Perhaps the most important biochar video you will ever watch!

[@davidthegood]

I'm going to plug your mini biochar retorts and your channel in my next video. Hope to send more subs your way.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks again! I added your channel to my channel homepage and have been sending people to you as well! I've been doing that for years. We actually have a lot in common and maybe we can work on something together. Let me know if you want to do that.

[@t3dwards13]

​@@LiveOnWhatYouGrowHe sent me!😈 Muahaha!

[@kazparzyxzpenualt8111]

You may be gratified to know that many many folks informed this guy that you had sent them. Hi David, Howz Bayou?

[@Parapat66]

I just followed a link from your video here, and subscribed.

[@fyllyweed]

DTG sub here, new to your channel, sub'd. 🤙🏼

[@HomemMagroide]

It is hard not to follow this gentleman's explanation. The passion with which the subjects are covered in this, and other videos captures anyone's attention, even if the person is just browsing. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your channel for the sake of others like me, who are seeking to learn more about sustainable ways of gardening.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for all the kind words! The whole key to sustainable growing is in having ALL the necessary life in your soil including: bacteria, fungi, protozoa, beneficial nematodes, microarthropods, and worms. If you provide them the (underground) air, water, carbon, organic matter, and fungal food, they will manufacture, and mine the soil for, all the nutrients your plants will EVER need! I am working on a new video that explains all of this. So subscribe AND hit notifications so you will get the reminder when I put the new video up!

[@missmary1712]

David the Good sent me. I absolutely love your content and your presentations. I already subscribe to most channels you recommended but the way you put the pieces together is awesome. I am 60 and trying to catch up quickly!😊

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks and welcome!

[@Katydidit]

Very good explanation in more gardener friendly terms, Thank you! I made biochar in a pit with small branches trimmed from my backyard trees. I did crush it a bit to make it more gardener manage- able! If you inoculate it w tea first ... you don't have to deal with dust!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for your comment, Kate. We're saving the planet one backyard at a time!

[@compostjohn]

Good to see another biochar-maker using a woodstove. I do this too, using cast-iron cooking pots/saucepans which don't burn through after a few cycles. I've spotted one mistake - at 21:31 you say that the carbon in the woodchip within the retort doesn't enter the atmosphere. Well, some of it is left as charcoal, but some DOES leave the retort. A mixture of gases is given off by the pyrolysis process - known as 'wood gas' - carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen and of course any water in the wood is given off as steam/water vapour. The CO, CH4 and H2 all burn as they leave the retort, with the results being carbon dioxide and more water vapour. You're right that wood gas burns cleanly. The methane (etc) is not contained IN the wood, as methane - but as the cellulose and lignin thermally decompose in the anoxic environment, the methane and CO and H2 are produced. Secondly, as a compost producer, I know very well that compost 'disappears' - it oxidises back into CO2, as you describe. However, certain soil husbandry methods, specifically no-dig, allows carbon to be left in the soil year on year, following an annual top-dressing of compost. Soils are a massive store of carbon, and yes by adding char to the compost and then using that compost top-dressed, you'll be sequestering more carbon to the soil. But repeated additions of compost to the no-dig land will sequester some, as well. This obviously happens naturally in grasslands and woodlands where the soil is undisturbed. Soil forms from the bedrock below, from organic matter being deposited, and the addition of wind-blown inorganic dusts. It obviously erodes and oxidises too.... beautifully complex!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hi, thanks for your comment. I agree that small amounts of carbon enter the atmosphere, but not as much as would have if I was just burning wood. And actually what I said was a mistake. I meant to say, "The carbon that was left behind obviously didn't enter the atmosphere." But thanks for pointing that out. AND... I totally agree with you on no-dig! You will never create regenerative soil if you incorporate digging/turning. I will be talking about that in another video!

[@chrismartin7579]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow Yes, the process is not 100% efficient, but with TLUD and similar O2 deprived methods the CO2 produced is minimal. I burn hardwoods usng TLUD in 55-gallon barrels and have produced hundreds of pounds of biochar. The cellulose conversion uses available water in the wood as you know: C6-H10-O5 + H2O -> 6C + 6H2O That's at 24:20. Your description is spot on. You have the holy grail of pyrolysis. The equation is not that different from humans burning glucose, although WITH the oxygen: C6-H12-O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6(H2O) We as humans burn simple sugars (C6-H12-O6) for energy and breathe out water and carbon dioxide. I burned 60 pounds off me but that's a different video;) I sent a few samples of my biochar the NC state labs: 97.5%+ Carbon, 2.1% calcium, the rest roughly 20 trace minerals. I run my biochar through a hammermill to increase the microbio surface area. That's the only point I disagree with you on your video. The more area the better. Microbes are small, and surface area is key. Plant roots appreciate small cavities that hold on to water and nutrients. Great video!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Isn't it great that we can disagree and both still be right? There are different benefits to the two paradigms! The biochar eventually gets to the same size as yours over time in the soil, using my method, without me having to crush it. As it breaks in the soil, fresh new surfaces are constantly being exposed. But just not all at once! Some people say that their way is right and every other way is wrong. They think that I am the enemy, and they come at me like I must be defeated!

[@davidhunter5062]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow I’ve heard the char needs to be 1/4 in diameter or smaller. I’d like to see the science on it. I agree with you that crushing it to powder doesn’t increase surface area but wonder that the large chunks make the “storage” of “bios” impractical. I see the biochar like a coral reef for fish…massive structure for life forms. But if a coral reef was 1000 cubic miles (10x10x10), 95% of the sea life would be on the outer 10’ and hardly any would be found “3 miles in”. Biochar and coral reefs are apples and oranges, but given the microscopic nature of the biology taking up residence in (bio)char the smaller size …to us…is really a massive apartment complex on the microscopic level.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hi David, thanks for writing. I was just thinking about this today. It all depends on how dense the wood is, to begin with. I'm using wood chips about the size of half a potato chip, not big sticks or logs that are turned to charcoal. The charcoal I make is so porous that I can blow air right through it. The microscopic life will have access to the utmost recesses. The thousand cubic mile reef wouldn't have water at its core but my biochar does and you can tell when you snap a piece. The dry pieces make a snapping noise, while the saturated pieces do not. As I showed in the last video I made, after I put it into the garbage can and loaded it up with water, it breaks into very small pieces by the physical act of stirring all the water, compost, worm castings, and other nutrients into it! I show that in my newest video, most of it just crumbles apart without me having to do it! It's because it absorbs that water all the way through, becomes very soft, and breaks apart very easily. I've been making and using biochar for a long time with great results and have come to the conclusion that there are benefits of crushing and different benefits of not crushing.

[@robinham2796]

I’ve made bio char in my wood stove all winter. I’ve Collected enough for my entire garden and will Add worm Compost tea to it and use it when I plant!

