My Biochar

Biochar, a charcoal designed for soil enhancement. Biochar helps sequester carbon in the ground, provides habitat for microbes that are important in rebuilding overused and depleted soils.

The process to make biochar is called pyrolysis, which is burning under low oxygen conditions to reduce or eliminate carbon being released into the atmosphere.

I learned about biochar last year and have been making my own and experimenting with it ever since.

I usually make it using wood pellets available cheaply at most garden supply stores. Lately I have been incorporating mushroom growing blocks which are made out of sawdust inoculated with mushroom spores.

I currently use a small stove mad out of a paint can, a No. 10 can which is the big industrial sized cans used in kitchens, and a tall juice can used as a chimney. Here are a few photos:

I hope to build an even bigger set up so I can burn bigger pieces of wood and other discarded biomass.

I have started a local biochar meet-up page.

More on this at a later time.