Posted by Paul de Bruin on Mar 13th 2021

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BIOCHAR?

INTRODUCTION

Read more about why it's worth taking another good look at using char as a soil amendment, and the science behind it. So what is char, and how can it improve the quality of your soil?
Premium char Is Your Organic ‘Secret Weapon’ To Amazing, Healthy plants. Char is made exclusively from soft pine wood and shipped out with the greatest care for consistent particle size and with LOW dust! Use it to improve your soil and establish long-term benefits for your plants and flowers. Char reduces your need for fertilizers and helps replenish the organic material in your soil.

TIME TO WAKE UP YOUR SOIL!

Let’s go old school on this world and bring back the terra preta (the black earth). The Amazonian farmers understood that plants were more plentiful. The crops were sustained through harsher conditions and they could farm the same land over and over without fear depleting the nutrients. It’s a simple process to add the organic carbon-lush material back into the soil and charge it up with nitrogen and micro-organisms to push the full potential out of your plants and seeds.

HEALTHIER SOIL FOR BETTER PLANT GROWTH

By using char, your plants and flowers will be bigger, healthier, and more abundant. Char encourages micro-organisms to thrive in your soil and increases nitrogen, as well as other important nutrients. Here are some additional benefits when using char as a soil amendment:

Drought resistance

Char Retains water better than compost and peat moss.

Char will benefit the soil for 100’s of years. No need to reapply.

More Organic matter to develop a vibrant soil ecosystem

Char increases the amount of microbial activity and improves the overall organic ecosystem of your soil.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Char may look like charcoal, but it's not. The way it is manufactured creates a high carbon level, and it is incredibly porous. All of those pours help retain water and provide a cozy home for micro-organisms to grow and survive off of the nutrients in the soil. Their interactions are a natural way to get nitrogen and other important elements back into the roots. As the bacteria thrive, so does the natural processes that make your plants grow. Studies have also shown that the benefits of char may also include reducing the possibility of disease in your soil.

SCIENCE THIS!

Around an ounce of char can have the surface area of a high school soccer field, and if that soccer field uses char the grass will grow faster and fuller.

A CLEAN AND RENEWABLE SOURCE

Char made from carbonized wood or char made from biomass is defined as organic matter from plants and animals and is considered a renewable and truly clean form of carbon. Carbonized wood has some extraordinary properties that make it the perfect carbon additive of choice for potting media and bioremediation. Wood-based carbon possesses an extremely high-surface-area ideal for the absorption of water, nutrients, and the growth of microorganisms.

WHAT MAKES CHAR SUCH A GOOD PRODUCT

The source materials matter, not all raw source carbon materials are the same.

Activated carbon can be produced from many carbon-containing materials, with the most common being coal, wood and coconut shell. The source material can greatly impact the properties of the finished product.

For example, activated carbons from different source materials will not have the same range of pore sizes.

PROCESSING CONDITIONS TO GIVE IT ITS PROPERTIES

Processing conditions have a large impact on the performance of activated carbon.

The following are some examples:

The lower the pH, the more easily contaminants will be adsorbed.

The lower the processing temperature (within a certain range), the higher the adsorption properties. This will also slow down the flow rate.

The higher the concentration of contaminants, the more effective the carbon will be at removing contaminants once processed.

The lower the flow rate, the more likely a contaminant will be adsorbed. This is because there is more time for the contaminant to touch the surface. A finer mesh of carbon will also lead to a lower flow rate.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

Char is extremely porous and provides storage (absorbs and holds these, till needed) for nutrients, microbes, and mycorrhizal fungi. Before use, you must first inoculate the char. Char applied without inoculation will initially absorb all the nutrients from the soil which will stress your plants, cuttings, and seedlings. If you do not inoculate the soil before use, it may take several weeks before enough biological activity replaces what was initially absorbed before you see any benefits. By inoculating the char, you will see these benefits almost immediately. Inoculated char is referred to as BioChar.

MIXING GUIDE

A good guideline is to make the char equal ~10% of the total soil content.

FUN FACT! Char by itself is not biologically active. Mixing it to your soil introduces the micro-organisms and mycorrhizal fungi.

EDUCATIONAL SUBJECT MATTER VIDEO'S