[@robinham2796]

Far and above ANY video on biochar out there! My best subject in school was biology, never thought I’d use it at 63! ❤️🌿❤️🌿❤️🌱

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

My advice is to keep on learning under the NEW paradigm. Much of what we learned in school, (I'll be 63 in June), was just totally wrong. If you still love science, go to the Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web channel and subscribe to that! And keep on coming back here to this community and letting us know what you learned!

[@robinham2796]

Already watched one of her talks!

[@1TsuNami]

Wonderful information! We took down a huge tree and I burned the crown or that tree in chunks over a few weekends. The embers got very hot and we hosed it down with cold water. I allowed it to dry and have it stored in 3 big trash cans. I have been waiting and watching for someone to explain the charging process. I’m very excited to have found your videos. Thank you for taking the time to explain all of this. 👍🏼

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You're welcome. I'm glad you've joined us!

[@bloggalot4718]

Yesterday I made some bio char rather sceptically, adding liquid seaweed, chicken manure pellets, a small amount of soil and liquid manure. I tipped it into my compost bin and today some of the charcoal is covered in very fine fungal threads.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

That is fantastic, congrats!

[@ShootingtheSoil]

Nice to find another garden channel that sees the big picture!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I just went to your channel and subscribed. WOW! I was going to make some videos of my own microscopy, but I'll just send them to yours! Good Job!

[@lj9285]

David the Good sent me here. Your content is very informative and easy to follow.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I appreciate that!

[@md61211]

He sent me here too, and I agree with you

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Welcome!

[@rosavelez1742]

Thank you for such a magnificent comprehensive way to understand how beneficial is the biochar to regenerate our soil. I been gardening for over 2 years and i still haven’t been able to get to were i need to be, your educational exposition got me really excited to help my soil. I can’t wait to start. Thank you for your genuine passion on this matter. Thank you!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for the kind words. Please go to the PLAYLIST section of the channel and click on the BIOCHAR section to see the way we use biochar and compost in our garden beds. Also, I talked about it in our last video about planting asparagus: kzbin.info/www/bejne/an7EqYtmrs6ifqs but we make about 6 tons of compost each year from the hundreds of bags of leaves we gather every fall for our 1/4 acre mini farm, and even at that we don't have enough. Nothing will make the fertility of your gardens grow faster than biochar and TONS of compost! I will have new videos coming out over the winter on how to create regenerative soil that increases in fertility year after year, so make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell to be notified when I put up the new videos!

[@richardpallotta6158]

Absolutely excellent info & presentation. I just heard of biochar, and pulverized some for my worm bin BUT I have a much better understanding of why NOT to do that for the garden. I appreciate the tag to Biology, and the greater " gestalt" that flows from it. Thanks, Im subscribed & look forward to the journey, as they say.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Welcome Richard, there are a lot of smart people who still think that smaller biochar is better, mainly because people have been saying it for so long! When people who are thought to be EXPERTS say something long enough with a lot of conviction, it becomes the TRUTH-- not! You're right about the journey part...I'm on it too!

[@heidiwilde4307]

Wow, I rarely comment, but I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your video here. That was a super clear outlay on the making and benefits of biochar. Very comprehensive in a compact and easy to follow form. My favorite video so far on biochar and I so am going to make me your Woodstove biochar retort. Now I'll have to find me some #10 cans. This gal is just about your age and having the same thoughts as I'm starting from scratch once again on a new piece of land here this year. Do the hardest work now while I still have the energy and ease it up a little later, and hopefully I won't have to move again when things are in full swing as has been the norm in the past.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for the comment Heidi, The FIRST thing I would do is to build some HUGE compost piles like mine. My piles are six feet wide, four feet high, and a total of about thirty feet long. You can see how I build my compost piles on this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6OXeH56ppaSaq8 and you can see the results of me spreading the finished compost on the asparagus video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/an7EqYtmrs6ifqs I make about 6 tons a year and could easily use twice, or three times, as much. Just put up some fencing at least four feet (1.3 M) high, wide, and long, and start filling it up with leaves, grass clippings, cardboard (non-glossy), seaweed, weeds, kitchen scraps, etc. I pick up hundreds of bags of leaves every year that people put by the side of the road, and I make two batches in each bin every year.

[@heidiwilde4307]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow Thank you so much for the advice. I did make a 4x4' compost pile last week, turned it yesterday and more are on my to-do list. I'll sure watch those videos you suggest. It's always exciting to learn more and I feel that the more I learn, the more I find the need to learn more, lol.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

That's a good start, but you should seriously make four or five more piles if you have the space and available materials. One thing though Heidi, if you use leaves to make it fungal-dominated, you won't have to turn the piles at all! I will NEVER turn a compost pile again! Too much work for my large piles! Almost all the gardens I come across have a F:B (fungal-to-bacteria) ratio that's too high on the bacteria side. It should be about 1:1 or .8:1, slightly higher on the bacteria side, to get the best garden yields. Most gardens I visit are 1:25 or 1:50 with hardly any fungi at all. And gardens that are bacteria-dominated promote more weed growth! Basically speaking, when your F:B ratio has the proper balance you won't need to add much in the form of soil amendments because your soil life will unlock huge amounts of nutrients inherent in all soils! Check out some of Dr. Elaine Ingham's videos on my recommended channels: www.youtube.com/@soilfoodwebschool I watch at least one hour per week of her presentations! Using lots of leaves to make your fungal-dominated compost means you don't ever have to turn the piles! If I add kitchen scraps, I put them on TOP of the pile instead of mixing them INTO the pile to prevent the pile from becoming anaerobic. When you turn a fungally dominated pile you break and destroy all the fungal hyphae that are so important to introduce to your soil rhizosphere. I'm working on one right now that explains all the different criteria to increase all the beneficial soil life so you can build a regenerative garden that increases in fertility year after year even as we age and get to the point that we're not able to do the work to add huge amounts of compost to the soil anymore! That's why I use 6 TONS of compost every year and am increasing the biochar level to at least 10% of the top 10 to 20 inches depth of my soil! Please subscribe and hit the notification bell so you'll get a reminder when I put up new videos.

[@heidiwilde4307]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow I subscribed and look forward to watching new videos from you. Thanks a bunch for the great insights and suggestions. I'll definitely work on that.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

@@heidiwilde4307 One more suggestion; whenever you watch any gardening video, mine or others, always write down the important points and eventually you'll have your own book covering a myriad of topics and pages of tips for every vegetable you grow. It's a waste of time for me to watch a video without taking notes because most of the time I forget what I learned! And please leave comments to let us hear about your progress!

