Biochar soil additive

I don't normally post in this forum, having been an ornamental horticulture gardener for about two decades. I'm posting here because I think all gardeners would find this of great interest. In my Soils class we have to do a weekly short paper. ( I've gone back to college at the age of 64 for a second dgreee, this time for my first love - horticulture science.) This is my paper on biochar. ( I will also post in trees and shrubs.)

Charcoal is a product familiar to most of us. It comes in forms such as charcoal briquettes for the grill or activated carbon for the fish aquarium. There is a new form of charcoal that has the potential to revolutionize farming, and mitigate both global warming and climate change. This charcoal is called biochar or agrichar. Biochar is made by a process called pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is the burning of biomass in a low oxygen environment. The biomass can be any kind of organic material. Woodchips are the most common material but it can also be manure. What makes biochar important is that it is extremely carbon stable. It does not break down or degrade as compost quickly does.
To get a grasp of why this is important requires an understanding of soil as a carbon sink. Plants take carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis and respiration. The plant vegetation, called biomass, holds the carbon until it decomposes. When the biomass stays in the soil, the soil holds the carbon and keeps it out of the atmosphere. Biomass decomposition is carbon neutral in that the carbon, once held by the plants and then held in the soil, is eventually returned to the atmosphere and added back to the greenhouse gasses produced by other means. The benefit of biochar is that, because it is so extremely carbon stable, it keeps the carbon from returning to the atmosphere. An organization dedicated to the advancement of biochar, The International Biochar Initiative, reports that biochar, when added to soil, can keep the carbon in the soil "for hundreds to thousands of years." Biochar is carbon negative because it amounts to a net reduction of the return of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Biochar was first discovered in a soil type in the Amazon Basin called Terra Preta. Terra Preta soil is rich, fertile and has a high carbon content. It is believed that the early indigenous people of the region added the carbon to the soil through slash and charring to clear land instead of slash and burning. Biochar does more than sequester carbon. It improves both the nutrient content of the soil and the tilth of the soil. Soil researchers in Australia reported that the "biomass of wheat was tripled and of soybeans was more than doubled." It reduces the need for
fertilizer and improves water holding capacity. It can also clean up contaminated soil. Research done on soil biochar and it effects on plant uptake of pesticides looked at two agricultural products, chlopyrifos and carbofuran used on farm crops. Biochar in the soil acts similar to activated carbon in the fish aquarium, it adsorbs chemicals. In the journal "Chemoshpere" Xiang-Yang Yu reported that plant uptake of the pesticides was reduced in soil with biochar added. Hence, biochar can be a useful addition to soil to "reduce the plant uptake of pesticides from contaminated soils", an important consideration for produce crops.
More research is being conducted on biochar across the globe. The U.S. Government in November , 2009 made funds available for both research and production. Small plant producers are coming on line across the U.S. One such plant is R&A Energy Solutions LLC, located in Ridgeville, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati.

Can natural or even big brand name charcoal briquettes be froken up with a nammer and used? What about ones that got left out in the weather and have gotten soft and crumbly?

Yes, absolutely. Activated carbon from a fish aquarium filter is good too. I'm going to get the cheapest charcoal I can find, bash it up and work it into my new beds next year.

will this product work in containers??

Around the same time I ran across this thread, I ran across this article on the same subject: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1669/ If you scroll down to the comments, Dave tells you how to make your own.

Interesting stuff. I hadn't heard of it before.

One year I burned a bunch of hurricane debris on my garden spot. The following year I could tell where those fires had been because the leaves of the plants were extra lush and green. It lasted for at least 3 years so I'd say it was a long term improvement. This was just ash and some charred bits. The stuff from a fireplace or woodstove is great for the garden.

twiggybuds, those ashes had a concentration of potassium and trace minerals. Grandma made lye soap from wood ash "liquor" and animal fat. The ashes from our grill always go into the compost pile.

Charcoal and wood ashes provide very different nutrients to the soil. Both are benefical, but in very different ways. They are not interchangable.

Some charcoal briquettes are already treated with lighter fluid so they will light easier. Make sure you are getting plain charcoal briquettes. I don't buy the treated kind, but I can always "taste" when someone else has.
My soil is border-line high in salts. In general, adding organic matter helps mitigate salts, as long as it doesn't add more sodium than it reduces. I can't/don't use most manure, and ashes are iffy. When more test results are published, I would be interested in any information on soil sodium levels with the various charcoals.
I am amazed how often discovering something new turns out to be rediscovering something old.

