely knowledgeable on your subject and I trust your judgement. I'd love to see more compost videos.
I would like to add my voice to the comments. Your advice is very sound indeed, I have been looking at information since my neighbor introduced me to the idea some time ago. I am relieved to see the size of your fire as I was given a large steel tank by another neighbour the other day and felt a little obliged to use it for the project, You're explanation of the dynamic of the fire makes eminent sense and certainly shows the tank will work. Also I am fortunate enough at my age -73- to be milking for a local farmer so I have access to endless composting material so will follow your composting method. Thank you.
Thanks, John - I still find it remarkable how quickly rich compost can be made using this method and how well vegetables respond to it. Another bumper crop this year although spring was too cold to grow OP corn. With cow manure available you won't have to pee into 5 gal buckets of biochar like I do to provide the nitrogen but my method doesn't require a shovel! Angles of the kiln sides are important to reduce smoke so check out the book Terra Preta or any web info on Kon Tiki kilns or flame curtain biochar kilns.
This was by far the best video on bio char I've seen. Thank you.
Thank you
This video was very informative and helpful 😊❤
This is so inspiring, Rick! Thank you for the excellent video. What an impressive garden, too.
You are a natural presenter and showcasing some high gardening skills. Please do the gardening community a favor and add some more video informational videos on transplanting or whatever you feel like sharing as I have a good feeling it would be amazing. I hoe all is well take care.
Just found your channel, thanks to YT algorithm! SUBBED! Thanks for sharing your biochar tips! Greetings from the PNW! 🇺🇸 🪓🌲🪓🌲
Why not making more videos!! I enjoyed this one indeed
Thanks For this great video Rick! I feel inspried by your garden tour! Serena and I are in the process of "renovaing" our lower garden, and I am now rethinking our entire composting area.
Thank you Sir. This video has been really helpful.
This man knows his stuff. Cant wait to try this out
That's very informative. Tks.
Hey Rick. Thanks for this. I am stoked to get my new compost going now.
Thanks, Rick! And for super peppers, plant them in 3 gal pots in biochar compost half sunk into raised beds and you will be eating ripe red peppers by September!
Really cool thank’s for sharing 🇦🇺👍. I’m looking to apply Biochar to my compost bins.
Excellent video. Subbed. We're new to gardening but love experimenting. Would love to see more videos
Cheers from Victoria;)
Beautiful stuff wow
Peaceful speech here, your compost looks really amazing and dark due to adding the biochar
Greetings from Italy
Tremendous & inspirational. Just starting out with biochar. I’m using a welded sheet steel retort inside a firebrick shell, forced air induction combined with cooled wood gas to maintain the burn once started. Inoculant is various homemade JADAM liquids. But I want to start building a conventional compost and will take your guidance onboard. I have around 20 used pallets and you can easily source brown cardboard packaging materials to staple to the 1 cubic metre pallet ‘bins’.
We have masses of oak & Cistus landanifer. Cutting oak for firewood, smaller pieces for kindling & biochar, plenty of smaller stuff is shredded for mulch & biochar. Brown cardboard also shredded for composting, along with clover/purslane/nettle/comfrey cover & forage crops. Plus chicken manure, urine and putrefied kitchen scraps/seawater/lake water/humic acid & IMO3.
Thanks for posting, helped me a lot.
Thanks for the comment, Al, and the info. Like many areas we have had a very hot and dry summer but with a shovelful of biochar compost under each transplant our tomatoes, squash, peppers, brassica, potatoes, cukes have produced really well. No tilling and with a couple inches of hay mulch minimizes the water use. Takes 2 or 3 years to build up the raised beds but the biochar really speeds up the composing process and remains in the garden as humus to absorb water and nutrients.
Great information biochar is amazing, as is compost, the two together fantastic, i first made biochar last season and the plants i used it on had bumper crops great yeilds and terpene profiles etc.. i soaked mine in a worm castings tea with added rock dust, alfalfa, some rabbit manure. Im sold on bio char.
great video, thanks!
Would love to watch more videos of your knowledge in the garden.