[@veritasvincit2251]

One of the main points I'm getting from your videos is: Keep developing and improving your soil, all year long and avoid disruptive tillage like the plague. In your garden beds, yes, but also the soils surrounding them, as the beneficial fungal activity can extend far beyond the beds. Biochar, cover crops, low/no-till practices, composting via various methods, and create fertility from "waste" resources when/where possible. I live within 50 miles of a Great Lake. Being in your age group, enduring the winter has become easier simply by 'meditating' (some might say obsessing) upon how my compost piles and leaf mold cages are progressing supplements mental well-being. On New Year's Day, I remind myself, "it's only 8 weeks til March!" Even if we never plant another seed, we have improved the planet in countless ways. Thank you!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for posting. I couldn't have said it any better or more concise! I know we all gardeners hate winter and can't wait for it to end, but I have a completely different perspective. For me the winter doesn't seem long enough to get everything done before planting time! Winter is the the perfect time for planning and writing everything down, based on your last years' performances, to do even better in the coming season. The whole motive for our channel is to learn, and teach people, how to survive on what they grow in the event that food is not available, _for any reason!_ So not only must you gather compostable materials _when you can_ to build your soil fertility, but you also must learn how to grow the most food possible from any given amount of space. And then you have to know how to store it for food over the winter. So the winter months, at least presently, are the perfect opportunity to study KZbin videos taking notes on the best way to grow every single crop. I have pages and pages in a notebook that I refer to for every kind of vegetable I grow. There are some great ideas out there... and some really bad ones too, BUT I manage to learn _something_ from each one of them, even if I only learn what _not_ to do! _If you like our content, partner with us to help get the message out to more people. You can do that easily for free by hitting the SUBSCRIBE and NOTIFICATIONS buttons, and also clicking the LIKE icon whenever you like a video. There are some bad things happening in the world and we should be prepared to grow our own food! If they DON'T happen, you'll still know how to grow superior food for yourself!_

[@veritasvincit2251]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow I'm grateful for your reply, particularly re your positive attitude toward wintertime! very helpful, and I'll try to adopt it. Like you, I seek to have the resources and skills necessary to get through circumstances that may threaten reliable access to food, etc, resources and skills I truly hope I will never need. However, what's the worst that can happen if I don't 'need' them? I'll be improving my garden methods, eating great fruit and vegetables, and gaining the peace of mind that follows these activities. Meanwhile, I can make a small contribution to the environment. I make tiny quantities of biochar, perhaps 10 gallons per year, with the following method: Using a backyard grille, I 'roast' dead hardwood limbs over dead hardwood logs. As each 'chunk' of char stops spitting flame, and I'm satisfied it's finished off-gassing, I quench it in a slurry of rainwater, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, and, um, er, "liquid nitrogen''. When full, I let each bucket of this stuff sit for a few months, as I wait for the autumn leaf fall. (this year, my apple crop was so abundant, I used the 'drops' in my buckets, too). After shredding my leaves with the mower, I pile them up and add a bucket of this stew and mix it in. No idea if this will have a good effect on my soil, but the piles are heating up nicely! Your biochar videos truly inspire. I hope to make a larger retort using a "clamp-lid" steel can, perhaps 3-4 gal capacity, by drilling a hole in the lid, filling it as you describe, and cooking it in a firepit. Thanks again for the exchange.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

That will work... possibly, but I like the #10 can idea better because, first of all, I can get as many of them I want for free at a nearby pizza restaurant, but also, because they're smaller they will heat up faster and you can do it in a smaller fire as the flames need to surround the whole retort not sit on top of a fire. I'm not saying your idea won't work, but if you can get unlimited cans for free, even using smaller cans, even small soup cans may work better for you. After they burn out, you just throw them into the recycling! I think that's way better than paying money for a retort which will eventually burn away and also have to be replaced! _Partner with us to help get the message to more people. You can do that easily _*_for free_*_ by clicking the SUBSCRIBE and NOTIFICATIONS buttons, and also clicking the LIKE icon whenever you learn something important from a video. In these times we should all be prepared to grow our own food! Doing these simple things will give our channel more exposure and you'll never miss a new video when it comes out!_

[@WatchAnotherClip]

Thanks!

[@johnndavis7647]

Terra pretta soil is incidental to the way the natives lived and gardened for 1000 years.. They burned the fields for about 300 yards around their villages every spring for 1000 years. They did this for several reasons. One it created a cleared area where no enemy could get close enough to put fire arrows into their thatched roofs. Second iit helped to keep mosquitoes, chiggers and ticks away from their village. Then the ashes and charcoal made the soil richer.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

And then the EPA moved in!

[@dianahenderson3777]

Great video. I have been using biochar for several years now, but think I need to add more to the soil. I add it to my compost bin and a few weeks ago I fond a baby worm inside some biochar. Quite at home. It was great to see. Thank you for sharing your experience on Biochar with the world. It will make it a better place to live in and garden in.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for sharing!

[@beeauralife]

That's definitely the best bio char video ever. You explained all the mysteries about bio char. Really appreciate your effort❤️

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I appreciate that a lot... now go and make some! If you go to the Playlist Section, I have a number of biochar videos showing you how to make and use it, and I'll be making some more over the winter!

[@betsymabry7953]

You are a wonderful teacher! Thank you for this valuable information.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MsNumber48]

This is hands down one of the very best explanations on biochar I've come across so far. Thank you! :)

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Glad it was helpful! To watch all my videos on Biochar, click on *Playlist* and then in the *Biochar* section , click on *View full Playlist.* And I have more coming soon!

[@MsNumber48]

Will do, @@LiveOnWhatYouGrow. And I'm looking forward to watching more of these... Please keep up the great work.

[@ahmedstorage2998]

Maybe the best informative video on KZbin on Charcoal and Biochar . Thank you.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You're welcome!

[@julesjay1634]

This is HIGHLY UNDERRATED !!!! I subbed instantly after watching this :) well done and thanks for all the good stuff

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Welcome aboard!

[@iamtmckendry]

Sweet video. Glad you popped up in my feed.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Welcome aboard!

[@mojavebohemian814]

Best video on the web. Thank you

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Wow, thanks!

[@Billster1955]

Thanks so much for your video. I bought the crimping tool you suggested and made a retort out of two big coffee cans. I filled them with small kindling I split. My first batch has been cooking in my woodstove for one hour and ten minutes. The flame coming out the hole in the can is barely visible now. I'll keep watching to wait for the smoke to stop coming out as well.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thank you so much for commenting! BTW, after it's completely cooled, when you open up the retort, if you see that it's not fully done, just close it back up and put it back into the fire, even if a few days have passed. It'll pick up right where it left off! Please continue to post your progress. Thanks again!

[@Billster1955]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow after I make some more I'll watch your video again on how to activate it.

[@2blackcatz426]

Thanks. Am currently learning about this. You explain really well, especially how our plant roots and fungi communicate🌼

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

It totally blew me away when I first learned it!

[@kurtcurtis2730]

Was just gifted rice hull. Will give that a spin next winter when the wood stove is fired up (,,and the old coffee cans are ready). Meanwhile have some old pine logs that didn’t completely burn- will try those for this season. Thank you for these videos

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

YOu're welcome! Thanks for the comment!

