Anyone make biochar?

A single cut doesn't remove enough material. You make two cuts and remove a wedge... I just used a dremel to remove about 1/8 of an inch. Math says you should remove about 3.14x as much as you want the diameter to decrease.

Next you need to bend the edges in. A cargo strap helped, but probably wasn't absolutely needed, since I ended up bending it by mostly by hand. Wear gloves for all of this, the edges will be sharp.

Next you slid the top on, make sure it's level or it won't go on. Work around the rim, pushing in the flaps till it slides on.

Also make sure it doesnt have any rough edges to catch on... like this one. Now where did I set that dremel tool...

With a little pushing and prodding, the lid will fit on tightly.

Once you have it on and pressed all the way down, a cross pean hammer is usefull for bending the flaps in just a little more to loosen it... just don't hit the lid by mistake. A screw driver tapped against the upper rim (not the part you cut, the rim where the side and the end are joined together) will loosen it and lift it off - just tap it a few times working around the circle.

I wish I had a mig welder, then I could tak the flaps together and they would stay in place...but bending it worked fine.

Next I need to make the "oven" it sits in... but that will probably be a project for next weekend. I plan to make a cinderblock "oven" with a metal lid and chimey. The chimney isn't hard to find, but I haven't figured out where to get the piece of sheet metal to put accross the top... Need a piece about 4 ft square. Any suggestions?

having used char in the past I find it useful but you must be cautious of the amount that you use in one area..

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

What type of problems did you run into? Did you use it straight from the kiln, or did you soak it in some type of compost first to season it?

I read that if you use it straight, it will actually decrease the nutrients available to plants by absorbing them, and preventing them from being available to the plants. But once they carbon is saturated, it is supposed to be good for them.

Why would it matter if it was a cold or warm climate? All of its attributes are still in effect during the growing season. With my dry soil, having that extra place for soil biota to live works wonders. In fact beyond VERY DEEP piles of quality organic matter I see little proof soil biota persists here from year to year except where I use charcoal.

i live in a cold climate, I have had amazing improvements because of adding charcoal/biochar to my soils. There is nothing like it. Im not even really sure why you mention hugulultur, you could use both together for increased benefit.

Ive also been trialing many configurations of all these things. where i live, digging DEEP trenches in our heavy soil with a bit of a zuni waffle garden mindset, lining the bottoms with old wood with a hugkultur mindset, and mixing in as much charcoal/biochar and other organic matter FAR out paced anything else I did. Lots of work no doub tthere. I just use sheet mulching and building up beds as I slowly dig out my longer term trenching model. Granted I still have some more trialing to go, disrupted some by a recent move, but where I live a mix of these appears far superior to date.

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I have a high desert arid mountainous climate. Working towards self sufficiency. The potentials of plant breeding and building micro climates amaze me. We must learn to ride the wave.

You are correct, you do want to "charge" the charcoal first for best results!!!

Im not positive it is dramatic enough it has a negative effect on the plants until it charges itself from the soil, but it definitely sets back its benefits, or some of them, for a few years. You might be right though.

It isnt hard to charge it either. You can use your own urine if you have nothing else, but a compost would probably be better with its wide range of soil biota. Or use both and whatever else you have. All you need to do is soak it in water and whatever your charging it with a few days before you apply is my understanding and its what I do.

Also my understanding is charcoal, can be more a hindrance if your using lots of synthetic ferts, soaking up and storing toxins. I never looked into this, most who do it lean towards being organic or close so its not a common problem.. thought Id point that out though, for anyone who might want to use charcoal but who uses synthetics... its something to look into first.

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I have a high desert arid mountainous climate. Working towards self sufficiency. The potentials of plant breeding and building micro climates amaze me. We must learn to ride the wave.

I've continued to add charcoal to my garden along with plenty of mulch. Grew some really nice vegetables this year and planning to expand.

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http://www.lindsayfarmonsilvercreek.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the update! This is interesting.

The retort kiln I'm making is based of the ideas I got from this video:


I am going to make four barels up this way, for the retorts to cook the wood in. Then I'm going to make a cinder block oven to heat them in.

I disagree what they made was charcoal its just not the most effciant way to make it.

I've been playing around with biochar on a small scale since I first heard about the idea.

Just read an in depth article about it on a blog I follow.

Good stuff: Blog | One Straw – Be the Change

We made some about four years ago and put it in one garden bed. Did not really notice much difference.

What we do notice a difference with is wood chips and more wood chips and burying wood. The fancy name for it is hugelkulture .....or something like that. We just call it burying wood or using wood in the garden. We use huge wood logs to line the garden beds, more wood to line the beds, and sometimes we bury the bark too. Works good.

Call some tree services in your area and ask them if they need to get rid of some rotten wood chips or even fresh ones. Ask them to dump it in your yard.

Good luck.

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Meanwhile, Back in Saluda

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Web site: http://www.meanwhilebackinsaluda.com/

Google terra preta. There was already a name for biochar!

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

they are similar - terra preta is soil that has a high charcoal/biochar content.

What I'm not clear on is what the difference (if any) is between charcoal and biochar, and how much you have to charge the charcoal/biochar with bacteria, nitrogen etc, in order to get it to act like terra preta.

Thought I'd post an update:

The lids was a bit tight, and a mig welder is expensive. A pop-rivet gun is only $20. So I decided to rivet the flaps together. So, two small holes...

Line up the two holes...

rivet them together...

...and voila! The inner rim is now ~3/4 of an inch narrower, so the lid slides on easily,

but it still fits snug when it gets to the bottom. Comes off easily too.

I've made 4. I'll buid a cinder-block oven large enough to contain all 4. They say yield is ~40-50% by volume. At ~80% the density of the starting wood, (I'm using pine) I estimate 210gallons (due to shorter barrel) ~ 28 cubic feet wood ~ 12.5 cubic feet biochar ~ 300# biochar /burn.

From what I have read the final parts, ingredient and process, to make charcoal into terra preta still escapes current knowledge.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

Terra preta was merely the result of a large combined garbage dump and burial plot.

Martin

Biochar is excellent if you live in the tropics.

Hugelkultur is far superior in colder regions.

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