Thank you for your comment, Tina. My wife and I own 20 acres of forested land with buildings and gardens which I maintain as well as making biochar so not a lot of time leftover. We now are fortunate to have a grandson as well. Although there are many books and videos out there about gardening the method I use to make compost with biochar was not known and I have found it so effective, rich and climate positive that I had to step briefly into cyber world to tell that story. Skill as a vegetable gardener is directly related to how your plants take up their nutrients and my compost with living microorganisms in their biochar homes (as opposed to sterilized soil amendments) does most of the work for me. I do recommend growing peppers in pots half buried in soil, grown outside with toms and cucs (greenhouses are not needed in most climates) and letting bee flowers like borage, brassica flowers, comfrey etc coexist politely with your vegetables. Storing and overwintering vegetables is also important to learn.
Some good info! Thanks
Great video my friend.
I have a near 100 foot silver maple in my backyard. it provides me all kinds of composting materal year round. Even the amount of red bud that build up in the sprin are enoghto compost. I burn and chip the limbs that fall down and copmost them. the helecpoters when they first fall are a good "green". Has to be some good ensymes in all that seed. and the leaves in the fall are my favorite,and theirs usually some left over after winter,and i i let the leaves fall and make a nice mulch for winter for my garden. the maple does take alot of sun from the garden. now its more the numerous volunteer mulburries that have taken over the under canopy
Here on the Gulf Islands we have the big leaf maple, a similar big and beautiful tree. Sucks up a lot of water if you have a nearby well but provides shade in our increasingly hotter summers and that suits most garden plants that do not like direct sun and stop pollinating at high temperatures. I pick up a truck load of maple leaves every fall for the compost and mulch. Thanks, Rick
I’m surprised you don’t have a lot more subscribers.
I’m amazed that fence keeps deer out
Thank you
I have a belief that part of the reason their terra preta was so nice, was because they burned directly in ground. For thay reason i have collected charred earth from camp sites, to add back into my fire while im cooking in a manmadr vessel.
Amazing video. I've been making biochar & composting w/ biochar for years using pyramid kilns to 1st make the biochar and while I'm following most of your steps already, you still gave me a couple good ideas to incorporate. Thank you.
Try quenching with as much urine as you can collect. The heat would kill any pathogen concerns and the steam fracks the nitrogen deep into the charcoal pores so it's got a jump on inoculation before it's even cooled down. I cover my charcoal with urine in five gallon buckets and after a week or so the ammonia odor is as strong as an open bottle of ammonia. Then I go further with wood ash and bone meal and later on add the compost, worm castings, leaf mold, oats and flour to get the biology into it. I like the step of inoculating it with minerals first and then the bacterial microbial life that can access that. I love biochar, it's a true passion few would understand.
I hope you make more videos
Hi Rick,
Great video, thanks.
I would be interested to know more about why you don't turn the compost and why you squash it down. Presumably all this excludes oxygen, while all other composting aims to introduce it.
Perhaps the porous structure of biochar retains air in the pile?
If we could make such excellent compost without needing to turn it then this would be as great a revelation as not needing to dig the soil!
After many years of having a garden and composting in the standard 70's turn method I did notice that you wind up with less compost (the introduced oxygen combining with the carbon to form CO2 which escapes), considerably more work and not even great compost. After I started making biochar, research and considerable observation showed a remarkable difference. The biochar is the key. As the compost is being built, I add 10% biochar, (usually from 5 gal buckets that include my urine), also 10% partially finished compost that has biochar in it and is full of microorganisms that will immediately go to work on the spread around food waste. Adding carbon waste (leaves, hay, flowers etc) from the garden, then pack down (I stand on it), cover carefully with weighted down plastic, (also use cardboard or solid plywood sides) and leave it alone. Usually do this once a week storing our food waste in a sealed bucket with biochar in it to absorb any smells and then add another layer. Done this way the compost has no slime, no smell and is usable in 3 or 4 months. I use no bought fertilizers, no lime (biochar is alkaline - 11) no green manures; only hay/maple mulch and biochar compost under the roots when planting. Winter veg and summer peppers - all good!
super!👍
I also use Bokashi method and I do use meat, onion, citrus everything food related except bones. Although it would work too but takes too long to break down. My garden setup method is in the fall I cover the soil with a layer of shredded leaves, a layer of compost then drench the soil with indigenous microorganisms I collect from my property. I cover it all with landscape material and leave it that until spring. In spring I drench the soil again with IMOs cover and wait 3 to 4 weeks before planting. With Great results.
