Gardener Scott this was one of the last videos I very much needed in my research on Biochar. The difference between charcoal and biochar I needed very much. Thank you ❤
I couldn’t find anywhere to figure out the difference between charcoal and biochar. Thank you this is very easy to understand . You are a good teacher.
Royal oak is not cooked the way biochar is cooked. The temperature isnt as high. I have used both Vermont Castings charcoal, and Royal Oak all natural wood charcoal. I did further research after using the royal oak, however it does work, it just isnt as high in carbon thats all, still very effective as biochar. 25 bucks a bag of Royal Oak vs. 40 for Vermont Castings. My cannabis seeds sprouted 6 of 10 of them in less than 24hrs in my fully charged royal oak char so it definitely works. I mixed it with a little compost i made, and fish hydrolysate, maybe 10-20% compost. The biochar had over 10 inputs in it designed to make cannabis plants happy, including fermented cannabis from last year's crop, lactic acid bacterium serum, liquid calcium acetate i made, coffee grounds, egg shells heavily grinded in a coffee grinder for the worms later, fermented urine, alfalfa meal, and more stuff I forgot. Have fun with it... I added tye last of some soup my wife ,made with ground beef in it, and a dried mushroom cap from an organic snack bag for laughs. My compost has a kitten that died shortly after birth in it, and all the dead rats and mice i catch, they dissapear in a month. I just learned this stuff and it works so far.
Scott, I’ve been applying much of what I’ve learned from you into my garden this year. I’m having great results. In particular with the yield I’ve seen already, and the deep rich colors in my fruits and veggies, and with far less effort than prior growing seasons. Thank you for all you do sir. Your influence has made a huge difference in my gardening.
Gardener Scott, you are an excellent teacher. You have the ability to clearly and simply explain complex ideas. You are inspirational. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge.
What a wonderful journey you have created for newbies to travel along, thank you so much Gardener Scott what a pleasant way to learn everything we need to know. Thanks for your knowledge, time, commitment and thorough teachings. I've watched dozens of your videos and I can feel myself becoming more and more excited!! Thanks again from our garden to yours 💐🌺🌿🌻🍀🍁
Thank you, Gardener Scott! This is the very best explanation of how biochar is made and its uses I've learned from anywhere else on the internet! Thanks again!
I've been buying lump charcoal by the 50# bag at Sam's, but it's a huge, backbreaking chore to smash it all down and sift it. Yesterday, I got the bright idea to run it through my electric wood chipper. The result was pieces about 1/4" to 3/8" in size, which is perfect for my tastes. I learned three things: 1) Don't do this if you are sweating. 2) Do this BEFORE you shower. 3) Use clothes you plan on throwing away, or do it naked. I'm also going to have to hose the chipper down, but this only took me 45 minutes, as opposed to 5-8 hours. so it's worth it.
@@fletcherthomas3434 Sounds like a good idea, but since I did that, I tried running some branches through it and they wouldn't move. Checked the blades and they were rounded over. Seems that charcoal is VERY abrasive as well! I won't be doing it again!
Top quality video. Not much chit-chat -- focuses on information people need to understand the topic. Most videos I turn on captions and scroll through to not waste time but this one I watched the whole video minute by minute because it was so informative. Thank you!
This is some really good stuff; thanks! I just run my char through the blender and mix it with urine to activate it. What I was really looking for and you provided, was how much to mix into my soil. The answer was much more than I realized, so this will give me an excuse to burn even more yard waste! Now, I have to add this: From my perspective as an actor and a public speaker, you do an excellent job of conveying your information. Very few UA-camrs are as professional as you are. I truly appreciate your delivery, thanks.
From a blacksmiths perspective there is little difference between "biochar" charcoal and lump charcoal or open pit charcoal when using it to forge with. All natural charcoal is "bio"char. There IS a big difference between those and charcoal briquettes. Neither forging or for gardening should briquettes be used, unless just in the grill to cook. Any Lump charcoal is better for that too. Anyway, I can see possibly how pyrolysed charcoal could be better for gardening than open pit charcoal from your explination. Pyrolysed charcoal is not hard to make. Basically you have the wood in a metal container with some holes in the lid and place it in a bigger metal container with a fire inside to basically cook or bake the inner container to change it to charcoal. There are many good videos on this and it can be a small or large operation depending on your tooling or skills and resources. You could even rout the exhaust of the inner container to vent wood gas into the flame to take over the burner flame to recycle and use all the resources and make it more efficient. Same deal as gardening for cheap and or free or going all out. The same applies to blacksmithing really. Funny how different trades or hobbies cross over in ways. Love your insight and videos. Always get me or others thinking.
This is exactly what I was hoping to learn… Can we make bio char ourselves for our own gardens? I priced it on Amazon, and it’s pretty steep, for me anyway.