[@crazysquirrel9425]

Not all plants like biochar. I made mine out of oak heating pellets. Took 5 hours to make 12 quarts of the stuff when I had access to a wood burner. Dang near perfect size too when finished. 'Cowboy' Charcoal is plain charcoal and can be used to make biochar. How to make charcoal without a wood stove or trench? I no longer have access to a wood burner. You are putting CO2 in the atmosphere when you burn fuel to make the charcoal. Please note: Biochar is not the silver bullet. You will STILL have to add organic matter from time to time. And some minerals. Triple washed Kelp is a great way to add in used up nutrients. Azomite is good too. Probably the best way to charge charcoal into biochar is to mix the charcoal into your compost pile and let sit for 6 months, turning as usual. Some experiments have been done with the percentage of biochar in the soil. The generally accepted percentage is about 8% biochar mixed into the root zone (4 to 8 inches deep). Additionally, some biochar will leech out of the soil. It should be reapplied annually for a few years. Fun fact: American Indians used to toss a fish in the hole and plant 5 kernels of corn. I assume they did this with other food crops. Now most people use chemical fertilizers than can sterilize your soil.... 😞 Another fun fact: Human urine is bioavailable to all plants. 10:1 ratio of water to urine is about typical. 20:1 twice weekly if you water twice weekly. It too can be used in your compost pile. The best thing you can use to make compost is fall leaves. Little to no chance of poisoned grass, straw, etc. Oh and biochar can lock up heavy metals too. Just a few tidbits.

[@Chocoholiclady66]

Low risk of toxic leaves compared to straw and grass ... it depends ... some areas heavily spray chemicals on trees (not just commercial orchard trees) to deter various tree diseases before it spreads to other trees, for non beneficial parasitic growths that attach themselves to trees but cause harm instead of a beneficial symbiosis (although that is rare; most parasitic growths are actually beneficial to their host trees or at the very least neutral), as well as for destructive insects and destructive wood boring insects. Those who live near national forests also know only too well how the fire fighting airplanes dump heavy amounts of fire retardant chemicals which contain PFAS (aka "forever chemicals") several time a year during the dry burn ban (drought) season. City dwellers and those near certain types of manufacturing plants and highways need to consider the amount of run off, air pollution and smog and what chemicals are collecting not only in their soil but also on or absorbed by the roots of plants and trees. Same for those in rural communities living near commercial farms that spray their crops and use crop dusting planes. In neighborhoods, a person will have to consider what the neighbors could be spraying on their lawns and trees too.

[@Candy-le5wk]

If you used wood from let’s say a black walnut tree, it will still have the toxins that keep other plants from growing, in the the bio char. That could be what went wrong.

[@Jossy92]

You must have put tremendous effort into converting what you have studied into a form that for the layman makes sense. I had read about biochar years ago. What I learned today is to explain it is much more difficult than learning about it. I am going to try it again, but with insight, not just facts. Thank you. 👍

[@SylviaZarilla-nj9sh]

Thank you so much for your intelligent and amazingly informative content ! I have learned so much from your videos even though I have been gardening for 50 years and was a science teacher for 30 years I so appreciate your attention to detail and your ability to show every aspect of what you are talking about. I truly appreciate your time and effort in educating us about regenerative gardening.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You are so welcome! And thanks for subscribing, it means a lot to us! But I want to give a shout out to you as well. Most of the teachers I come across remain stuck in what they were taught 30 years ago, and are still teaching outdated chemical farming methods! It is now known that plants need ALL of the elements on the periodic table, AND that soil life, including, what I call the BIG FOUR, Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and beneficial nematodes, for regenerative gardening!

[@GrandmomZoo]

I love the science you give behind ALL of your videos! Thank you!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Glad you like them!

[@ziggybender9125]

I use a washing machine drum mounted to a tire rim as my bio char furnace (not what other people tend to recommend from what I've seen but I get the thing ripping hot and it provides good results). I tend to burn down hard wood logs from lychee, longon, and some guava. I do not waste any time crushing the bio char, I've heard of black lung and if I can find another way I'm doing it that way. I chuck the bio char into the yard composter my county provides for free along with a bunch of fallen fruits, leaves, cardboard, and all kitchen scraps. I like to cut down some sugar cane and chunk it up to add to the pile as well, it seems to make a nicer end result for some reason. Once the pile is broken down I mix it into the soil in that location, or use it for pots or raised beds and move the compost bin. At this point my bio char is charged but still in large chunks that what most people use, but after 1 year of being in the ground I find that some chunks have broken down into smaller shards, other chunks have roots growing right through them and easily split along the root path. Sure enough I had found a way to have the chunks broken down, let nature do it. I have a strong feeling this is closer to how the amazon people did it, I don't think they would waste their time crushing the coals when building gigantic pits. They were growing lots of fruit trees and sugar cane as well so it's at least highly likely both of those ingredients along with fallen fruits and leaves made it into the pits.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for sharing with us. I love your ingenuity!

[@samvimes1482]

Thanks! Good information and well sourced. Last year I started making 'biochar' and used my left over branches that were too thick for my wood chipper. Problem is that the chunks are quite large and I do run the charcoal again through my chipper, this run it's wet to prevent creating powder. I will try to use the woodchip after seeing your video, I believe that it will give me the right size in one simple step. Thanks again!

[@davidthegood]

Excellent explanation. We have been using larger pieces for years. It's a mix. We've shredded some small in the past and mixed it with food wastes, but went back to just using the assortment of sizes we get from various sources. It will be interesting to just use the biochar sweetgum pods we made.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

The biochar from the pods and leaves (and cardboard) would be perfect for crushing and adding to your seed starting mixes as it will have all the properties of biochar, which aids in germination, but not be so large it would interfere with root development.

[@tobyward6628]

COOL,REAL SCIENCE AND DIVINE DESIGN IN ONE ALLOTMENT,SUBSCRIBED,

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for the subscription, it means a lot to me!

[@crazysquirrel9425]

I make mine out of oak heating pellets. Uniform size and no smashing. Easier application too. 1g of properly sized biochar can have the surface area of a football field. The pieces he has equate to a couple tennis courts. FINE powdery biochar can wash away too. But earthworms use that fine material as a digestive aid. Waste none of what you make! I cannot grow that much food. Too many bugs killing my plants. HIGH heat in the summers with little to no water (rain). Not all plants like biochar. One thing about biochar is that you must heat it to over 1200F or so. Less than that you leave too many impurities in the finished product. Uncharged charcoal makes a great weed block. Place a few inches on the soil surface. It will blot out the sun and draw up the nitrogen. Weed seeds will be much less. The part of wood that has the minerals and such is the bark, not the heartwood. Just remember, you STILL have to add back in minerals and such to replace what the plants took out. 'Cowboy Charcoal' is just plain charcoal. It is different than the artificial briquettes you use for grilling. Be sure when charging biochar you use sulfur free molasses in the water. The carbohydrates will feed the soil microbes until they get properly colonized. In a pinch you can use plain table sugar.