Sounds good - the main thing is growing healthy vegetables. A few years ago, I did a 4 month composting trial from a local food waste recycler and using 10% biochar, 10% compost, hay, and the food waste which was 40% meat and bones. I kept it covered, mostly anaerobic and compressed like bokashi but found the bones took years to break down and brought rats. Now, I burn bones in the kiln to add phosphate to the biochar (and keep that for the garden),
keep food waste (no meat) down to 10% and maintain a maximum of 4 foot square composts. Covered, no turn, usable compost in 3 to 4 months. Thx.
Fascinating. I've known about biochar for years, but never looked deep into it and have never incorporated it into my gardens. I'll be figuring out a source of biochar for my own compost bins.
You remind me a lot of Charles Dowding, not only with your no dig approach, but presentation. Would love to see your channel grow.. I think you have what it would take. More voices in the world like yours the better.
Thank you for the comment and I looked up Charles Dowding on Utube. Impressive gardens and skill. My 50 year working life in several careers has brought a different perspective to how I grow our vegetables, compost and make the biochar from our 10 acre forest and I appreciate being able to add to the knowledge. Sequester carbon by making biochar, no dig farming and no turn composts will keep that carbon in the ground where it can work its wonders as humus.
I love this video! I use a steel bathtub to make my biochar and it does the job well enough. But it makes a perfect amount for one of my compost bins. I don't have much brush on my property but I get yard waste from in town and woodchips from a tree surgeon. What zone are you in?
Thanks for the comment. Steel bathtubs work fine, the right price and even have a built in drain! We are zone 4/5 in the Gulf Islands.
Im in a very cool and rainy zone six here. I'm looking forward to you next videos
So if u don't mulch with the biochar how do u add to the soil? Thanks
Interesting like the results in the compost bays and in no the garden.
#GrowBigTV
Thanks, after years of making compost this way, I have yet to see a downside. Fast year round compost, minimal loss of carbon through off gassing CO2, no smell and no turning work. The biochar is the key though; 5 to 10% of biochar and the same amount of active biochar compost (from an earlier compost) activates the new compost immediately with red wrigglers and microorganisms. Compact and with cardboard on sides and plastic on top to keep oxygen out (keeping composts no larger than 4' square prevents complete anaerobic conditions, just a mix). Cheers, Rick
Fantastic video thanks. At one point you say to never mulch with biochar, but when showing the peppers in pots, it seemed like it was at surface level. Does biochar work well as a mulch?
Thanks
Thanks for the comment. No, biochar does not work as a mulch and should always be charged with compost before adding to the root zone of plants. I add biochar compost to the pepper pots several times in the spring/summer to give them a boost and some of the biochar chunks stay on the surface - it does absorb water and protects the soil in the pot though and then all ends up back in the compost in the fall/winter.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 Thank you for your reply. This was one of the best videos I have seen on biochar, and I'd be interested to see you create a batch in your kiln, and to see other videos. Good luck.
Hi I really love your explanation. Thank you.
Does the rain affect your compost bins negatively?
Hi Giget; Not at all, since the bins are covered with plastic (old garbage bags) and rain does not go in and moisture/CO2 does not go out so there is a continuous undisturbed ecosystem in the compost. Continues to surprise me how fast the compost matures - the addition of about 5 to 10 % of active compost, the same of biochar, compress it and leave it alone until you add another layer. Let Nature work its Magic! Rick
Very good video, I normally do hot composting, can fish waste be used in this method of composting?
Thanks, Jason. In 2019, I did a 5 month trial composting our local municipal food waste which included large amounts of meat and some fish. It was partially successful and did eventually break down but had to be turned several times and the meat bones picked out to be burned in the kiln (bone char is high in phosphate). I keep the garden composts no larger than 4 foot square to avoid completely anaerobic areas and any small amount of animal or fish products I cover well with biochar and some active compost to absorb the smell and break it down fast.
I'd be really careful putting cat waste in your compost/veg garden, can have some nasty pathogens in. would be really interested in your thinking behind not turning the compost too, I always heard the opposite. Interesting video though, and your garden looks awesome!