Morw or less exactly what I was going to say. Why buy when you can make. It's the exact same method outdoorsman and survivalists have used to make char-cloth for centuries.
@@cathysteele924 it’s very simple. Prepare a lot of sticks or very small logs; you’ll need a lot of material. This process works best with dry, small sticks, but you can burn fresh material with a hot enough, big enough fire. Start a fire in a contained area. I use a Weber grill. As the sticks burn and begin to ash, add more sticks on top to begin to cut off the oxygen from the bottom layers. Keep adding your material until you have a big pile of coals. Let the coals burn until 95% of the flames are gone. Don’t worry about the ash forming on top, the coals buried in the pile are what we care about. Once you feel like most of the gases (flames) have burned away, pour water on the coals until it cool to the touch. Voila! A pile of biochar! It’s ready to be used as described in this video. To see a video of this, the channels Cody’s lab, David the good, skillcult, and red gardens all have good videos on the process.
When I empty my wood burning stove's ash, I get a ton of little charcoal pieces in it. If I innoculate those pieces is that considered gardening biochar? I'm thinking if a coal got snuffed out in a bed of ash, that it's the same as pyrolysis, Thoughts?
@@cathysteele924 I don't see why you couldn't make it yourself. Pyrolysis is just the burning process. How they do it may be a little different but basically they have a bin burning the wood inside then starving itof oxygen but it shill smolders to a quality charcoal. I see it as the small chunks and inoculation he mentions as the more important part of its usefulness. I think any lump charcoal would work if in small bits. He does mention that what he buys is a better product. Not that your home made charcoal wouldn't work.
Great vidio. I've been making biocharr kilns for customers. Now I understand how good biocharr is and can promote it. I'll be sharing your vidio. Thanks very much. I've passed your vidio to 25+ people.
Great video, thanks. I've been using biochar for about five years and find that every addition improves production. I use it in the garden compost and also in the composting chicken poop, making a kind of lasagna of poop and char. in the compost box After producing a 34lb kohlrabi, I knew I was onto an amazing technique - and it was good all the way through. Having a kon-tiki biochar kiln helps a lot.
Thanks! Great information. I was just watching an interview with Graham Hancock, where he discusses that research is showing that the whole amazon rainforest was apparently a man made endeavor in which biochar was created by a civilization thousands of years ago to enrich the soil to sustain vegetation. It’s called terra preta. Considering the amazon rainforest is about the size of India, this was quite a large project for an ancient civilization.
I've been watching lots of videos and this is a very good, simple explanation. I really like the added info regarding animal bones. So glad you added the inoculation/energizing stage. Excellent!
Also have listened to some great information in Professor David R Montgomery's books Growing a revolution, Hidden half of life and Dirt. I haven't watched the documentary so I'll search that out. Thanks
A wealth of common sense information. Much appreciated that you take the time to explain this effectively and detailed. I'm definitely going to be applying this post harvest.
Interesting, since everyone else I watch says to do it every three or so years. Have been wanting to use bio char for years, but have yet to give it a try. Thanks for the info...
Thank you Scott this is wonderfully informative and I have just been using some bio char in my raised beds and am so happy to hear your clarity of all the benefits.
I really enjoy watching, and ingesting your videos. You are such a fantastic teacher, I hope that someday I’ll run into you around town; and be able to thank you in person.
Thank you for the clarification between charcoal and biochar because I had the idea I could save time and one by picking up a bag of lump charcoal and grinding it up. I won't be dong that!
I'm going to be building a couple raised beds and considering 18-24'' height. My strategy so far was going to be hugelkultur and more native soil on the bottom and then mel's mix for the top half. Then mulch on top. Now I'm considering adding a thin layer of biochar at root depth as you suggest. Very interesting! I think biochar layer would really compliment mel's mix very well since that mix is supposed to last a very long time as well, beyond having to regular add organic.
What a great idea to add it to my container where I throw my kitchen scrap that I then cover with dirt to make compose now I can add my burnt wood charcoal to it. Thanks.
I water my plants with pond water regularly. I bought a small bag of biochar and added it to my worm compost that goes on top of soil with azomite. And microrizomes
I have access to pond water as well with cattails that generate black ooze down by it's roots stir up the black ooze in the pond and you got instant compost tea.i figure
An amazing video, in few days I’m going to inoculate my biochar with different microbes, like Trichoderma, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, etc.. for my stevia plants. Your video motivated me 😍
I love your dog! It wants a front row seat! Great video and information!👍 I got forest leaf mould and comfrey tea to infuse my bio char before I added it to my compost bin with red wrigglers in.🤯👍
One of the best descriptions and explanations of Biochar i've watched. I had to send it to my sisters and a friend immediately 😉 Funnily enough i have just bought my first bag from the creator of the hotbin. Along with your vermicasting videos this is a great tutorial. We are blessed that you took he time out to share this.