[@Ms-et1qb]

Amazing Video Sir.. I’m a small kitchen gardener and use biochar made & gifted by my neighbour here in Mumbai, India. For charging the char, i overnight soak all my fruit/ veg scraps in water & next day filter & pour the infused water into the tub that has char sitting in it. Also i collect & ferment wash water of rice & dal stores in a bottle for few days & pour that too onto the char & lastly cow’s urine. Will this, overtime, charge my char enough ? Or not at all ? Kindly react Sir. Thanks

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Yes, I believe it will. The longer you leave the charcoal in the organic mixture the better. I think it will be done in about a month if you do it as described.

[@Ms-et1qb]

Thank you so much Sir for an immediate reply.. take care.. have subscribed your channel to learn more ..

[@elisemenne8758]

OH MY GOODNESS!! At last somebody speaks normal words I can actually understand fully and clearly!! thank you so so much!! I am not as young as you( beat you by 10years), neither am I a man! But with this sad sandy 'soil' we have here in Perth, Australia, something has got to be done to make my veggies grow to their fullest capacity. And here you have given me all the info I might need! Now, because you have inspired me sooo much, I will gather up all my dwindling strength as soon as I get up tomorrow and start a new joyful chapter in my veggie patch. Only thing is, in the retirement village I live, I sadly have no woodstove. But! I have a Weber Kettle in which we Aussies make our barbecue - - - maybe I can burn my woodchips in there!! To buy biochar here is as expensive for a poor old woman as can be. But, 'where there is a will there is a way' my farmer father taught me almost a lifetime ago where I grew up on the farm in South Africa ( where the soil was rich and chocolate brown and chicken and cow manure was all we ever put into the veggie patch to produce flavoursome, richly coloured and full bodied nutritious veggies!) I love your videos, your passion and your excellently gifted way of explaining things concisely and clearly! God bless you, your veggies and your family!!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hello Elise, Thanks for subscribing! Here is a scientific website that shows specifically how biochar helps with nutrient and water retention in sandy soils like yours. I hope you find it helpful: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016706119322153

[@elisemenne8758]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow Thanks!! I am sure it is going to be good reading!

[@adamdille6031]

I buy bags of all natural charcoal from dollar general mix with compost and manure had best ever garden this year

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for the comment. That's what I would do if I couldn't make my own!

[@adamdille6031]

Thank you great video !

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

@@adamdille6031 I appreciate that! Make sure you watch the other videos about how to make the retort and how to make the biochar and activate it, and let us know how it works out!

[@aphillips5376]

I am a first year gardener and started doing this this year. Very interested to see the improvements to my garden next year.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

​@@aphillips5376 Congratulations! As I see it, the MOST important thing you can do is to provide the conditions for the various life forms in your soil in what is called the Soil Food Web. When you add compost, you're not feeding your plants directly, you're feeding the bacteria and fungi, which feed the protozoa and beneficial nematodes, which only then feed the plants. If you check out Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web link in my Suggested Videos section, she says there is not a soil on earth that is lacking ANY nutrients your plants need. Unfortunately, they're not in forms your plants can use. When you add compost you're doing two things: you're providing nutrients for the microorganism, AND you're loosening up the soil to allow more oxygen to penetrate. That will transform the soil from an anaerobic one, where the organisms are mostly counter-productive, to one where the aerobic organisms convert nutrients for your plants, and for you when you eat them. Biochar also does two things: it provides homes for this microscopic life that makes all the nutrition in your soil available AND allows your soil to hold onto the nutrition by increasing your cation exchange capacity. So I tell everybody, no matter what time of the year it is, to start a BIG compost pile, as big as you can, and fill it with fall leaves, grass clippings, and anything you can find. I pick up HUNDREDS of bags of leaves people pick up with their lawnmowers and leave by the side of the road every year. The only thing you want to avoid is hay, straw, or horse manure that may have the toxic chemical aminopyralid which could ruin your garden no matter how much compost you use! Aminopyralids should be a concern for all gardeners because they think they're doing something good, but they're actually killing their soil and plants for years and years, and they won't know why it's happening! Here's one resource that details the threat: theprepared.com/blog/aminopyralid-contamination-is-a-growing-gardening-problem/ I hope you don't mind all this advice when you didn't ask for it, but if you can start it out right, it can feed you and your family for years! Good luck with your garden!

[@fullcircle4723]

Does the same job as pummous. Holds water and aerates the soil. Great video mate.

[@abraham3901]

Great video. Thank you. I personally made a retort modifying an old small air compressor , cut the top off welded a couple of bolt and nuts to close it back drilled little holes on the side. I use it to Make bamboo and oak charcoal to grill. I just place it on the fire pit sucking all the methane butane etc through pyrolisis is fun to watch. The small staff that breaks down , some ibrake down myself i put it in a bucket and let rain water get in it. After a week or so drain the water on fruit trees,etc then toss charcoal into the Jora composter to be “activated”. Then i add some blackcow and roll it for another two weeks or so. I’ll be using about 1:10 ratio with some regular available soil we have here in the gulf coast. It is a great pass time all together.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Very creative! Look at what others have done and come up with your own ideas. As long as you can exclude air and still allow the expanding gasses to escape, you're good to go! Check out how this one guy does it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWGZZ3ZoptiXZqM

[@juboo1234]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!! MY GARDEN AND I WILL PROSPER!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You're welcome! Just make sure you watch the two follow-up videos to learn how to make and activate it!

[@B30pt87]

What a wonderfully comprehensive description of biochar. I'm so happy for the links too! Thank you so very much. (Subscribed.)

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Glad it was helpful!

[@iartistdotme]

AWESOME! information and presentation.

[@7munkee]

11:15 Great explanation of this process. I might add that the plant rewards the mycorhizae with a 'fix' of sugars. It's a two-way street!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for the info!

[@jackking4574]

I appreciate this info. I have made the retort like you showed and the biochar I made was awsome. Thanks so much.

[@serenddaear5471]

I’m so excited about this and telling all my gardener friends, thanks!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I appreciate you letting me know. Just make sure you watch all the follow-up videos for more details!

[@serenddaear5471]

I would really like to know the best application for fruit trees. I follow edge of nowhere farm and love their planting technique, seems like adding biochar would be a powerful combination.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Yes, it is! Here's an interesting website that talks about using biochar with fruit trees: growgreatfruit.com/brilliant-biochar-fruit-trees/

[@jonathanmartins7744]

This is really the most awesome video about biochar!

[@christiehickman7573]

You did NOT get too technical…love your video!!!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thank you very much!

[@PierreDuhamel-lj1vb]

I like your small scale woodstove style of producing biochar..I would name that seed- work or invisible revolution....when coming to charge that black gold with an army of soil life , I would recomend the traditional Neetle brew soaking with air injection whitch is only the first step into biodynamics...but the journey of a thousand miles begin with one step...