I am careful to remove and flush the feces and sprinkle biochar in the wood chip cat litter box to absorb smells and then it will spend 4 months in the biochar compost. Biochar has many uses but the top two are as a food additive to cattle to help digestion etc and as a very effective absorbent for pollution in soil and water. Turning composts is another dubious idea from the 70's and releases large amounts of CO2 and Methane CH4 - In Nature there is a mix of anaerobic and aerobic breakdown of matter by microorganisms - adding 10% biochar to the covered, unturned compost replicates that, speeds composting, absorbs nutrients and stores carbon.
I'm confused also by the cat feces. You originally said herbivores manure...a cats diet is meat based
@@leahshul617 Hi Leah; In my reply to OBE "I am careful to remove and flush the cat feces (down the toilet)...". I also say in the video, and now, that herbivore manure (cow, sheep, horse) is the only feces that goes in the compost and no other animal feces. Most of the 2.6 million tons of kitty litter sold in the US is strip mined from bentonite clay and then, after use, dumped in landfills - I use local stall bedding wood chips, add some biochar for absorption and then compost the urine (only) based chips on a weekly basis. To protect the birds etc, our cat lives inside.
I just throw the cat litter into the charcoal pit with brush. I use wood pellet litter. It will sterilise weed seeds and pathogens the cat litter desicated the feces and doesn't effect the fire
Would love to see more content from your channel. This was extremely interesting.
Will you please do an instructional video on your design and build of the kiln?…been looking for a larger kiln without success, your size is ideal for the amount I make. Thank you!
Instead of a video, I can explain that I also have a Kon Tiki kiln, the design which is readily available on the web and made from 1 sheet of 4x8 steel (1/8"). I designed this larger kiln using 2 sheets of 4x8 steel and keeping the same angle on the long (8") side. Looking at my video again you can see I added angle iron on the long sides to reduce bending from heat and also a threaded inlet and outlet at both bottom ends.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 What are the angles of the 8’ side(s), and are they the same? It’s difficult to see in the video if they are. Are the inlets and outlets on the same (across from each other) or opposite (at a diagonal from each other) end to end? Lastly, does it all ‘finish’?Thank you so much!
@@victoriamartinez8783 The KT kiln angles are between 63 and 70. Maximizing the 4x8 steel sheets I made the long sides 2' x 8', the base 26" x 8' and the remaining piece of 22" X 8' is cut into two to form the ends. The angle of the sides worked out to about 67 degrees. My sons welded the KT for me but this larger kiln requires a skilled shop fabricator. 3/4" inlet at bottom center of one end to thread to the garden hose, a 1" drain plug at the bottom center of the other end. My website- www.saltspringislandbiochar.com -shows pictures of the kiln but without the angle iron - it needs it to stop bellying out in the middle.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 What are the dimensions of the angle iron? And about how many inches is it placed from the top brim of the 2’x8’ sides? My dad’s a welder by trade…think he can manage this. I appreciate your time and knowledge!
@@victoriamartinez8783 You can see from the website that there is angle iron around the top of the kiln to add strength. I also added 1 1/2 " angle iron about 5" down from the top on the long sides. All the best with building it.
Love this! Nice balance of clear presentation and good info! Do you also employ any techniques such as Indigenous micro-organisms?
Thanks, Josh! We are harvesting carrots, beets, leeks and brassica under 8" of snow for meals/juicing and will do so throughout the winter - anyone with some space, grow your own food. I keep it as simple as possible, the micro organisms have been here since the Ice Age and just need food and shelter to thrive - a no till mulched garden, no turn covered composts and biochar provide that environment.
Thanks for your reply :) That makes sense… I have landed on a special plot of land on Sonora Island that is at this point largely wild… spending this winter learning about regenerative agriculture online - excited to get my hands into the soil this spring!
Well its been a while! I successfully created a decent amount of bio-char and activated it with urine soaking and composting. Year one of gardening was a success.
Im planning to make lots more biochar this fall and winter as i have tons of wood scraps to use up. Do you mind sharing a bit about your simple method of crushing the raw bio-char into smallish pieces?
I have simply been screening it through half inch hardware cloth, which is time consuming. Plus I am left with the need to crush some of the bigger chunks.