I can't even begin to explain my excitement for your video. I found it because I went to a gardening class today and this was talked about. You explain non and inoculation so very wonderful thanks. I'll be adding it to my lasagna compost for now on. I'm thankful I dont have to inoculate it first as I'm doing my cold composting ❤ thanks again Scott
What an amazing presentation, thank you for the information. It was eye opening.. the fact that the carbon maintains molecular structure, how interesting the ancient gardens having been found with biochar. I will do this on a large-scale before even starting my garden. The northern Arkansas Ozarks are rocky clay, I'm thinking a few truckloads of compost, sand, and biochar should fix the property right up..Thank you
I accidentally discovered this secret because my neighbor, a former water treatment specialist in the military, taught me that I could create my own water filtration the way they would have to do it in a military scenario instead of using vitamin C as I was doing to neutralize the chlorine in our tap water. The Vitamin C trick works, but the biochar I learned to use helps to fix any plant that is not healthy and promotes lots of fruit production, and I only sprinkled the biochar into the top layer of soil. I have yet to truly use it as an amendment to the soil as you have shown. My soil/s already has the worm friendly stuff you mentioned so I look forward to seeing the results of expanded use.
What you say makes sense. I wonder how the worms will like it. Also, I have a small pond with a bacteria laden bottom. Maybe I can harvest some and mix it with biochar. It's worth a try. Thanks Scott!
No-Dig Garden Well, I found them eating long pieces of grass by the end. So the either have teeth or powerful stomach acid to dissolve and absorb rough, tough grass. When I bought an aerobic digesting water filter, it contained hundreds of small corrugated black plastic cylinders for the same reason you used with wiggle balls. There must be something to this. Thanks again.
Hi Professor Scott I want to thank you for your excellent explanation. I am now planning on placing biochar below my straw bale raised beds... My thoughts are this will help catch all the "bleed through" on the conditioning of the straw bales. And should lead to some superb biochar to amend my raised beds when I build my raised beds. I want to thank you in advance for all of the yummy fruits and vegetables I will be harvesting because of this video.
Now l know why my new Raised Garden didn’t do very well last year, l certainly will be doing this this spring. Thank you for such clear and concise info.
Thank you sir, for your info. I'm keeping a veggie garden and raising chickens in my backyard (here in Mindanao, Philippines). The biochar has proved to be very effective in eliminating foul odor of ammonia that may threaten the health of newly hatched chicks. It also improves soil fertility and moisture. This black absorber of moisture and detoxifier makes the environment for both garden plants and birds healthy -- and happy.
You are an excellent educator. I have a background in adult training/education and was trained by the best Air Force in the world. You my friend are superb.
I hope you don’t mind me calling you Professor, I’ve learned more from you short videos than I have in hours of research. I just did a quick search on an online retail platform and there are a number of brands and options of Biochar to choose from. Any recommendations you can share on your preferred brands or things to look for? In the video I know you mentioned you’re currently sourcing your locally, but any guidance you can provide would be appreciated. Thank you for all the great videos, please keep them coming.
Thanks! I really don't have any national companies that I prefer or recommend. From what I've found it they are basically the same. I suggest you determine how much you need and then try to find one that doesn't cost a lot. Here's a popular one on Amazon: amzn.to/2YmsIQD
If you have never taught classes, you missed your calling. This was a very well structured and clearly explained with 'visual aid' teaching presentation. Thank you much!!! What type of charcoal/what is the charcoal that is used to dehumidify a room? I needed some last year in an effort to forever get rid of fleas so as to never have to use pesticide on my cat again.. ie flea applications from a vet. And I too, as also requested below...a how to make bio char video. Realizing that you are also very busy, I will keep watching and hope at some point you have time to do this.
Thank you. I have taught many classes and will continue to do so in the spring. The charcoal you're referring to is activated charcoal; it's very similar to biochar. I'll be releasing a video in February about how biochar is made by a manufacturer. I hope to do a video on how to make it at home next summer.
Thanks for the quick reply. I spreaded it over all four beds but was not able to add the top layer of compost,Peet moos,vermiculite. So hope it will be okay untill I can get back out Marc h or so as it has turned very cold here, Using your Hugocultuer method as well.
Awesome video, Gardener Scott, one I have referred back to a few times. I bought some fully charged biochar last year and indeed had amazing results. Thanks for your tutoring! Best wishes, Roy from London, UK 🇬🇧
Thanks for this video. Over the last 50 years, I have added the ashes from our wood stoves and fireplaces, as well as leaves and burned leaves too. Additionally, I have added compost. Our family garden always yields fabulous produce and flowers without the need for fertilizer. However, I do add 10-10-10 fertilizer to our compost to aid the decomposition. Thank you for enlightening us!