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I've already got mine charging with garden compost I brought in before winter, some worm castings, kelp meal, greensand, Azomite and lots of water. I do the nettle tea and bubbler in the spring

[@ernieclapton2226]

The cans with rims that you hammered down can also be removed with a can opener. Works great on coffee cans.Thanks for the great videos!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Great tip!

[@dreinsmith3256]

This is the first of your videos that I have watched and am very excited to go through more of them!! I am a retired accountant of 68, that is finally doing something I am very good at and have always loved... Gardening! But I also always seek the most natural and environmentally friendly way of doing it. I will be doing some veggie gardening, but I am at this time creating a small nursery in my yard to propagate and sell small plants (I need the small additional income). However, I live in a subtropical climate (Mobile, AL) and we do not need a lot of indoor heating. My question to you being, how can I produce biochar without the use of a woodburning stove? Any suggestions? We do use a grill from time to time, but it uses propane. ☹️

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hello D, I am so glad to hear what you're doing. I do have some advice for you. First is to take notes on EVERY video you watch and write yourself a journal on how to be a successful nurseryman. And second. learn about the Soil Food Web on Dr. Elaine Ingram's KZbin channel. There's a link to her channel on my KZbin homepage. This will give you a great foundation for understanding soil life! Having knowledge n your field will help you immensely so that people will want to buy from you, and keep coming back! As for biochar, there are many KZbin videos that describe how to make charcoal in a conical-shaped hole in the ground. Just watch a few and find one that makes the most sense for your situation. If your situation won't allow you to do that, you can buy the Royal Oak Charcoal which has nothing but charcoal, WITH NO PETROCHEMICALS added. Just crush that up and innoculate it for a couple months into biochar. I wish you the best in your endeavor!

[@yadealone]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow I remember the first time I used royal oak I got 2 bags for 1/2 off at WalMart due to a small tears in the bags. I still have one bag that I’m going to use in my garden space. I’m in the city so I can’t be lighting big wood fires. I’m going to inoculate the biochar this time as last time I didn’t inoculate it. I put it in the ground along with shards of broken clay pots and compost. 😊

[@user-bh3ew6ii4g]

This was great, it wasn't boring, to the contrary! You did a really good job of teaching the science here. After watching half of one of your other biochar videos I subscribed. I will check out the Living Web Farms videos, I have been following their channel for a while, but haven't had the chance to watch many of their videos yet. I'm raising it on my priority list. I'm not worried about CO2 in the atmosphere. I went into great detail in a previous comment, which disappeared before I could post it when KZbin glitched. It often does this when I say something contrary to the official narrative. So I won't bother to type it all again. But I had included some interesting things that science tells us. Nature made this perfect cycle of CO2 and Oxygen exchange between plants and animals. And even we as oxygen breathers need CO2 for very important functions in our bodies. Currently the CO2 in the atmosphere is at 0.04%. Scientists say that it was much, much higher in prehistoric times, and they think that this is why the plants were so lush and abundant and the trees so tall. Commercial greenhouses know this and they buy CO2 to pump into their greenhouses to increase production and help the plants thrive. But that aside, and considering the rest of what you mentioned it's worth making biochar and putting it into the Earth. I agree with you completely that we need to all do this on an individual basis... create better soil with good compost, biochar, and non-chemical, only natural methods, and we need to create more plant biomass, part of that being growing all our own food. Of course, growing all our own food means it's healthier for us, better for the Earth, and eliminates the real Earth-based and atmospheric pollution issues caused by commercial farming, transportation, food processing and wastage that come about because we don't all each grow all of our own food. Of course, it's an incremental process to start growing and build up to growing all we eat. Some people think they can't do it because they live in apartments, but that's not actually the case. If everyone just started and incrementally grew more and more, learning as they go, it would make a huge and fundamental change for the better.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for the post! I agree with you. If I said the things I really wanted to say, they probably wouldn't have let me put up the video in the first place! But I am in agreement with you totally. But making biochar does remove the carbon that would have gone into the atmosphere forever so everyone on both sides should be pleased. Anne made a video to show people living in apartments how they can grow lots of food even in a two-foot by two-foot space: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZuop3Spgql1qtk Make sure you leave her a nice comment!

[@OklahomaPermaculture]

Great video ! Ill be making one soon ! I have been using a single can set vertical with a loose set metal lid to char my chips , I love this style ! Thank you !!

[@garthwunsch]

Your explanations are good, and helpful. You correctly state that, regardless of how wood is decomposed, it’s still releases the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. However, I think the rate of release also has to be considered. It took millions of years to sequester the carbon, and we have released a huge part of that storehouse in the last century. Surely this must’ve put the system out of balance? I think they left her own devices mother nature would, keep this carbon equation in better order. Apparently this overload of CO2 into the atmosphere is being absorbed by the oceans and causing much damage there as well. If we can get a good handle on sequestering this carbon through the use of biochar and NoTill Agriculture , which must include cattle (ruminants), I think the human race has a chance of survival. Otherwise???

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks Garth for all your input. I really enjoy having this discussion. I agree that much more needs to be done, and making biochar and compost are ways we can sequester carbon into our soils both long-term (biochar) and short-term (compost). When man continues to poison and destroy soil fertility, and subsequently the nutrition value of food through the current agricultural processes... this is a far greater threat to mankind than ANYTHING else. This is something that soil biologists like Elaine Ingham understands, but it's not something political enough for the mainstream media. So I think we're definitely on a collision course with food shortages. If all gardeners would make biochar and compost... at least we're doing our small part, AND BTW, making our gardens the most productive ever!

[@garthwunsch]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow during covid lockdown, I decided to grow myself in different ways… took Dr. Ingham’s SoilFoodWeb foundation courses, built a small greenhouse attached to my heated workshop, so it’s very easy to heat the gh, even in zone 4, with excess heat from wood stove (that burns as much salvage wood/pallets as I can haul home in my Honda Fit), built a garden pond, and took Matt Power’s’ Regenerative Soil course. And I turn 79 this year… just getting started… so long as my legs don’t quit! LOL. I enjoy your videos because it’s obvious you speak from experience. I’ve already got a five gallon pail of charcoal being charged.

[@GRPermie]

This is an ingenious way of making a retort. I've been raking my brain to create something and now that you have shown your system it all makes perfect sense! Thank you.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

The best thing is that it is free, so I don't mind the fact that the cans burn through after a while! Using cast iron or stainless retorts costs money, and you would either need a big one, or lots of them, to make a good quantity of char. I can fit three #10 retorts AND six or seven smaller ones into my wood stove at once. After you've got a good fire going with firewood, the more retorts you put in, the better! The fire FROM the retorts themselves produces the heat for the other retorts...and you get more heat for your house for free with very little carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere!

[@marlenewebster7095]

I don’t have a wood stove. Can it burn in a backyard firepit?

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Yes, and there are a lot of videos online to show you how to do it!

