Biochar Revisited

[hecno]

Well time to revisit Biochar , Now I never lost interest in it . I was just not happy with the knowledge I had . Now I feel I do . The first 2 photos is home made out of hard wood , which I have plenty of . Some of you will recall I made it last year . I plan on doing 1 pot with 10 % of the soil mix ,

Next I gathered different soil I have on the ground around the yard which I have been making for the different microbes and fungi . There are 5 types of soil here .

Next step was to charge it . I made up 10 ml of molasses a liter and added to a big bucket the water and soil for a pre charge and have it bubbling . I am after microbe life here . The other pots are for seeding on Monday -- no biochar --

I am also taking it one stage further . My son is into native fish and breeding them so I have access to fish pond water , and it is what is in the red tub . So I will be using that for the whole grow .
I will be growing Orange Agent F6 kindly given to me by @tobe of Healing Path Genetics .

I would like to give some of you new guys a bit of advice . --- Be Patiend -- Things take time guys , there is a lot to learn and there are no short cuts , but what you learn along the way will benefit you immensely in the quality of product you will have to smoke . The pay back time is when you smoke with your mates and the say things like . -- bloody hell Hecno where did you get that smoke
--- I grew it --- :smoking:

Feel free to post here what you do with biochar , I am always open to learning .

 

[Eyes on Fire]

what do ya mean there are no short cuts?Ya mean I cant buy 2 items and have a badass organic grow?Thats Bullshit LMAO!! Nice post!

 

[DTOM420]

@hecno Do you think there’s a big difference between the finely ground biochar and the bigger chunks. I have a batch that’s mostly the size of the first joint on a pinky finger. It’s not huge but it’s certainly not the small size I’ve seen. When I put it in a blender, I only get a near powder size, which I worry may be too small. Any suggestions on how to reduce the size without grinding it to powder; or do you think the finely ground, near powder size is good?

 

[hecno]

@DTOM420 I wouldn't be using powder , from what I can gather the size of a pea is what you want , so that is what I have been aiming for , now getting the size is a pain in the butt as you can see I use a hammer , I have even tried running the stuff over in my car but till I figure it out a hammer it is , does the job but bloody slow .

 

[Jraven]

Yeah I used a hammer too...a big one though, no banging just a rolling motion over it.. that should break up pretty easy. That size you have may be close to ok

 

[hairyman]

Great thread ,very intresting

Now bear with me , and correct as needed ,, bio char is basically carbon sourced from wood ?

Now if the answer is yes to that , I would suppose it is classed as activated carbon?

 

[Jraven]

Great thread ,very intresting

Now bear with me , and correct as needed ,, bio char is basically carbon sourced from wood ?

Now if the answer is yes to that , I would suppose it is classed as activated carbon?

I think activated carbon can be something else, I used it for filtering shine before I knew how to make clean booze. That was coal-based. This here stuff is more like charcoal

 

[Qwin08]

@hecno Do you think there’s a big difference between the finely ground biochar and the bigger chunks. I have a batch that’s mostly the size of the first joint on a pinky finger. It’s not huge but it’s certainly not the small size I’ve seen. When I put it in a blender, I only get a near powder size, which I worry may be too small. Any suggestions on how to reduce the size without grinding it to powder; or do you think the finely ground, near powder size is good?

@DTOM420 @hecno

doing some research and reading
sorry if this is the wrong info I had so many tabs open
https://rockdustlocal.com/uploads/3/4/3/4/34349856/let_freedom_ring._david_yarrow.pdf

https://rockdustlocal.com/uploads/3/4/3/4/34349856/downthewormhole.pdf

I am pretty sure first link

the second does mention 40-micron powder providing far greater functional surface area per volume of char

 

[Qwin08]

Let freedom ring by David Yarrow
excerpt

Feedstocks: Weedy or Woody? A fundamental question is: “woody or weedy?” By reflex, we believe char is made from wood—in particular, dense hardwood, such as oak—to burn for fuel. Like charcoal and campfires, we expect biochar to be made from woody trees, maybe brush. But for soil use, farm biomass is very likely more desirable than forestry wastes. Annual plant biomass such as straw, hay, cornstalks, seed husks, weeds, and other grassy, weedy debris may prove more suitable in soil than dense, tough, chunky wood. Oak exemplifies this principle. It’s very mineralized, and char from this dense hardwood is lumpy, and hard as rocks. Much energy and machinery are needed to crush oak char to soil particle sizes. Even as dust, oak char is dense, heavy, with smaller micropores and tighter internal spaces. On the other hand, char made from weedy biomass is quite light—as fluffy as downy feathers. Weedy char will crush in your hand to a fine powder that will disperse and vanish into the soil. Such soft, fluffy, fine textured char has better effects on soil structure and adsorption capacity.

Micronize: intimate relations reduce particle size. Smaller particles disappear into soil quicker, mixing more thoroughly and intimately with soil particles and organisms. Thus, crushing, grinding and screening char are valuable to increase char’s dispersal throughout the soil, and optimize its effects on soil structure, ion adsorption, and microbial colonization. The first benefit of smaller particle size is increased surface area. For water, ions, and microbes to penetrate char, they must enter at an exterior surface. Smaller bits have more total surface available for absorption and adsorption. A one-inch chunk has a surface area of—at best—six square inches. The same chunk shattered in a thousand fragments has thousands of times more surface area. Due to extremely fine microporosity, one gram of biochar has over 4000 square feet of surface area, and 12,000 is achievable. Water, nutrients and microbes quickly get inside smaller particles and access interior spaces. Smaller particle sizes also distribute in soil more widely, more intimately. Dust—the smallest particles—smaller than most soil particles—inserts itself between soil particles. Carbon isolates soil granules, insulating their electric charges. Thus, clay is less sticky, while sand has a more cohesive body. Smaller particles hold water better, because water penetrates more easily and quickly into char’s sponge-like micropores. Large chunk of char have difficulty drawing water into its deepest recesses, and do so slowly. Similarly, smaller particles allow ions better penetration into the char’s sponge-like internal micropore matrix. A large chunk of char has difficulty drawing ions into its deepest interior spaces. Ultimately, think like a microbe. What size micropores are fit for bacteria? What size will satisfy a fungi? Rice grain kernels of char are large enough to house thousands of microbes. A 1-inch chunk of char is a microbial metropolis—millions of denizens inhabit and share such a charred Carbon matrix. Because char performs an assortment of services to soil, a variety of particle sizes seem best. Rice grain size char is large enough for large microbial communities. Powdered char provides condominiums for microbes. Fine dust is most effective to separate soil particles and shift soil structure and tilth. One advantage of weedy biomass is its char easily crushes to dust in your hand. Minimal effort and machinery is needed to create extra fine, fluffy char, and such char seems to further enhance soil structure and boost its CEC and AEC. After a few years of field trials, we may decide weedy char is better than woody for many agricultural soils and crops. One fascinating facet is water-soluble complex Carbons. Tiny bits of char—the finest dust, with up to 100 Carbons—are small and light enough to suspend in water. These extremely small Carbon molecules can be harvested by rinsing fresh, dusty char with water. They disappear in water, making it slightly dark. The micro-particles are useful in foliar and other sprays, where minerals ions and nutrients are packaged in these ultra-light Carbons. Such nutrients are more easily and efficiently assimilated through leaf pores. And inside a plant, the Carbons strengthen plant structure and energy

 

[hecno]

opps .