I agree with putting biochar in the front end of the compost process (thanks Hugh McLaughlin) as it inoculates, conditions and charges the biochar. Dr McLaughlin had mentioned 1/3 by volume of biochar to compost and at the end of the process you will have a 50:50 blend. I could never make that amount of biochar but every bit helps.
Thank you, Scott! A very thorough, understandable explanation. Would you be able to share the ratios of biochar, soil, compost and water/tea that was mixed in the bucket? Keep posting the great content. Cheers!
By far the best video to understand biochar and its benefits. The problem is that all biochar is not the same or consistently produced. I will be interested in knowing the differences in bone-char vs different types of wood biochar. If it even makes a difference which one to use for different amending properties
Thank you so much for all of your great information. We really like your channel and appreciate the great information you provided, cause you’re not only provide the how you should do it but the way you should do it. Thanks again for helping us be better gardeners. 🙂
Wow. One of the most useful and new gardening tips I've seen for a while! Thank you so much! I've always wondered if wood stove charcoal and ash is as good as biochar and you answered that in the first 3 minutes! HEAVY mulching has improved my soil and harvest significantly this year (one of your other videos...thank you). Now I'm going to try biochar in my worm bins. Hmmm...can I make it myself...?
it's kind of tough as Scott says. To do it best you need two metal containers so one can burn and the other is inside not able to burn, but the gasses escaping from the bottom of the barrel to be ignited and burn on the outside of the inner barrel. It's an interesting thing. I think the Natives would have use the water quench method he talks about and that I've used. If you get thing all tinkly sounding when they drop together they're right. But it's hard to get the wood inside to dry, so the outside is biochar, inside it's more wood.
I just saw your video on Biochar. You produced this in 2019 ish and it is now Dec 2024. What is your opinion on Biochar now? I just moved to Highlands Ranch and will be starting a couple raised beds, would like to add Biochar into my compost. Thank you.
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Gardener Scott this was one of the last videos I very much needed in my research on Biochar. The difference between charcoal and biochar I needed very much. Thank you ❤
You Sir are an excellent teacher...thank you and blessings!
I concur:)
Thank you very much.
@@GardenerScott tc6tvb NYC h dr to cry 7th boxing NJ UNFIRED
Agreed
I concur.
I couldn’t find anywhere to figure out the difference between charcoal and biochar. Thank you this is very easy to understand . You are a good teacher.
Indeed
Common sense and any cannabis mangazine since the mid 90s has biochar information
Just buy hardwood lump and not briquettes. Briquettes are compressed sawdust and other nasty stuff from who knows where.
@@terryrobinson1416 was gonna say the same thing. Royal Oak is a good brand to use.
Royal oak is not cooked the way biochar is cooked. The temperature isnt as high. I have used both Vermont Castings charcoal, and Royal Oak all natural wood charcoal. I did further research after using the royal oak, however it does work, it just isnt as high in carbon thats all, still very effective as biochar. 25 bucks a bag of Royal Oak vs. 40 for Vermont Castings.
My cannabis seeds sprouted 6 of 10 of them in less than 24hrs in my fully charged royal oak char so it definitely works. I mixed it with a little compost i made, and fish hydrolysate, maybe 10-20% compost. The biochar had over 10 inputs in it designed to make cannabis plants happy, including fermented cannabis from last year's crop, lactic acid bacterium serum, liquid calcium acetate i made, coffee grounds, egg shells heavily grinded in a coffee grinder for the worms later, fermented urine, alfalfa meal, and more stuff I forgot. Have fun with it... I added tye last of some soup my wife ,made with ground beef in it, and a dried mushroom cap from an organic snack bag for laughs. My compost has a kitten that died shortly after birth in it, and all the dead rats and mice i catch, they dissapear in a month. I just learned this stuff and it works so far.
I've just bought my biochar here in Malawi want to try it on my bean garden . Thanks for the lessons
I love your calm style. Thank you for being such a great teacher.
Scott, I’ve been applying much of what I’ve learned from you into my garden this year. I’m having great results. In particular with the yield I’ve seen already, and the deep rich colors in my fruits and veggies, and with far less effort than prior growing seasons. Thank you for all you do sir. Your influence has made a huge difference in my gardening.
So have I love this channel the best
Gardener Scott, you are an excellent teacher. You have the ability to clearly and simply explain complex ideas. You are inspirational. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge.
What a wonderful journey you have created for newbies to travel along, thank you so much Gardener Scott what a pleasant way to learn everything we need to know. Thanks for your knowledge, time, commitment and thorough teachings. I've watched dozens of your videos and I can feel myself becoming more and more excited!! Thanks again from our garden to yours 💐🌺🌿🌻🍀🍁
Thank you, Gardener Scott! This is the very best explanation of how biochar is made and its uses I've learned from anywhere else on the internet! Thanks again!
