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How do YOU charge your bio-char?

CannaRed

Cannabinerd
I have seen alot of different ways to charge bio-char.
Some just pee on it. Some use inorganic chems, some use act. I've heard of putting bio-char in barrel with ewc, compost and kelp, then adding water and letting it sit.

I want to do organic, so no chems. I have no problem using urine- lots of great info here about it's effectiveness.
I just want the best homemade bio-char I can make.

What's everyone's favorite method?
How long do you let bio-char sit in the charging solution?

Most importantly- how would I go about adding bio-char to my soil that is already in use?
I wouldn't think I would topdress with it, however I'm sure someone has tried.
Would I add some to the bottom of a pot and put as much of my existing soil on top, while disturbing my soil as little as possible?
Been trying to do the rolls notill thing. Some pots are on 3 cycle now with top dress and mulches added.

Or should I dump all my notill pots on a tarp add the bio-char, homogenize then repot and start over with no till.
 

Easy7

Active member
Veteran
There are different products if you don't make your own. Some come charged, others come inoculated, and at least one comes just plain ol char.

You could also make the soil in the mix with the bio char just stronger and let it cook. It acts like a sponge, and a habitat for micro-organisms. So treat it as such.
 

Lost in a SOG

GrassSnakeGenetics
I just chuck it in when I let the mix cook.. some soak with a tea or fish blood to try and charge it with extra microbes and nutes but I think that any blend you brew in a liquid medium with bubblers etc will still be very different to what the soil will cultivate anyway, letting the natural microbes of a healthy living soil colonise the biochar instead of anything that might compete with them..

It's like getting worms from your wormery or outside compost pile and chucking them in your soil.. They don't stay there as those species of worms specialise in living in that 3D brew, aka the compost pile or wormery mulch and not soil..
 
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BOMBAYCAT

Well-known member
Veteran
I mix up some fish emulsion fert according to directions. I fill a mason jar about half full of Biochar and then pour in the fish emulsion. It takes a few weeks to dry out again, but I always have some laying around to build my soil less. I have plant limits so a small quantity is all I need. So far the plants like it and I have had no yellowing.
 

Lost in a SOG

GrassSnakeGenetics
I mix up some fish emulsion fert according to directions. I fill a mason jar about half full of Biochar and then pour in the fish emulsion. It takes a few weeks to dry out again, but I always have some laying around to build my soil less. I have plant limits so a small quantity is all I need. So far the plants like it and I have had no yellowing.

sounds good.. :ying:
 
According to BlueJay aka MountainOrganics aka MOFO biochar does NOT need to be charged. He says having to charge biochar is a MYTH. Just check out his Instagram post and see for yourself:


https://www.instagram.com/p/BcFkrePH2b0/?taken-by=mountainorganics


In the post he details his "new" no-till soil mix and how it includes a LOT of biochar. Someone by the IG name of @righteous_reaper asks him if he uses CHARGED biochar and MOFO's response is



MoutainOrganics said:
Hell no it’s not ‘charged’ that’s just nonsense, mixed and planted the day of with Uber high quality RAW biochar. #BlackOwlBiochar industry leaders in the process and manufacturing. ✌️


i recently built 150 gallons of soil using his "New" No-amendments recipe. I threw in Black Owl biochar, uncharged.
 

Siskiyou

Active member
Veteran
Thanks ng.

So anyone have any ideas about how to add the bio-char to already made pots?


Don't be afraid to dump all your used soil on a tarp and ammend it, mix it up lightly, add the biochar and some EWC and some aeration like rice hulls or pumice and other ammendments if desired. I have been successfully recycling my soil for about 5 years, maybe more, and it keeps getting better and better even without doing no-till. If I was planning on using my soil for a no-till project I would ammend it a little more heavily than I do. Always keep an eye on compaction issues as the organic material in your soil breaks down further and becomes finer.


BTW, just to be clear on terminology "biochar" implies by definition that it is already "charged". Otherwise it is simply "char".
 

Easy7

Active member
Veteran
The old days of dumping old soil out and always buying new soil are gladly gone. I never did that myself.

Biochar will absorb some, that's why people charge it. Much like a water filter or filtering whiskey. It can only absorb so much and I have never seen the data to say or know.
 

KIS

Active member
According to BlueJay aka MountainOrganics aka MOFO biochar does NOT need to be charged. He says having to charge biochar is a MYTH. Just check out his Instagram post and see for yourself:


https://www.instagram.com/p/BcFkrePH2b0/?taken-by=mountainorganics


In the post he details his "new" no-till soil mix and how it includes a LOT of biochar. Someone by the IG name of @righteous_reaper asks him if he uses CHARGED biochar and MOFO's response is






i recently built 150 gallons of soil using his "New" No-amendments recipe. I threw in Black Owl biochar, uncharged.

Yeah, I'm going to disagree with this. I've seen plants access to N when uncharged biochar is added to soil mixes with existing plants. Now when mixing soil, there's sufficient N to keep that from happening.

I use fish hydrolysate to charge my biochar (Black Owl is a great brand). However, you can use anything that provides a small amount of N to charge it. Urine, any N fertilizer, earthworm castings, even compost tea.

Not all biochar is created equal. Very important when buying it. I interviewed the owner of Black Owl Biochar on the subject if interested. Just google "cannabis podcast biochar" and it should pop up. Hope that helps.
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Yeah, I'm going to disagree with this. I've seen plants access to N when uncharged biochar is added to soil mixes with existing plants. Now when mixing soil, there's sufficient N to keep that from happening.

