Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Also biochar is very different to wood chip – as it has been charred, so will not mulch/deteriorate so quickly. I use woodchip (from our tree work) as a mulch on paths, but not on beds.
Hi everyone – sorry about the silence – holiday season got in the way. Monty Don was certainly using biochar on Gardeners’ World – from the look of the container – it was Carbon Gold product – which seems to be sourced from Namibia. Initially we did our trials with uncharged biochar – and we had some good results – but this year we will be trying both ways. We sell uncharged Biochar so people an add it to their compost, or mix it with their own supplements, and this year we are looking to sell it charged as well. They do say that the first 8% improvement by biochar has the greatest effect, and the extra benefits are a wider variety of homes for microbes in the soil, extra water and feed retention, and also the fact that you are locking carbon into the soil for well over 50 years. we have not yet achieved the terra preta, but biochar is a way of working towards it. I am afraid we do not have a website yet – we are passionate about it, but do not have investors behind us – so growing at our won speed, but one of our focuses is using waste material from local woodland management. We have a FB page, and we are happy to send out samples for people to trial, on the basis that you let us know how you get on. I will read through other comments here and answer where I can
Hi Charles. I can certainly post some photos of tomatoes, and also results from trials in terms of weights and numbers of fruit – but there should also some stuff on our Facebook page – Northumbria Biochar. I have never tried Carbon Gold, as I am not sure about the ethics of it being shipped in from Namibia. We have currently been trialling it untreated in our own beds – but this year we will be selling it both untreated, and treated with Comfrey liquid and worm tea. selling it treated means different packaging and we try to reuse packaging from various sources. More later….
Hi. Interested in this old thread if anyone is still following it. We have been producing Biochar on Hadrian’s Wall and trialling it in our food growing with significantly positive results. We use only waste wood from our woodland management and tree surgery operations – and we use a Kon-Tiki kiln that allows us to do a continuous feed process and ensure that the wood gases are burnt up through pyrolosis. Basically it is great for water and nutrient retention, provides homes for microbes and bacteria, and also improves soil structure for poorer soils. We have been giving away samples at local farmers’ market and other “growing” events – and this has then turned into sales when people have tried it out for themselves. We are starting to scale up the operation, getting ore local woodlands into production, and ensuring even more of a tree felled is put to good use. Just as a comment – biochar is a charcoal but it is made specifically for going int the ground – smaller sized pieces and made in a clean way!