I've been buying lump charcoal by the 50# bag at Sam's, but it's a huge, backbreaking chore to smash it all down and sift it. Yesterday, I got the bright idea to run it through my electric wood chipper. The result was pieces about 1/4" to 3/8" in size, which is perfect for my tastes. I learned three things: 1) Don't do this if you are sweating. 2) Do this BEFORE you shower. 3) Use clothes you plan on throwing away, or do it naked. I'm also going to have to hose the chipper down, but this only took me 45 minutes, as opposed to 5-8 hours. so it's worth it.
Try getting the pieces a little bit wet before you throw them in the chipper. It’s helped keep the dust to a minimum in my experience
@@fletcherthomas3434 Sounds like a good idea, but since I did that, I tried running some branches through it and they wouldn't move. Checked the blades and they were rounded over. Seems that charcoal is VERY abrasive as well! I won't be doing it again!
I hope you were wearing a mask. I’m sure breathing in the dust is not good for your lungs.
Probably wear a mask too...
Top quality video. Not much chit-chat -- focuses on information people need to understand the topic. Most videos I turn on captions and scroll through to not waste time but this one I watched the whole video minute by minute because it was so informative. Thank you!
One of the best explanations of biochar out there. Thank you.
This is some really good stuff; thanks! I just run my char through the blender and mix it with urine to activate it. What I was really looking for and you provided, was how much to mix into my soil. The answer was much more than I realized, so this will give me an excuse to burn even more yard waste!
Now, I have to add this: From my perspective as an actor and a public speaker, you do an excellent job of conveying your information. Very few UA-camrs are as professional as you are. I truly appreciate your delivery, thanks.
I always learn something from your videos but today I learned something completely new. THANKS
Now this is called an explanation. Brilliant teaching Sir. The way you conveyed the idea to understand it was simply Kudos😊
From a blacksmiths perspective there is little difference between "biochar" charcoal and lump charcoal or open pit charcoal when using it to forge with. All natural charcoal is "bio"char. There IS a big difference between those and charcoal briquettes. Neither forging or for gardening should briquettes be used, unless just in the grill to cook. Any Lump charcoal is better for that too.
Anyway, I can see possibly how pyrolysed charcoal could be better for gardening than open pit charcoal from your explination.
Pyrolysed charcoal is not hard to make. Basically you have the wood in a metal container with some holes in the lid and place it in a bigger metal container with a fire inside to basically cook or bake the inner container to change it to charcoal. There are many good videos on this and it can be a small or large operation depending on your tooling or skills and resources. You could even rout the exhaust of the inner container to vent wood gas into the flame to take over the burner flame to recycle and use all the resources and make it more efficient. Same deal as gardening for cheap and or free or going all out.
The same applies to blacksmithing really. Funny how different trades or hobbies cross over in ways.
Love your insight and videos. Always get me or others thinking.
This is exactly what I was hoping to learn… Can we make bio char ourselves for our own gardens? I priced it on Amazon, and it’s pretty steep, for me anyway.
Morw or less exactly what I was going to say. Why buy when you can make. It's the exact same method outdoorsman and survivalists have used to make char-cloth for centuries.
@@cathysteele924 it’s very simple. Prepare a lot of sticks or very small logs; you’ll need a lot of material. This process works best with dry, small sticks, but you can burn fresh material with a hot enough, big enough fire. Start a fire in a contained area. I use a Weber grill. As the sticks burn and begin to ash, add more sticks on top to begin to cut off the oxygen from the bottom layers. Keep adding your material until you have a big pile of coals. Let the coals burn until 95% of the flames are gone. Don’t worry about the ash forming on top, the coals buried in the pile are what we care about. Once you feel like most of the gases (flames) have burned away, pour water on the coals until it cool to the touch. Voila! A pile of biochar! It’s ready to be used as described in this video. To see a video of this, the channels Cody’s lab, David the good, skillcult, and red gardens all have good videos on the process.
When I empty my wood burning stove's ash, I get a ton of little charcoal pieces in it. If I innoculate those pieces is that considered gardening biochar? I'm thinking if a coal got snuffed out in a bed of ash, that it's the same as pyrolysis, Thoughts?
@@cathysteele924 I don't see why you couldn't make it yourself. Pyrolysis is just the burning process. How they do it may be a little different but basically they have a bin burning the wood inside then starving itof oxygen but it shill smolders to a quality charcoal. I see it as the small chunks and inoculation he mentions as the more important part of its usefulness. I think any lump charcoal would work if in small bits. He does mention that what he buys is a better product. Not that your home made charcoal wouldn't work.