There is a ton of research going on about biochar. Biochar research is complicated because of the variability of the materials from which it can be made and the variability of the pyrolysis processes to make it. Temperature plays a key role in the end result. I would reason this: All fertilizers are salts, in one form or another. If adding biochar reduces the need for fertilizer then it could be reasoned to have a beneficial effect on that fact alone. I found nothing in the literature that indicated that biochar increased salt levels. I also didn't find any negative literature regarding the use of biochar at all , save one article by a reseracher vested in humic acid as the only worthwhile soil amendment. THe offered no research to back up his claim that humic acid (compost) was better. My soils professor, who is also the county agricultural extension agent, also had no negative information about biochar. It's funny though how hard it is to get some farm folks to change their habits. I remember in particular how long it was around here before no-till became common practice - at least 10 yrs after the beneficial effects were proven. Those old guys just went right on plowing and you couldn't open your windows on windy days. Some of Ohio's best topsil just blew off to the east long after it shouldn't have.

This is exciting stuff. I plan on following the research as it becomes available. My personal theory is that biochar research and use will advance in countries with expanding populations requiring greater food production and limited productive agricultural land. I get the sense that Australia will be a key leader.

I noticed that the pre Columbian terra preta soils also contained pottery shards and such besides charcoal. I wonder what that might mean.

There is a product on the market called E-MXceramic terra powder that is supposed to effect soils. Again i wonder how. I intend to experiment with some.

http://www.biochar-international.org/biochar/soils

The E-MXceramic terra powder is pure quackery. Pseudoscience. The pottery shards found in Terra Preta soil have no relationship to the beneficial effects of biochar.

snapple45, enjoyed reading your thesis here and the interesting comments. I just finished another forum thread on a similar subject. I have collected a large bucket of spent aquarium activated carbon and have not decided what to do with it. I purchase what I would call a tech grade of activted carbon from a pet supplier, however there are a number of grades of activated carbon on the market. Long ago, in another life, I ran a laboratory where we purchased a reagent grade of activated carbon which was heat processed in a vacuum and very expensive. The temptation to purchase the cheap stuff for gardening purposes may hold some dangers. As our friend pollengarden says the charcoal sold for grilling purposes is not the safest thing to use for gardening, as it has limited absorption capabilities as well as harmful additives in some cases. For those who don't have aquariums I suggested in the other forum they might find an aquarium shop to supply them with their used activated carbon. I have been looking for a gardening usefulness for this spent activate carbon by searching the threads here in DG. As I understand the properties of activated carbon, once it has become saturated with a particular substance such as the dissolved nutrients from aquarium water, it is still viable for other substances. Your comments on biochar would lead me to believe that spent activated carbon would be good in potted plants for the purpose of reduced fertilizer requirements and water retention.

And Snapple clear rootbeer was my personal favorite until they sold out and quit making it...this new tea stuff really sucks.

That's probably very good advice about barbecue charcoal. I'm confidant activated carbon would be a beneficial soil additive. It's already sold for orchids. My favorite drink happens to be one of those awful teas - Snapple diet peach. ;)

I just wish that gardeners could purchase properly made biochar. Right now it's almost impossible to find. Ohio State University is currently conducting and dedicating a ton of research specifically to biochar. Because OSU is a land grant college they have a very strong agricultural cooperative extension department. Biochar information will makes it's way from OSU research out to extension and ultimately to the landscapers and the home gardener. The sooner the better. But, the product has to be made available too.

snapple45, I am seriously in to what you are promoting here from a personal business standpoint, however I really would like to see this sort of thing promoted with a more layman approach for those us gardeners who like challenges and new ideas. There is no question in my mind that biochar can be made available to the serioius gardener just as I mentioned resourcing spent activated charcoal like coffee grounds. You say that you wish gardeners could purchase properly made biochar...well mabe that is what this thread is leading to. Many cities have tree trimming crews which each year generate tons of wood chips which are typically offered to the public for mulching. Some even mix them with their wastewater treatment plant sludge to produce a form of compost which is bagged and sold like the product we all know as Milorganite (from Milwalkes finest sewers!). It doesn't seem to me to be a far strech to incourage one of you local communities to develope a program to commercially distribute their wood chips in the form of biochar.

Not trying to put Snapple out of business, but here is a formula for tea which I like: Place two bags of Celesstial Seasoning's african orange mango into you coffee pot filter holder and when your tea is brewed, add a 0.08 oz package of Crystal Light's Peach Mango Green Tea or Red Tea Natural Mandarin. I toss in a bag of Lipton tea for an added kick. The Crystal Light packages come 10 to a box for less than $2.00. I make a gallon of tea daily for my personal consumption which I drink ice even when its 30 below zero outside!

My 7th grade daughter was assigned a report on fossil fuels, in trying to explain it to her so she knew what to research, I realized it is all about the carbon. Which got me thinking about your Biochar. It gets its carbon from the plant matter - but where do the plants get it from?