@@JoshHeath71that’s awesome! Great work. I’m wanting so badly to start regenerative ag and making bio char
Great video, but i have one question. Why do you need so many biochar? You said that it stays in the soil for a hundred years or more.
Thanks. You can also read the answer I gave Ximono, a week ago - our soils are low in carbon and humus and both are easily lost so keep adding biochar to your compost.
What material is the kon-tiki made of and how thick is the sheet?...
What interests me is evidence for bio-char using controlled testing. I see you are incorporating bio-char into compost, understandable since the initial use of it straight into soil is not recognized as unproductive. My question would be how can you determine the role of bio-char by this methodology. I mean, if you say this material is a beneficial soil additive, provided it is inoculated, yet you only apply it with compost which is proven to be beneficial, how do you isolate the effect of the bio-char?
There have been many scientific experiments of benefits of biochar available on line, The Biochar Journal, the books Terra Preta and Burn so this video is my practical observations over the years as a gardener. The absorptive quality of biochar is well known and I do say that one can use herbivore manure, urine as well as compost to absorb micronutrients and microorganisms. From my experience, the speed of composting and value of the finished biochar compost to plants is remarkable and far surpasses regular compost without biochar.
@Cam Pyper You mean something like this: th-cam.com/video/JhIHMwyZ75o/w-d-xo.html ? This is an Evaluation of Biochar in Californian soils. You can find many controlled tests there. I think the overall conclusion, iirc, was that biochar is worth a lot but in bad soil (like in tropics), but in already good soil it doesn't do much.
Do note however, in presentation how quickly the amount of research on the subject has grown from basically 0 as late as 2012, to a lot now.
@@beorntwit711 bio char is still good to add to good soil… it will help it remain good and fertile … without bio char, or without constant addition of fertilizers & more organic materials, all soil will lose fertility within only a few years… you’d still add organic material to soil containing bio char, but you won’t have to add much … of course there are unique situations… ie., plants like blueberries that need acid soil may need to be treated differently as the char can increase alkalinity … for most plants, the alkinlinity increase is of no concern… and there could be other plants that need additional inputs if char were added
I just watched one of the many ‘living web farms’ videos… the presenter mentioned the cation exchange metric has been found to be very high in soils containing bio char… this has to do with the ability of plant roots to benefit from the thriving soil life in the soil… the increased cation exchange is a huge indicator of fertile soil … it is good to know about all they’ve seen under the microscope, but like breathing, the most important thing is to know that it works.
What is the schedule of adding water to the compost pile? Thank you.
The compost is kept covered with old garbage bags, the pallet sides are wrapped in cardboard so water and CO2 are prevented from evaporating. If the material you are adding to the pile is dry or in hot weather then add some water, compress the pile and cover. The compost is a living ecosystem and should be damp but not soaked.
My kiln looks similar but was made from half of a 250 gallon oil tank.
No mention of water. Do you water the compost at any point?
If the compost materials are dry as you are making it, then add some water so it is feels damp. Compressing the compost (I stand on it) each time you add a layer, and always keeping it covered with old plastic garbage bags, the moisture stays in the (undisturbed) compost so it does not require any other water to be added.
Nice environment indeed and nice video: compliments and thank you. It is the first time that I hear of "non till composting". Such idea albeit novel may find some justification when comparing with what spontaneously occurs in a forest ground and sure enough would render much easier and more convenient the all process of composting. I have three questions for you. 1) You mentioned that you don't add manure from non-herbivorous animals but at the same time I understood (or perhaps misunderstood) that you add the faeces of your cat (carnivore for sure). Is that a minor exception to your general rule? 2) I would like to know the maximal temperature your composting achieve during your typical entire cycle of aerobic&anaerobic fermentation. Do the worms survive during the entire cycle? 3) You did not mention any possible use of human manure, because of some medical precautions or what?
