Growing up Gambia , our people have been using biochar ( old knowledge passed down with any Scientific Facts & Research ) in outdoor pit latrines ( if you have been to a rural area you might have used one of these ) to combat overflow . Now i understand why . Science is incredibly important.
Biochar is the equivalent of a savings account at the bank, it only stores what you have saved. When correctly inoculated it can save nutrients for plants to withdraw as needed... I'm extremely intrigued by this 🤔
In California, communities are trying different ways to reduce waste streams into landfills. Would general community compost materials collected from curbside be available for conversion to biochar? Composting efforts often introduce challenges as material contaminated with pesticides get rolled into the finished compost.
I don't know if chemicals like pesticides would survive through high heat of open pit fires making charcoal. It makes sense to do some recycling in a large city with metal and plastic. But I think its stupid that people want more recycling plants or more done by the government. I always ask environmentalists what have you done? I'm no tree hugger, but I recycle all my metal waste and all by biogradable waste like cardboard, etc. Im no environmentalist but I still got like a 100 pounds of compost worms. Like Things would be different if people didnt rely on forced violence by the government and just acted themselves to improve the world and educate each other. Do people need to be forced to compost? Or through education would they compost because of self interest and the benefits derived from that.
soil in our farm (Philippines) is low pH, low organic matter, and then high CEC (no area is less than 25 CEC. what to do. we will try biochar this coming rainy season. mygreathanks and blessings
Before you make the biochar make organic fertilizer. Fill a large drum with anything green especially manulgi (moringa) buy fish from the market especially fish that no one wants. Put all the green and the fish into the drum with water. Let it sit for 4-6 weeks. Make biochar with rice hulls. Dig a big hole put wood into it. Get oil from the places that fry food so it will be cheap. Soak the wood in the oil and set it on fire. Once the fire is hot cover it in the rice hulls. Once they start to smoke cover with the soil from the hole you dug. Leave a small hole. When it stops smoking dig it out. Fill another barrel with the char and pour the liquid fertilizer over it and allow it to absorb. Mix that with your soil.
I don't agree that biochar is for sandier soils it's for more compacted clay soils that have no aeration. Sand can be amended with a microscopic amount of clay diluted into water.
Always remember that every soil is different, but all are the same. Simple basic ingredients, many random environmental and weather variables, and an incredibly complex web of biology makes soil what it is. I’m sure biochar can help in many soil types, almost all plants enjoy it and aerating the soil is objectively good.
Better soil is maintained with the addition of biochar. Mother nature provides this through wild fires. Biochar is in the ground to provide the necessary minerals, etc. as needed by plant life.
My sandy soil leaches nutrients like crazy. I can apply the double amount of fertilizer and it's gone within weeks. If biochar helps soil to retain moisture and hold nutrients, then I won't have to apply very much fertilizer to have the same results and much healthier soil structure.
@@adambarlow81 I used to live less than a mile from the beach and my entire yard was sand and weeds some parts didn't grow because it was sandy as the beach. I bought 1lb of clay powder and used a small amount of 1 tablespoon in my watering can per a square meter and the sand started to hold moisture again and plants were able to start growing. I think any type of clay is fine as long as its not polymer modeling clay but if its solid and not powder form I would entirely dissolve it in water before trying to apply the clay to the soil. biochar is a bonus to add on top of that to retain more water.
@@chiefschillaxn1781 How did the clay hold up? Would you have to keep apply clay or top dress with a clay mixture yearly or every few years? For a cost to ratio, I can maybe apply 8-10 pounds of biochar per 1000 sqft for a 16000 sqft area for about $280. I was going to try that first and see how that helps or if it makes a difference in my sandy soil first. My soil is classified as course with about 4.7% organic matter. I will try and find how much a clay mix may cost and then work it in over the years, but if biochar is successful, then it saves me $$ all around. Thanks for sharing your experience! Great info!
I don't doubt the positive effects of biochar, especially in barren soils. But I haven't seen any peer-reviewed or scientifically-based field trials showing any significantly beneficial effects for home gardeners with generally healthy soil. I've read or heard many anecdotal reports from home gardeners that it "works" for them, but nothing remotely objective.
In my own garden here in Ireland, I find that it is really beneficial when loaded before application, with something like a comfrey tea, to keep a good available supply of Nitrogen and in reducing soil compaction.