You MT folks are Tough!!! At 30 below the last this Ohioan would be doing is drinking anything cold! That sounds like a very good recipe. I'll give it a try. It could save me some money, since I drink about three or four Snapples daily. In the winter, like now, I put the Snapple bottle in the microwave and heat for about 55 sec. Surprisingly, It tastes as good hot as it does icy cold.

That's a neat idea about municipalities treating their green refuse to make biochar. I know some folks in the right places to whom I can pitch the idea. At least get them up to speed on it's benefits.

Plants make carbon through the processes of plant photosynthesis and plant respiration when they take carbon dixoide out of the air to make their food to grow. Plants take in carbon dioxide. The give off oyygen. What's missing for the oxygen they give off? Carbon. Plants can exist without animals. Animals can not exist without plants. That includes us - humans. No plants - no photosynthesis - means no oxygen. Humans don't make theri own food. We need plants to do that and for the air we breath. Think about that the next time you see someone cutting down a tree.

snapple45, it might surprise you to know that the Ohio EPA and several private firms in your state have long been on the cutting edge of this type of research, even back when EPA was pushing incineration of municipal wastes back in the early 70's.

I have a large supply of Snapple bottles which I have saved for traveling. Now that I mix my own teas I save enough to pay for a tank of gas in a days travel. My personal favorite mix is to brew two Lipton tea bags with one Celestial Black Cherry Berry tea bag, then add one 0.08 oz packet each of Welch's to Go! Black Cherry Concord Grape and wild berry Energy sugar free drink mix. Beats that new energy drink they advertise on TV. A gallon of this mix fills a lot of Snapple bottles!!!

Back when we had fish tanks, we would change out 1/3 of the water when we would clean them. I thought it would make great liquid fertilizer, but my husband wouldn't let me use it because he used algae killer in the tanks. I don't know if this is a real concern or not, but it would be in the charcoal filters also.

I hadn't heard about biochar before this forum. The research I've heard about is using mycorrhizae; apparently our difficult-to-domesticate native plants need their little soil critters. In the future, it will be interesting to see what amending the soil with biochar and inoculating with mycorrhizae will do. It sounds like they both turn dirt into soil.

I remember from Chemistry (30 years ago) that Carbon never occurs at its atomic weight of 12, it is always an isotope; which is why we can do radio-carbon dating. I guess I missed my opportunity to ask about the half-life of diamonds.

Excuse my question about where does carbon in plants come from - duh - my coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

i do not think charcoal briquettes are use in the biochar process. first of all, briquettes are filled with chemical formed from other chemical by products. whereas the true bio char charcoal are only made from natural wood, slowly burnt to produce the bio char charcoal.

another thing, if u try to wet a charcoal briquette, it will naturally disintegrate since it is not made of solid material, therefore can not filter anything. whereas bio char charcoal are made from pure natural materials made into charcoal that when wet has the ability to filter the liquid poured into it. jmo i am by no means a chemist or scientist. i learn from research and personal observation.

i am originally from the Philippines, where only natural products are use in the farm, like charcoal from hard wood, coconut shells, etc. animal like horse and carabao [buffalo in the western world] manure, chicken. fertilizer at not rampantly use as it is here in the U.S. all these natural products decompose over time, not applied in everyday gardening. i can hardly recall ever fertilizing any plants when i used to live there.

when we plant in the Phils., we plant in soil provided by Mother Nature cuz we believe it is naturally fertile. no fertilizers needed. we never buy soil for planting. we use what our fore fathers patiently took care for us to utilize.

from personal observation, plants are far more healthier and produce more fruits w/out being over fed with fertilizers like done in the U.S. plants in the U.S. are always supported with too much fertilizer, they are never given the chance to grow naturally. just like people in the western world are obese. in Asia in general, people and plants are surviving on natural resources. people eat more grains, fruits and veggies which are abundant in supply due to natural growth. again, this is just my opinion and personal observation.

here are some links that support what i speak of http://biochar.pbworks.com/ , http://www.ehow.com/facts_5579955_biochar-vs_-lump-charcoal.html , http://hypography.com/forums/terra-preta/16076-charcoal-in-horticulture.html

Most of the USA is not covered with geologically recent volcanic material rich in essential nutrients like much of the Philippines. In fact, huge areas were scraped clean by glaciers during the last ice age, and those soils are composed of weathered ancient rock and decomposed plant material, along with whatever has blown in over the centuries. Soils in some other areas are composed of very highly weathered material or the remnants of ancient ocean deposits like limerock and sand, or have been eroded by millennia of uplift and weathering. It's a bit unfair to expect most of us to grow crops as easily as someone living in an area where the naturally-occurring minerals already provide most plant nutrients.

Then again, I haven't had to worry much about being smothered in volcanic ash or cooked alive by pyroclastic flows. I like it better this way, even if I occasionally have to add some fertilizer to my garden. ;o)