Hi Andrea; Thank you for the comment. It is 'no till' gardening and 'no turn' covered composting and it is similar to natural systems where there is a mix of aerobic and anaerobic processes that allow microorganisms to thrive without constantly being disturbed by tilling, turning and the input of oxygen. I do say in the video that the cat feces are carefully removed each day and ONLY the cat urine in the wood chip kitty litter is composted. Small amounts of urine, including mine soaked in biochar, is high in nitrogen and adds to the nutrient level of the compost. I don't use humanure because it adds too many complications and my garden thrives without it. The temperature will go 10 to 15 degrees C above the outside temp at first then drops back after a couple weeks. Red wriggler worms survive even through winter but when the compost is ready, they move on.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 Thank you so much for your kind and informative replies and corrections. And sorry to have misunderstood the way you deal with cat dejections. Regarding the survival of red wrigglers worms during your process of composting did I understand well if I say the worms are not disturbed by the relatively high temperatures in the core of your "cold" compost? In theory, the only disadvantage I see in your practice of "no turn composting" is that worms would suffer in the micro areas of prevalently anaerobic fermentation. Other than that it looks a pretty neat practice.
The compost bins are 4 ft square and 3 ft high so anaerobic/bokashi like situations are not a problem - the worm tunnels bring in enough oxygen and the various microorganisms work in all states of oxygen. Cheers.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 Dear friend, bear with my last question (at least for this week): have you ever thought as possibile to grow plants (for example your peppers in pots) in a substrate consisting of soley activated biochar? After all, biochar would respond to water and macro/microelements requirements of plants. Greetings from Rome, Italy.
Hi Andrea; It may be possible in a hydroponic greenhouse system but I grow vegetables as simply, nutrient dense and as practical as possible. I grow peppers in a mix of garden soil and compost (and 10% biochar) in 3 gal pots and later in October, I can easily shift the remaining pepper plants to a cool room in the house, ignore them, but we continue to eat peppers off the vine until March/April.
How long does it take to charge the charcoal?
I make the biochar with a flame curtain kiln so when it is quenched at the end of a burn, the pores of the biochar are filled with water. To charge the biochar for use in the garden, it must be added to a compost (1:10) urine (1:1) or herbivore manure (1:10) where it will absorb micronutrients and microorganisms. Depending on temperature, activity of your compost etc charging should be 1 to 2 months.
Thanks for the great video. The part I find hardest is breaking the biochar into smaller pieces. What would you recommend?
Thanks, Shan. I use a 12" X 4 X 4 block against the steel side of the kiln and I find it is effective but it is a bit labour intensive. The biochar has absorbed the quenched water overnight so there is no dust (crushing dry biochar is not good for the lungs). Placing it on a hard surface and smacking it with a shovel, a tamper, heavy boots, even a lawn roller are options for small amounts.
th-cam.com/video/p0a_9INKqsw/w-d-xo.html Edible Acres shows an easy way.
I made it for 4 years now, I'm not sure of the amount, maybe 2 cu/yes per year. My stock is firewood size stuff, I go to the tree service here, I'm in Arizona. So it's about 1/2 hardwood, 1/2 softwood lumber, building mill ends.
As when I shovel it out it goes on a tarp, I burn mine in a pit, I wet it real well again, as it gets flooded when I quench the burn, I reset it and run it thru a Troy built wood chipper.
And then the pit gets to be the compost pile, 2 years later it gets added to my alfalfa waste compost pile, so 3 years and it's spread.
I also heavily cover crop, wood chip so I don't think for me it's about charging, my reason for char is water drainage, porous material, as the Char is of no nutrient value on its own. Except - PH.
You said you made the whole thing out of 2 sheets of 4x8 steel? Also what angle are the sides if you don’t mind me asking
Yes, 2 sheets of 1/8 inch 4x8 steel. This is essentially a larger version of the Kon Tiki kiln of which different designs are well described on line, and they have an angle of 63 to 68 degrees and are made from a single 4x8 sheet. When I designed this kiln, 8 feet long, to fit the fir, cedar and pine branches on our property, the angle from the 26 inch base is about 68 degrees and it has vertical ends. Maximizing the steel to ensure little waste and also welding an angle iron close to the top to minimize the heat bending out the sides is important and of course, using proper techniques in the burn as well.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 Thank you for the information! this is perfect
Interesting stuff! A few follow-up questions..
As biochar lasts for centuries, is it necessary to keep adding it year after year? One day you'll have more than enough biochar in the soil.
How do you get the biochar down to the plant roots when you don't till?
And finally, does your compost bins kill weed seeds without reaching high temperatures?