Great vidio. I've been making biocharr kilns for customers. Now I understand how good biocharr is and can promote it.
I'll be sharing your vidio.
Thanks very much.
I've passed your vidio to 25+ people.
Great video, thanks. I've been using biochar for about five years and find that every addition improves production. I use it in the garden compost and also in the composting chicken poop, making a kind of lasagna of poop and char. in the compost box After producing a 34lb kohlrabi, I knew I was onto an amazing technique - and it was good all the way through. Having a kon-tiki biochar kiln helps a lot.
Thanks! Great information.
I was just watching an interview with Graham Hancock, where he discusses that research is showing that the whole amazon rainforest was apparently a man made endeavor in which biochar was created by a civilization thousands of years ago to enrich the soil to sustain vegetation. It’s called terra preta. Considering the amazon rainforest is about the size of India, this was quite a large project for an ancient civilization.
I mentioned Terra Preta in my video. It was what got many people interested in biochar.
Great information, to lower the PH i always add Limestone !
Great presentation, full of info, no fuss, no background Hollywood dramatics .......just what the Doctor ordered.!!!!!
Thank you for this information, I charged biochar I made, with compost tea but I added humic acid, great results especially in citrus trees
Nice job
Hesham Sha by having biochar in the vermicompost bin , you have your homemade humic acid
Your exposition is crystal clear. Thank you very much.
Thanks for a great introduction !
I've been watching lots of videos and this is a very good, simple explanation. I really like the added info regarding animal bones. So glad you added the inoculation/energizing stage. Excellent!
From the documentary. They said the Terra Preta contains bones. But I don't know if they were burned.
Also have listened to some great information in Professor David R Montgomery's books Growing a revolution, Hidden half of life and Dirt. I haven't watched the documentary so I'll search that out. Thanks
Thanks, Leanne.
A wealth of common sense information. Much appreciated that you take the time to explain this effectively and detailed. I'm definitely going to be applying this post harvest.
Interesting, since everyone else I watch says to do it every three or so years. Have been wanting to use bio char for years, but have yet to give it a try. Thanks for the info...
Incredibly informative. I was on the fence about buying compost mixed with biochar, but this video helped convince me. Thank you!
Thank you Scott this is wonderfully informative and I have just been using some bio char in my raised beds and am so happy to hear your clarity of all the benefits.
You are a real deal, sir. I just love the way you explain anything, so simple and perfect. Thank you!
You are a very effective communicator / teacher. Thanks for the learnings.
Thank for this Gardener Scott. The very best presentation I have seen on biochar. You are great teacher.
I really enjoy watching, and ingesting your videos. You are such a fantastic teacher, I hope that someday I’ll run into you around town; and be able to thank you in person.
Thank you for the clarification between charcoal and biochar because I had the idea I could save time and one by picking up a bag of lump charcoal and grinding it up. I won't be dong that!
Very! Very interesting 🙋🏾♀️I ordered Bio Char for my house plants…… now my container garden! Wow! Great teaching 👏🏽❤️❤️❤️
Gardener Scott, I took ag classes in the 70's and I wish I'd had a teacher like you!
Thanks for sharing this video! I’m working on incorporating bio char into my no dig veganic garden.
This is very good knowledge. Thanks for posting .🇺🇸😎🇺🇸
WOW! Facts from the man involved in TWO field trials. Accurate info regarding what TRUE/REAL bio-char is. Thank you for setting things straight.
I'm going to be building a couple raised beds and considering 18-24'' height. My strategy so far was going to be hugelkultur and more native soil on the bottom and then mel's mix for the top half. Then mulch on top. Now I'm considering adding a thin layer of biochar at root depth as you suggest. Very interesting! I think biochar layer would really compliment mel's mix very well since that mix is supposed to last a very long time as well, beyond having to regular add organic.
Thanks for the great breakdown. I feel like I should prep for a final now.
What a great idea to add it to my container where I throw my kitchen scrap that I then cover with dirt to make compose now I can add my burnt wood charcoal to it. Thanks.
I water my plants with pond water regularly. I bought a small bag of biochar and added it to my worm compost that goes on top of soil with azomite. And microrizomes
I have access to pond water as well with cattails that generate black ooze down by it's roots stir up the black ooze in the pond and you got instant compost tea.i figure
The perfect combination!
Thank you I got good lesson from your video
An amazing video, in few days I’m going to inoculate my biochar with different microbes, like Trichoderma, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, etc.. for my stevia plants. Your video motivated me 😍
I love your dog! It wants a front row seat! Great video and information!👍 I got forest leaf mould and comfrey tea to infuse my bio char before I added it to my compost bin with red wrigglers in.🤯👍
I've watched many videos on bio-char and you make a very good explanation of the benefits of bio-char.
Thank you.
That's r
That's right
Very informative, very clear and concise. Thank you.