I have put a 55 gallon trash can of charged biochar in my yard. I live in Arizona my soil is barren dessert soil mostly sand and super fine clay and Rock nearly 0 % biomatter and a ph of 8-9, high lvls of calcium. My yard went from nearly barren to an over grown weedy mess. My weeds were 3 times taller than my neighbors the first year they are about 4 times as large. But I have added other things like my own compost, compost teas and heavy mulching around my fruit trees not sure if the char did anything other than help reduce compaction and aerating the soil.
@@bobertcronos8433 And that's my point: add almost anything to a soil like yours and you will see improvements. I'm impressed by your efforts. My point is that there are many gardeners with normally healthy soil who are adding biochar to their soil, with the impression that it will add measurable value to their production. Maybe biochar improved your soil. I don't know and neither does anyone else. Perhaps it was the simple addition of compost. compost teas and mulch alone that gave you results. Cheers.
@@priayief you make an excellent point and I feel it's my duty now to test it. I'll have to make another batch of biochar and set up multiple test containers what controls and variables would you like me to try? I'll post the results to my channel.
@@bobertcronos8433 Good for you. I’ve been doing my own informal trials for years. Here’s how I do them. I have several 4’ x 4’ raised beds. I use a no-dig method where I lay down about a 4” layer of compost on top of each bed at the end of each growing season, then heavily mulch with leaves for the winter. When I test a particular method, I’ll reserve one of my beds for the particular method I’m testing. Then I grow a variety of identical plants in the test bed as well as one of my traditional beds. I’ve noticed that sometimes I’ll plant two identical plants side-by-side while one will flourish and the other not do so well. So I try to plant at least two identical plants in both beds. One interesting trial I did was with tomatoes. I planted an entire test bed with tomatoes. That was several years ago and I believe the variety was called Roma. Nine plants in each bed and I applied an aerobic compost tea to the test beds. I didn’t notice any significant difference in production. At the end of the season I had the thought that even if this compost tea gave me a pound or two more of product, it wasn’t worth the extra effort (at least, on my small-scale garden). Another trial I did was easy to do: I grew identical patio tomatoes in two pots. One pot was filled with commercial potting soil (I believe it was Miracle Gro) and the other with my homemade potting mix (peat, home-made compost, vermiculite, perlite and an organic fertilizer (Gaia Green 4-4-4). The Miracle Gro did noticeably better at the beginning of the season but the home-made soil caught up and slightly surpassed the Miracle Gro. My conclusion was that there was no significant difference. As a home gardener, these trials have taught me that taking extra efforts for minor improvements is usually not worth the investment. Even if one particular method gives me a 1 to 2% improvement, on my scale, I’m not interested. Admittedly, on a commercial scale, that might be significant. For me, that would mean an extra pound or two of tomatoes if I normally grow 100 pounds. That’s nothing. I applaud your intention to do a biochar trial. Perhaps my experiences will help you in designing your trial. Cheers.
24:10 That's a lie, if the biochar is charged it doesn't hurt the soil even if 50%, it's just that you make better use of it. And that's the issue with scientists and researchers - almost none of them are farmers or active users of biochar.
That map is very lacking. Like utah has very little color. Sure the state is 65% owned by the federal government since the constitution isn't followed, but like water retention by biochar would have a huge effect especially since weve been having a drought. And I'd assume since politicians continue to let water go to the ocean in california and now they're going to take out damns in california and hundreds of thousands of acres aren't even going to be planted that maybe with biochar they'd at least be able to grow a little grass. Maybe they get enough rainfall to grow grass without watering. Theyre really screwed thanks to politics and thanks to the USDA for letting them kill agriculture.
If I had this Lecturer in Africa as my teacher i will be holding a Phd right now. Simplifies, Explains clearly & thoroughly with facts & visuals.
Growing up Gambia , our people have been using biochar ( old knowledge passed down with any Scientific Facts & Research ) in outdoor pit latrines ( if you have been to a rural area you might have used one of these ) to combat overflow . Now i understand why . Science is incredibly important.