Hi Ximono; Biochar carbon builds humus in the soil and provides storage for micronutrients to help plant development but the carbon can be lost when soils are flooded, dug up or otherwise damaged so yes, add 'charged' biochar to your garden plant roots every year. All of our soils are low in humus.
Before seeding or transplanting into the raised beds I hoe a low trench and well mix the biochar compost with the soil underneath and then plant above. When seeding, water deeply, then seed and cover with fine, sifted compost.
Avoid composting weed seeds in the first place. Very high temperature composts can kill the weed seeds but also sterilize the soil/microorganisms. Some of the weed seeds are beneficial, bring bees or are edible so I keep some and hoe out the others.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 Agricultural practices like tilling removes humus and carbon from the soil
How did you cower this while you where burin it at the last stage
Sorry, Anders, I don't understand your question. Try again. Rick
H₂O
Sir, what is the pH of your biochar? Does charging the material lower the pH from its basic state?
Hello Ragnar; I have had my biochar analyzed a couple of times and it is 9.5 in pH. I haven't done testing on the finished compost but don't need to add lime to the garden so the biochar compost would definitely still be alkaline in pH and thus helps to neutralize our naturally acidic West Coast soil.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 yes I have been told that our soil is quite sour with all the rain and I presume conifer trees around.
I thought charcoal was hydrofobic or repelled water? When you charge it and it becomes biochar does it change it to absorb water?
It absorbs over time. Mildly hydrophobic
In the garden, biochar is a long lasting absorbent and stores nutrients, microorganisms or water for use by plant roots. I make my biochar with a flame curtain kiln that needs to be quenched with water from the bottom to put out the fire and cleanse the pores. I leave it overnight, drain the excess water, crush then store the wet biochar in garbage bags until it is added to the compost where it will be charged with nutrients for use in garden. In Nature, charcoal has the same purpose. Thanks for the comment.
So, almost like a shammy that is a bit hydrofobic until it is saturated then it absorbs and holds water quite well.
@@jonathancallender8185 also like peat moss
How do you crush your Biochar Rick?
Hi Maree; The reply I gave Shan M. several weeks ago explains some crushing techniques. I make about 500 litres of biochar each burn and the following day it takes me a total of 4 hours to, first, drain off the alkaline water (to use in the orchard) and then crush the biochar using the 4 x 4 wood block and then bag into 40 litre garbage bags. Simple systems done by hand are often the most effective (cheaper and quieter) in the long run and I view it as exercise.
I would love to watch you burn the wood
Planet Earth say THANKS ...
Do you ever have to deal with wild animals trying to get into your compost I have raccoons and possums and beavers I live next to a creek and they are a constant irritation with anything I leave out I have to completey keep my trash locked up or they will have it everywhere
Hi Lyle; We have raccoons, rats and ravens up here - I maintain a securely covered (old HD garbage bags weighted down with scrap wood), compressed compost, cardboard lining wood pallets on the inside, not adding meat products to the compost and using biochar and biochar compost to absorb the smell and rapidly break down the food waste and have no problems at all except for the very occasional rat which can be caught either with the black rat traps or live traps and then drowned in 45 gal drum.
Ravens, an incredible bird, prefer to eat rats not compost so never use poisons to kill rats. People often just dump food waste barely covered on their composts so animals like raccoons, possums and rats will always be attracted to free, available food. Thx, Rick
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 thank you for that great ideas loved your video
I have to address the part where you say you should not keep the oxygen in the pile because of the consequent escaping of CO2. Aerobic composting comes with CO2 no matter what, as microorganisms breathe. If u don’t keep it aerobic it becomes anaerobic where carbon will turn into methane (CH4) which is far worse than CO2 regarding greenhouse effect. However, I have to say, sequestering carbon as biochar is a great service to the planet.
I did say that by not turning the compost to allow oxygen in (and not disturbing the microorganisms), by keeping the compost to under 4 feet dimensions, and by keeping it covered and sided with cardboard and by using 10% biochar to absorb gases including methane, the compost achieves a balance of anaerobic and aerobic state that results in usable biochar compost in 3 to 6 months and without a large loss of carbon as CO2 or CH4. (Aerobic composts also produce CH4) Thanks for commenting.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 of course everyone has his/her own approach of composting, it was just a bit unclear at least for me. i agree, there is no clean aerobic or anaerobic process in a practical composting situation. according to my experience if there is no foul smell, things go just about right in the compost. anyway, biochar unlocks new dimensions of composting. keep it up!