[@MichaelJosephJr934]

QUESTION: I've been saving all my beef bones but struggling to cook them down to that light and airy usable material. I put in a large cast iron pot on my BBQ for hours. They're all blackened but still hard as a rock. Any suggestions. These are mostly Tbones and Ribeyes.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You'll never get the temp high enough on a grill. You need the temp to get up to about 1500°F (816°C). At that temp your the heat would burn right through the metal in the grill rather quickly!

[@andrespkpasion]

i've seen the point made somewhere else and also tested it a bit myself about the difference between your method and the ones where you use water to kill the embers while the fire is burning. When using water to extinguish the fire, you create micro fractures in the charcoal yielding a much brittler material, very much like tempered glass. This helps big time when crushing it to appropiate size and charging it, as the micro fractures provide further access points to the insides of every piece of charcoal. I've personally tested it at small scale and it did make a difference indeed when charging it and also seemed to integrate better into the soil. amazing video and clarifying data you gave tho, keep it up 👋

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

In my opinion, it really doesn't matter that much when you add a lot of bacteria and nutrient laden water charging it the way I do. The resulting end product doesn't need any crushing at all because, for my method, it's already at the appropriate size. There are two reasons I DON'T do it: When I quenched the charcoal while still in the retorts, it caused the retorts to deteriorate after just a few burns. AND, since I'm doing it indoors, it makes a bad smell when all that steam goes up, and my wife doesn't like it! If I didn't have those issues I definitely would quench it for the benefits you spoke of.

[@hodenhorst6077]

I have heard that the best coal size is 0-2mm (some US University people said in a terra preta talk). But I am also questioning if charcoal breaks down in earth by itself so that I can spend the labor to grind it down and how long does it take. In my garden the bigger charcoal pieces didnt seem the decompose over three years..

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I don't worry about it at all. The charcoal never decomposes because that would mean breaking down it into simpler compounds. Charcoal already is broken down as much as it can be since it is almost pure carbon that can't decompose further! I know what you mean though! I use woodchips that are about the size of a coin and most of it gets ground to a smaller size through natural processes in the soil, and even the larger pieces are still beneficial to microorganisms. I've seen it, and others have commented as well, that quite often a plant's roots will grow right into a piece of biochar seeking nutrients!

[@MahaEm-o8g]

Hello, I am so glad that you gave the chemical equation in your video. I understand the process better now because I had to take a lot of Chemistry for my degree. I like that you use wood chips to create your charcoal. You must have a larger wood stove to handle that retort. I used biochar in my garden and was amazed at the difference it made. I just burned my branches in a dugout part of the yard. It may not have been the best pyrolysis, but it worked out for me. Keep up the good work. Em

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for your input!

[@markmcdaniel304]

I'm confused. I have to be very careful with charcoal, (pine and oak),if you drip water on it what comes out is lye. The charcoal will kill anything. I use it after like a year of rain and all. I'm not a experienced gardener. But love to grow.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hi Mark, I think you're talking about the wood ashes. I never had that experience at all. But you do have to activate your charcoal, which what it is before you TURN IT to biochar or it WILL have a negative effect on your plants. Once it's activated, with nutrients and bacterial and fungal life THEN you can use it on your plants at a rate of about 10% of the soil in your rooting zone, whatever that is for your garden. I am making a video about how to use your biochar this week, but you could also go and visit the Living Web Farms Site in my Recommended Videos section, like I suggested on the video! Thanks for your question!

[@markmcdaniel304]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow thanks! I will use this information. Listening to many people about growing becomes confusing .I think some people have a supernatural ability to grow plants and don't realize it. 🤔

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

@@markmcdaniel304, the REAL secret to being a successful gardener is to take notes on everything. Otherwise, you forget! If you watch ANY gardening video and don't takes notes, you're wasting your time! Sometimes you'll get advice (that you found out later was bad) and you just cross those parts out! Sometimes what works in one person's garden won't work at all in yours. Take notes of everything you do in your garden, like when you start your plants and put them out, and which varieties performed best for you! I talked about this in one of the videos, but you actually have to get rid of the "gardener" mindset, and put on the small "farmer" mindset, like your life depended on whether you were successful or not!

[@mikepapa3196]

Hey thank you very much for explaining the carbon cycle towards the end of this video, it made it waaay easier to finally understand. Wishing you abundance in the garden! Cheers Mike

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Cheers!

[@pplusbthrust]

This may not be tantamount to the video but the way these elements recycle makes a very good case for the concept of a creator.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made!

[@johnedward1088]

Thank You for this fine blog!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You're welcome

[@omeshsingh8091]

Most biochar particles found in Amazonian terra preta are between 10 and 20 μm. That is between one-eighth and one-quarter of the thickness of a human hair.

[@michelbisson6645]

Nano is good to try it

[@clairemacmillan1708]

Yeah 👍 go science! ... and Sports, so they don't feel left out, ya know 😅

[@smolboyi]

👏 Appreciate the correction. I mean he shows a picture of microscopic porosity and says not to grind it, it's microscopic! Grinding something to dust increases surface area a lot if I'm not mistaken...

[@ThaiGardenOasis]

You certainly save a lot of money and you are right but what you produce is not equivalent to $12240 because you should add the cost of packaging, marketing, labor, tax, all that stuff.

[@doloinc]

The primary issue with grinding RAW char is that it increases the surface area, thereby releasing the ash minerals trapped within the char structure and spiking the pH. But as we know, raw char is not biochar. Based on my own observations, the pH issues are corrected over time when incorporated into the soil or manually "charged" with nutrients and organic material, both of which facilitates microbial inoculation, with the microbes naturally balancing out the pH over time.

[@georgecarlin2656]

Btw, you skipped my favorite feature of biochar - the creation of OM on the fly from the 95%+ inorganic matter in the soil: because it promotes millions of types of bacteria and whatnot some of those bacteria species can mine the inorganic minerals and turn them organic (available to plants) - which is how I imagine biochar creates food for plants on the fly and never runs out of it if there's enough biochar and deep enough. Fungi do this by secreting weak acids onto inorganic matter like little pebbles in the soil, don't know any details, not a soil biologist (nor a scientist), but enough for an overall picture.

[@anthonyl.kellyakawritedisw9662]

Excellent point!

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

Excellent….I subscribed and am headed to the next two videos !!! Thank you 🥰

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks and welcome

[@JesusSaves86AB]

Excellent video and explanation. God bless.

[@plainsimple442]

We make charcloth for fire starting using flint & steel in an Altoid can. Same process.

[@jolindo6724]

Have been making this in the mountains in Jamaica for years saw them 'making charcoal' in my childhood for their little plots, now I know why

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for letting us know! There is nothing new under the sun!

[@markcantrall9923]

Blue Mountains !!!

[@portail22]

Thank you for your wonderful explanations and for sharing your brilliant technique to create biochar! Looking forward to the video about the water filter you mention.