Biochar is the equivalent of a savings account at the bank, it only stores what you have saved. When correctly inoculated it can save nutrients for plants to withdraw as needed... I'm extremely intrigued by this 🤔
,iy she’s in suydz
TOh studusfufiduiDfysosfosfuffsdffuffsfrusTdsorry fosotsfdyit:6: tuttus y
Outstanding presentation….we have converted our soil to a sponge for petrochemicals in this country…we need to get back to basics….we’ll done!😎
Amazing, thanks so much for sharing!!!
Many saying a cone shaped pit is a great system.
QUESTION; I need the angle degrees of the cone pit ?
In California, communities are trying different ways to reduce waste streams into landfills. Would general community compost materials collected from curbside be available for conversion to biochar? Composting efforts often introduce challenges as material contaminated with pesticides get rolled into the finished compost.
I don't know if chemicals like pesticides would survive through high heat of open pit fires making charcoal. It makes sense to do some recycling in a large city with metal and plastic. But I think its stupid that people want more recycling plants or more done by the government. I always ask environmentalists what have you done? I'm no tree hugger, but I recycle all my metal waste and all by biogradable waste like cardboard, etc. Im no environmentalist but I still got like a 100 pounds of compost worms. Like Things would be different if people didnt rely on forced violence by the government and just acted themselves to improve the world and educate each other. Do people need to be forced to compost? Or through education would they compost because of self interest and the benefits derived from that.
Mind blowing lecture.
soil in our farm (Philippines) is low pH, low organic matter, and then high CEC (no area is less than 25 CEC. what to do. we will try biochar this coming rainy season. mygreathanks and blessings
Before you make the biochar make organic fertilizer. Fill a large drum with anything green especially manulgi (moringa) buy fish from the market especially fish that no one wants. Put all the green and the fish into the drum with water. Let it sit for 4-6 weeks. Make biochar with rice hulls. Dig a big hole put wood into it. Get oil from the places that fry food so it will be cheap. Soak the wood in the oil and set it on fire. Once the fire is hot cover it in the rice hulls. Once they start to smoke cover with the soil from the hole you dug. Leave a small hole. When it stops smoking dig it out. Fill another barrel with the char and pour the liquid fertilizer over it and allow it to absorb. Mix that with your soil.
@@bobaddaski tha is an easiest hack. very interesting obviously one can use the agri waste to make bio char is the best thing to do.
@@bobaddaski salamat po
@@davidmangus walang anuman po
Add ashes to low ph soil
Is ther a way to document the degradation of average feedstock to biochar over a 10 year period?
Great info but Deborah said 'um' 6238 times in 45 mins😮
I don't agree that biochar is for sandier soils it's for more compacted clay soils that have no aeration. Sand can be amended with a microscopic amount of clay diluted into water.
Always remember that every soil is different, but all are the same. Simple basic ingredients, many random environmental and weather variables, and an incredibly complex web of biology makes soil what it is.
I’m sure biochar can help in many soil types, almost all plants enjoy it and aerating the soil is objectively good.
Better soil is maintained with the addition of biochar. Mother nature provides this through wild fires. Biochar is in the ground to provide the necessary minerals, etc. as needed by plant life.
My sandy soil leaches nutrients like crazy. I can apply the double amount of fertilizer and it's gone within weeks. If biochar helps soil to retain moisture and hold nutrients, then I won't have to apply very much fertilizer to have the same results and much healthier soil structure.
@@adambarlow81 I used to live less than a mile from the beach and my entire yard was sand and weeds some parts didn't grow because it was sandy as the beach. I bought 1lb of clay powder and used a small amount of 1 tablespoon in my watering can per a square meter and the sand started to hold moisture again and plants were able to start growing. I think any type of clay is fine as long as its not polymer modeling clay but if its solid and not powder form I would entirely dissolve it in water before trying to apply the clay to the soil. biochar is a bonus to add on top of that to retain more water.
@@chiefschillaxn1781 How did the clay hold up? Would you have to keep apply clay or top dress with a clay mixture yearly or every few years? For a cost to ratio, I can maybe apply 8-10 pounds of biochar per 1000 sqft for a 16000 sqft area for about $280. I was going to try that first and see how that helps or if it makes a difference in my sandy soil first. My soil is classified as course with about 4.7% organic matter. I will try and find how much a clay mix may cost and then work it in over the years, but if biochar is successful, then it saves me $$ all around. Thanks for sharing your experience! Great info!
