The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: DartmoorLiz on June 06, 2017, 11:34:05 am

Title: biochar - does it work
Post by: DartmoorLiz on June 06, 2017, 11:34:05 am

We make charcoal and sell it at the gate.  A waste product is charcoal dust that gets sieved out. I have seen charcoal dust sold as biochar that people add to soil to help fertility.  In theory it is the basis of the super soils that are found around the amazon rain forest where the incas had perpetually fertile soil.  I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has used biochar and what their experience is with it. 

Title: Re: biochar - does it work
Post by: YorkshireLass on June 12, 2017, 09:34:43 pm

I follow some agricultural / permacultural research, and the current thinking seems to be that it is beneficial in tropical climates, but doesn't have a real effect in temperate climates. As ever, there isn't much research, and it is certainly not *harmful*.


http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa67bd (http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa67bd)