I use fish hydrolysate to charge my biochar (Black Owl is a great brand). However, you can use anything that provides a small amount of N to charge it. Urine, any N fertilizer, earthworm castings, even compost tea.

Not all biochar is created equal. Very important when buying it. I interviewed the owner of Black Owl Biochar on the subject if interested. Just google "cannabis podcast biochar" and it should pop up. Hope that helps.

I'd also disagree with the use of only char as opposed to biochar because of the possible nitrogen 'lock up'

I looked at the instagram post and noted this stated by mountain-o regarding his char;
"as well as being suitable habitat for mycorrhizae, microbial stimulation in the rhizosphere,"
I'd be interested in hearing an explanation for this, since endomycorrhizal fungi grows with roots only. Perhaps he means the mycorrhizal fungi find nutrients in the char.

Anyway, as Siskiyou pointed out, it cannot be called biochar without the bio part. It's kinda like 'if you think there's beans in chili, you know beans about chili'

KIS: I think you left a word out in your sentence; " I've seen plants access to N [BLOCKED?] when uncharged biochar is added to soil mixes with existing plants. "

This was my point as well. When uncharged char is used there is a good possibility the microbes will use up the available N in an effort to break down the carbon in the char.

There are some 'experts' contending one must use larger pieces of hardwood to make char, then break them up. In trials we ran we found pine/fir shavings to produce superior results to the hardwood. There is a study I heard of from Steve Diver which came to a similar conclusion.

We charged rapidly with aerated CT.
 

KIS

Active member
I'd also disagree with the use of only char as opposed to biochar because of the possible nitrogen 'lock up'

I looked at the instagram post and noted this stated by mountain-o regarding his char;
"as well as being suitable habitat for mycorrhizae, microbial stimulation in the rhizosphere,"
I'd be interested in hearing an explanation for this, since endomycorrhizal fungi grows with roots only. Perhaps he means the mycorrhizal fungi find nutrients in the char.

Anyway, as Siskiyou pointed out, it cannot be called biochar without the bio part. It's kinda like 'if you think there's beans in chili, you know beans about chili'

KIS: I think you left a word out in your sentence; " I've seen plants access to N [BLOCKED?] when uncharged biochar is added to soil mixes with existing plants. "

This was my point as well. When uncharged char is used there is a good possibility the microbes will use up the available N in an effort to break down the carbon in the char.

There are some 'experts' contending one must use larger pieces of hardwood to make char, then break them up. In trials we ran we found pine/fir shavings to produce superior results to the hardwood. There is a study I heard of from Steve Diver which came to a similar conclusion.

We charged rapidly with aerated CT.

Yes, thank you for the correction. I've seen plants yellow from a lack of N even when there was sufficient N in the soil prior to the application of uncharged biochar.
 
Interesting arguments for charged vs. uncharged but upon further investigation I'm starting to think maybe MountainOrganics was taken out of context? I'm starting to think maybe MO meant that you don't need to let biochar sit in a compost tea or in a slurry of something(s) to charge it, you can just add it to your soil and it will charge in your soil. I think this insinuates the grower understands he needs to throw in humus with the biochar so that the biochar won't rob the soil of any nutrients OR the soil should have rich compost/humus to begin with if you're going to just add char to it (what i did).


I think Mountain Organics deserves some benefit of the doubt so out of respect for his work here is what he had to say when that @righteousreaper dude expressed skepticism and probed him further regarding not having to charge char:
MountainOrganics said:
fertility is the issue - you only want to add biochar to already fertile soils (like the ones we build) OR add it together with compost. Biochar isn’t going to do any good to infertile soil if you’re not adding it WITH humus - make sense? So whether you add biochar to a compost tea to ‘charge’ it or cut the bullshit out and simply mix it with compost - what do you think is easiest/best? ����✌️
and here is his response to someone asking him what brand of biochar he uses (taken from an IG post from June 6th, this year):
MountainOrganics said:
as usual, the basic �� “premium organic biochar” the rest is to cater to the “do you sell charged biochar?” Crowd ����*♂️��
 

Siskiyou

Active member
Veteran
"Charged Bio-char" is redundant.


M.O. wants you to need to use foliar sprays that they sell as "potions" to brand-loyal customers. Not that there is anything wrong with that if you want to spend extra money. However, if your soil is complete, healthy and alive absolutely no foliar feeding is necessary. Plants grown in a rich living soil just wouldn't need what M.O. sells.
 

CannaRed

Cannabinerd
BTW, just to be clear on terminology "biochar" implies by definition that it is already "charged". Otherwise it is simply "char".

You may be correct but that's not the way I have heard it. That's not really the way the black owl advertises either.

Bio- implies it going into the dirt

Most definitions say bio char is charcoal that has been added to the soil.

https://biochar.international/the-biochar-opportunity/what-is-biochar/
Bio-char - "biomass obtained from sustainable sources and sequestered in soils to sustainably enhance their agricultural and environmental value under present and future management. This distinguishes it from charcoal that is used as fuel for heat, as a filter, as a reductant in iron-making or as a colouring agent in industry or art (Lehmann and Joeseph 2015)

This could be a regional term that is different in your area than where I am.
 

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