I used to pine needles that I had in my yard, as biochar.
I don't doubt the positive effects of biochar, especially in barren soils. But I haven't seen any peer-reviewed or scientifically-based field trials showing any significantly beneficial effects for home gardeners with generally healthy soil. I've read or heard many anecdotal reports from home gardeners that it "works" for them, but nothing remotely objective.
In my own garden here in Ireland, I find that it is really beneficial when loaded before application, with something like a comfrey tea, to keep a good available supply of Nitrogen and in reducing soil compaction.
I have put a 55 gallon trash can of charged biochar in my yard. I live in Arizona my soil is barren dessert soil mostly sand and super fine clay and Rock nearly 0 % biomatter and a ph of 8-9, high lvls of calcium. My yard went from nearly barren to an over grown weedy mess. My weeds were 3 times taller than my neighbors the first year they are about 4 times as large. But I have added other things like my own compost, compost teas and heavy mulching around my fruit trees not sure if the char did anything other than help reduce compaction and aerating the soil.
@@bobertcronos8433 And that's my point: add almost anything to a soil like yours and you will see improvements. I'm impressed by your efforts. My point is that there are many gardeners with normally healthy soil who are adding biochar to their soil, with the impression that it will add measurable value to their production. Maybe biochar improved your soil. I don't know and neither does anyone else. Perhaps it was the simple addition of compost. compost teas and mulch alone that gave you results.
Cheers.
@@priayief you make an excellent point and I feel it's my duty now to test it. I'll have to make another batch of biochar and set up multiple test containers what controls and variables would you like me to try? I'll post the results to my channel.
@@bobertcronos8433 Good for you.
I’ve been doing my own informal trials for years. Here’s how I do them.
I have several 4’ x 4’ raised beds. I use a no-dig method where I lay down about a 4” layer of compost on top of each bed at the end of each growing season, then heavily mulch with leaves for the winter.
When I test a particular method, I’ll reserve one of my beds for the particular method I’m testing. Then I grow a variety of identical plants in the test bed as well as one of my traditional beds.
I’ve noticed that sometimes I’ll plant two identical plants side-by-side while one will flourish and the other not do so well. So I try to plant at least two identical plants in both beds.
One interesting trial I did was with tomatoes. I planted an entire test bed with tomatoes. That was several years ago and I believe the variety was called Roma. Nine plants in each bed and I applied an aerobic compost tea to the test beds. I didn’t notice any significant difference in production. At the end of the season I had the thought that even if this compost tea gave me a pound or two more of product, it wasn’t worth the extra effort (at least, on my small-scale garden).
Another trial I did was easy to do: I grew identical patio tomatoes in two pots. One pot was filled with commercial potting soil (I believe it was Miracle Gro) and the other with my homemade potting mix (peat, home-made compost, vermiculite, perlite and an organic fertilizer (Gaia Green 4-4-4). The Miracle Gro did noticeably better at the beginning of the season but the home-made soil caught up and slightly surpassed the Miracle Gro. My conclusion was that there was no significant difference.
As a home gardener, these trials have taught me that taking extra efforts for minor improvements is usually not worth the investment. Even if one particular method gives me a 1 to 2% improvement, on my scale, I’m not interested. Admittedly, on a commercial scale, that might be significant. For me, that would mean an extra pound or two of tomatoes if I normally grow 100 pounds. That’s nothing.
I applaud your intention to do a biochar trial. Perhaps my experiences will help you in designing your trial.
Cheers.
24:10 That's a lie, if the biochar is charged it doesn't hurt the soil even if 50%, it's just that you make better use of it.
And that's the issue with scientists and researchers - almost none of them are farmers or active users of biochar.
the audio is soabrasive !!
That map is very lacking. Like utah has very little color. Sure the state is 65% owned by the federal government since the constitution isn't followed, but like water retention by biochar would have a huge effect especially since weve been having a drought. And I'd assume since politicians continue to let water go to the ocean in california and now they're going to take out damns in california and hundreds of thousands of acres aren't even going to be planted that maybe with biochar they'd at least be able to grow a little grass. Maybe they get enough rainfall to grow grass without watering. Theyre really screwed thanks to politics and thanks to the USDA for letting them kill agriculture.
um um um um. umum um um. umumum um. um um