One of the best descriptions and explanations of Biochar i've watched. I had to send it to my sisters and a friend immediately 😉 Funnily enough i have just bought my first bag from the creator of the hotbin. Along with your vermicasting videos this is a great tutorial. We are blessed that you took he time out to share this.
I can't even begin to explain my excitement for your video. I found it because I went to a gardening class today and this was talked about. You explain non and inoculation so very wonderful thanks. I'll be adding it to my lasagna compost for now on. I'm thankful I dont have to inoculate it first as I'm doing my cold composting ❤ thanks again Scott
Your explanation is sophisticated, very helpful Thank you sir 🙏 and eagerly waiting for such type of information
Carbonized rice hull seem to be cheap and plenty over here in the Philippines. Seems like a good substitute after inoculating them?
Very informative. I really enjoyed learning about soil enrichment. Thanks.
Thanks.
Every video is full of great material..
Thanks, Nick.
Best explanation I’ve heard! 👏 👏 bravo!
Thank you.
Thank u for this best information about amazing trėsor Biochar
What an amazing presentation, thank you for the information. It was eye opening.. the fact that the carbon maintains molecular structure, how interesting the ancient gardens having been found with biochar. I will do this on a large-scale before even starting my garden. The northern Arkansas Ozarks are rocky clay, I'm thinking a few truckloads of compost, sand, and biochar should fix the property right up..Thank you
Great explanation.
Thank you very much for this informative video on bio char. Amazing.
Hello. I really thank you for the info. I have heard of biochar. but have not done any studying on it. You have helped me understand more about it.
Glad to help.
I accidentally discovered this secret because my neighbor, a former water treatment specialist in the military, taught me that I could create my own water filtration the way they would have to do it in a military scenario instead of using vitamin C as I was doing to neutralize the chlorine in our tap water. The Vitamin C trick works, but the biochar I learned to use helps to fix any plant that is not healthy and promotes lots of fruit production, and I only sprinkled the biochar into the top layer of soil.
I have yet to truly use it as an amendment to the soil as you have shown. My soil/s already has the worm friendly stuff you mentioned so I look forward to seeing the results of expanded use.
What you say makes sense. I wonder how the worms will like it. Also, I have a small pond with a bacteria laden bottom. Maybe I can harvest some and mix it with biochar. It's worth a try. Thanks Scott!
No-Dig Garden Well, I found them eating long pieces of grass by the end. So the either have teeth or powerful stomach acid to dissolve and absorb rough, tough grass. When I bought an aerobic digesting water filter, it contained hundreds of small corrugated black plastic cylinders for the same reason you used with wiggle balls. There must be something to this. Thanks again.
Wiggle!
WIFFLE
Brilliant video. Thank you
Hi Professor Scott I want to thank you for your excellent explanation. I am now planning on placing biochar below my straw bale raised beds...
My thoughts are this will help catch all the "bleed through" on the conditioning of the straw bales. And should lead to some superb biochar to amend my raised beds when I build my raised beds.
I want to thank you in advance for all of the yummy fruits and vegetables I will be harvesting because of this video.
That is a good idea. Excess nitrogen from the fertilizer should be absorbed by the biochar.
Great explanation👍 This would work wonders on my sandy soil I think, adding more nutrient and water retention.
Biochar is really an amazing stuff. You can use sauerkraut juice for activating the microbes as well. 😉
Now l know why my new Raised Garden didn’t do very well last year, l certainly will be doing this this spring. Thank you for such clear and concise info.
Thank you sir, for your info. I'm keeping a veggie garden and raising chickens in my backyard (here in Mindanao, Philippines). The biochar has proved to be very effective in eliminating foul odor of ammonia that may threaten the health of newly hatched chicks. It also improves soil fertility and moisture. This black absorber of moisture and detoxifier makes the environment for both garden plants and birds healthy -- and happy.
You are an excellent educator. I have a background in adult training/education and was trained by the best Air Force in the world. You my friend are superb.
Thank you, LaDonna. I appreciate that.
I hope you don’t mind me calling you Professor, I’ve learned more from you short videos than I have in hours of research.
I just did a quick search on an online retail platform and there are a number of brands and options of Biochar to choose from. Any recommendations you can share on your preferred brands or things to look for? In the video I know you mentioned you’re currently sourcing your locally, but any guidance you can provide would be appreciated. Thank you for all the great videos, please keep them coming.
Thanks! I really don't have any national companies that I prefer or recommend. From what I've found it they are basically the same. I suggest you determine how much you need and then try to find one that doesn't cost a lot. Here's a popular one on Amazon: amzn.to/2YmsIQD
If you have never taught classes, you missed your calling. This was a very well structured and clearly explained with 'visual aid' teaching presentation. Thank you much!!!