You said no added manure but than you said you add your cat litter and waste. Pooh? Anyway, great video and love the bio bar!
wait u have poppy in your garden?????
They are ornamental, pink poppies that my wife collects and uses in poppy seed cake desert.
I was told that the compost needs oxygen.. How does this work anaerobically? And if the biochar absorbs nutrients, wouldn't it take the nutrients out of the soil, and the plants cannot use those nutrients?
There is some oxygen in there as air spaces, worm tunnels etc so the compost is part anaerobic, part aerobic - like how it works in the forest and grasslands. Turning the compost adds too much oxygen, activates the microbes to form CO2 and methane which escape to the atmosphere. Just like tilling your soil, turning your compost is destructive and releases valuable carbon. The biochar is added when making the compost, particularly to the food waste, and it absorbs the methane and other gases/nutrients as well as providing homes for microorganisms to break down the materials. Not turning, using biochar and keeping the 4' x 4' compost compressed and covered well, you can have good compost in 3-4 months. Add the finished compost to root zone of plants and they will feed off the nutrients in the biochar.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 Thank you so much for this thorough explanation! It really helped to read it.
Biochar can last 1,000-10,000 years. Not just hundreds.
Recent studies say that it decomposes in soil much faster than that.
I would use the heat from making biochar instead of just letting it burn.
I am using the heat from burning dead branches that will soon decompose, to make biochar that is very useful and long lasting. Biochar cookstoves and other retort kilns can be set up to re use the heat but with flame curtain kilns like mine it is about simplicity, speed, quantity, clean burn and quality of the finished biochar.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 Did you design the cookstoves and kilns yourself? If not where can I find a schematic to create biochar cookstoves and kilns?
@@gabrielferrer3205 TLUD stoves have been around for awhile, search for 'biochar cookstoves' for schematics or go to biochar-international.org for info.
Good job with the video. Please scratch the cat waste and the charcoal crushing for your garden usage. No need for either. Adding charcoal to your compost pile charges it sufficiently and any more is like taking extra multivitamins but pissing away all the excess. Flora in the garden will happily assist with charging the charcoal for you if all you do is add it directly to your garden.
Think about it… those pores - spongelike. You’re almost perfect in your technique.
Did you know that biochar is very basic on the ph scale?
The biochar I make has an average pH of 9.5 which balances our naturally acidic soil and then doesn't require the addition of lime.
@@saltspringislandbiochar4343 I used some as a soil substitute in my hydroponics setup. It shot up to a ph of 11 after three days in the liquid solution. Even after being rinsed twice beforehand. Half my plants died.
Im thinking biochar is more useful in soil that hydroponics for that reason.
I have been trying to boil some for three hours yesterday with a ph-down chemical and it keeps going up after a few hours.
Uh
Very confusing, says keep the fire on top, then says push the coals to the bottom, keep adding....... I'm still trying to understand the first half and how the biochar gets nutrients away from the compost, does that make the compost useless? I know he tried, pleasant man, you would have to already know how to do all this to understand the video, my opinion. Please no need to try to teach what he was doing in the comments, I won't be returning to read them
Really amazing video on bio char compost! Please make more videos, I’m new to regenerative ag and no till gardening but love it and want to get started ASAP
I have a question about properly applying bio char compost though. Every video I see about bio char and compost is always for garden uses. What if I wanted to use bio char compost on grazing fields that have been filled and sprayed for the last 50 years? My family has a 160 acre farm that has had a mild rest period that would be perfect for starting adaptive grazing with chickens and cattle but I want to speed up that process too. Do most farmers that practice no till and adaptive grazing techniques not use compost in their fields? And what would be the best way to get compost into the soil of like 20 acre pastures without tilling?
This is awesome, Rick! Can't wait to share your very informative video with the family and all my gardening friends. I don't even garden and I want some of this stuff. 🍆🥔🥕🌽🌶🥦🧅🍄🍇🍋🐂🐴🐔🐖💩💩💩🌱🌲🌳🍁🍀☘🌿