What type of charcoal/what is the charcoal that is used to dehumidify a room? I needed some last year in an effort to forever get rid of fleas so as to never have to use pesticide on my cat again.. ie flea applications from a vet.
And I too, as also requested below...a how to make bio char video. Realizing that you are also very busy, I will keep watching and hope at some point you have time to do this.
Thank you. I have taught many classes and will continue to do so in the spring. The charcoal you're referring to is activated charcoal; it's very similar to biochar. I'll be releasing a video in February about how biochar is made by a manufacturer. I hope to do a video on how to make it at home next summer.
Great information. Thank you for sharing 😊
Thank you !
Excellent video thanks!
Thanks for the quick reply. I spreaded it over all four beds but was not able to add the top layer of compost,Peet moos,vermiculite. So hope it will be okay untill I can get back out Marc h or so as it has turned very cold here, Using your Hugocultuer method as well.
This video is BOTH informative and makes a great drinking game: BIO-CHAR!
excellent explanation and how to!
Awesome video, Gardener Scott, one I have referred back to a few times. I bought some fully charged biochar last year and indeed had amazing results. Thanks for your tutoring!
Best wishes,
Roy from London, UK 🇬🇧
Thanks for this video. Over the last 50 years, I have added the ashes from our wood stoves and fireplaces, as well as leaves and burned leaves too. Additionally, I have added compost.
Our family garden always yields fabulous produce and flowers without the need for fertilizer.
However, I do add 10-10-10 fertilizer to our compost to aid the decomposition. Thank you for enlightening us!
You're welcome, Warren.
I agree with putting biochar in the front end of the compost process (thanks Hugh McLaughlin) as it inoculates, conditions and charges the biochar. Dr McLaughlin had mentioned 1/3 by volume of biochar to compost and at the end of the process you will have a 50:50 blend. I could never make that amount of biochar but every bit helps.
That is a lot of biochar, but I agree every bit helps. Thanks.
I've definitely saved this video for next year, I'm most probably going to use it!
That's great, Andres. Enjoy using biochar.
Really wonderful
Sir I have started from last 2month plz guide me for sadhabhar
How can we avoid pollution created after burning of wood for making bio char
Gardener Scott, That was very interesting. Great video and info.
Fantastic information! Thank you so much for this
Thank you fos such a detailed videp. I ahve hard time believing, that it wouldn't break down in a few years.
Thanks. Biochar is inorganic so there is nothing to decompose or break down.
Thank you, Scott! A very thorough, understandable explanation. Would you be able to share the ratios of biochar, soil, compost and water/tea that was mixed in the bucket? Keep posting the great content. Cheers!
They weren't exact measurements. I filled with biochar and a cup or so of compost and soil and filled with water to cover.
VERY informative!
By far the best video to understand biochar and its benefits. The problem is that all biochar is not the same or consistently produced. I will be interested in knowing the differences in bone-char vs different types of wood biochar. If it even makes a difference which one to use for different amending properties
The properties are similar but bonechar has a higher pH than the wood biochar.
Thanks for another great video!
Good job.
i have no doubt you are a master of your trade : )
thanks for sharing
Love the beds they look great
Thank you.
Excellent video
Excellent teacher
Thank you so much for all of your great information. We really like your channel and appreciate the great information you provided, cause you’re not only provide the how you should do it but the way you should do it. Thanks again for helping us be better gardeners. 🙂
This video was excellent. Would like to see how to make the better versions of biochar.
Wow. One of the most useful and new gardening tips I've seen for a while! Thank you so much! I've always wondered if wood stove charcoal and ash is as good as biochar and you answered that in the first 3 minutes! HEAVY mulching has improved my soil and harvest significantly this year (one of your other videos...thank you). Now I'm going to try biochar in my worm bins. Hmmm...can I make it myself...?
it's kind of tough as Scott says. To do it best you need two metal containers so one can burn and the other is inside not able to burn, but the gasses escaping from the bottom of the barrel to be ignited and burn on the outside of the inner barrel. It's an interesting thing. I think the Natives would have use the water quench method he talks about and that I've used. If you get thing all tinkly sounding when they drop together they're right. But it's hard to get the wood inside to dry, so the outside is biochar, inside it's more wood.
Wow, so much information. Thank you sir.
I just saw your video on Biochar. You produced this in 2019 ish and it is now Dec 2024. What is your opinion on Biochar now? I just moved to Highlands Ranch and will be starting a couple raised beds, would like to add Biochar into my compost. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your wonderful video. My question is what are the differences between active carbon and Biochar?
They are very similar. Activated carbon is basically another processing of charcoal. It is typically more porous than biochar.
In searching for information on biochar, I see tutorials for DIY. Please consider a future video how to DIY biochar.
That is on my list, Jay. Thanks.