[@WatchAnotherClip]

Thank you so much for this. You are awesome.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thank YOU so much! If you have any questions, we're here to help!

[@Endtimescoming]

Im not super interested in removing carbon from the air but as an agronomy major in college 24 years ago a soil cation exchange capacity of 222 certainly has my attention.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Mine too. Make sure you watch the video over at Living Web Farms. It's where I learned about it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXradnqsl5aCZpI

[@rjackson64840]

Thanks!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thank you, we appreciate that a lot!

[@mehmetkadoglu9077]

very impressive video. very thanks

[@bobosceola4147]

Will you eve tell cus. How to make a charcoal water filter?

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Yes, I will as soon as we get production going this winter. Thanks for reminding me though. I've been super busy!

[@bobosceola4147]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrowis a thank you for answering me

[@stephanealegoria7016]

Thank you for re-centering the problematic. I'm doing agroforestry in south America and focus on permaculture , biomimicry and soil regeneration. By misunderstanding biochar people do poor tests showing Biochar result in temperate climate, with a soil having already high percentage of carbon and a crazy and "histeric" process of enrichment with compost. They do not deal with soil they just plant on compost and of course they do not see any difference. I will not add anything on what you say just that my biomimicry is copying natives of Amazon and if pyrolysis can be eventually extrapolated from the process of ceramic cooking I think it is not a must and I prefer the holistic approach using wood for cooking and keep the fire from consuming at the end of the cooking. Then put the charcoal in the chicken coop for higienisation (no need anymore cleaning the coop), then add various derivatives products of cooking , always mimicking a mode of living florestal. Some plants react immediately, other not , I just know that I transform this food forest into a perennial soil based food production platform , sequestering carbon in an intensive way.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Good job Stephan, I like the holistic approach too, that's why I heat my house by pyrolyzing the wood chips and then using the resulting carbon to turn to biochar. I'm not against people making biochar in an open burn pit in a warm climate, but why should I pay for fuel to heat my house, and then just throw away the heat I produced by making char outside in a pit? That doesn't make any sense to me!

[@neverwinterfarms]

In certain areas ramial wood is also called Arborist wood chips. What that really means is the leaves and living branches are mulched up with all the bark and heartwood.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Yes, the ramial chips are where the nutrients are!

[@garthwunsch]

By definition, ramial wood does not include any branches larger than about 2”, and it is harvested late fall to early spring, before leaf emergence. This captures the nutrients and makes them potentially available to your garden. I think composting ramial wood is a much better use for it than prepping for biochar… there’s lots of pure lignin wood chips for that purpose.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

@@garthwunsch Thanks Garth. When you get your woodchips for free from the power company, you get what you get, whenever you can get it, not always from late fall to early spring, which I agree is the best. We, beggars, don't get to be choosers! Usually, trees are in full foliage when they're damaged by the wind which captures all that wind that brings the trees down. I don't know if you saw my winter garden tour video, but I had at least 4 tons of wood chips dropped off and most of it will be composted. But I use what I can get for free.

[@sathancat]

I love your explanation and passion!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@robinham2796]

I’ve Also Added some To my worm bed!

[@earthlingi72]

truly the best biochar video so far ! thank you for your work .. all the best !

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thank you too!

[@michaelamarie4288]

Very informative. Thank you!

[@bella-bee]

Does biochar help open up clay soil?

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Yes, it has an open structure that allows more air in your soil, but its main way of opening up the soil is by the roundabout way of providing homes for all the microbiology (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and beneficial nematodes) which in turn will attract microarthropods, worms, and other soil creatures. But you still need a lot of compost to make it happen and to stop digging and tilling.

[@buddybyrd6209]

Test biochar's charge ability in water. If it floats and then sinks, it probably can be charged. You might have to let it sit in the water for a few hours to a few days to see if it sinks. If it sinks, it is absorbing water, so it will absorb nutrients. If it floats it probably won't charge. Dry out the chargeable biochar and charge it by soaking/charging it in worm castings tea or compost tea. Or just in castings or compost. I do this test in my fish tank. I get the added benefits of the nutrients in the water.

[@alexanderockenden2564]

I’m experimenting with biochar as an insulating aggregate to be mixed with lime or clay and used as internal wall insulation on cold stone / brick walls which are prone to condensation.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Let us know how it works out! But use charcoal, not biochar!

[@alteriusnonsit6124]

Very good Idea! Never heard of it! I wonder why I did not come up with it. Please tell us about the results!

[@alexanderockenden2564]

The Ithaka Institute has done similar at a building in Switzerland. Insulating clay plaster mixed with biochar.

[@alteriusnonsit6124]

@@alexanderockenden2564 Thanks! I quickseached the website but could not find anything about it. Do you have data about mixing ratio and the qualities of the insulating clay/coal plaster?

[@alexanderockenden2564]

We’ve used other insulating aggregates in lime plaster in our house (namely granulated cork, hemp shivs and perlite). We use a ratio of about 1.25 parts lime (non-hydraulic) to 2 parts insulating aggregate (by volume). So I’d recommended starting with that and playing around with it. I’d guess you’d be fine going to 1 part clay or lime to 2 parts granulated biochar, but again just see what works. It’s all a bit experimental so trailblaze.

[@judyrobertson5564]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting. God bless you and yours.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

😀Thanks for your comment, it means a lot!

[@jkhuntress]

Thank you very much for such thorough video lesson 💜 I'm new to gardening ( got my allotment at the beginning of summer last year, here in UK ). I came across bio- char recently and I have been very invested in this ( purchased 20 kg sack ). My question to you , that i hope you could explain or elaborate more on. If use bio- char in our soil, is crop rotation still advisable, please ? 💜

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I personally don't ever rotate my crops and my yield, and my soil, get better each and every year. It's only when you use non-regenerative methods that your soil becomes depleted of nutrients... from lack of soil life. Your soil must provide the environment for the ENTIRE food web organisms including: bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, microarthropods, worms, and higher forms of life like birds. They all contribute to the health of your soil. Dr. Elaine Ingham says that there is no soil on earth that does not have everything your plants need, but it may lack the biological life for it to be made available to your plants. And she specifically says SOIL not DIRT! So when your soil is made hospitable to this life, (by using lots of compost and have at least 10% of the top 10-20 inches (25-50 cm) composed of biochar), you're creating that environment and in my opinion will have no need to rotate your crops. When you get to your "perfect" soil, you won't have a problem with insect pests either, as pests only show up because of weak plants, which you won't have. So, rotating your crops can be a good idea while you're still building your soil, but once you get there you won't have to do it anymore! There is a whole lot more to it than this, but this is my short answer!

[@jkhuntress]

@LiveOnWhatYouGrow Thank you very much for this, I appreciate it a lot 💜

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You're very welcome!

[@microbladingdaytonattotall5540]

can you use any variety of wood? Also, we have wood chips dropped off end of last year but I am sure its starting to mold. Is that still usable and if not how do you keep your dry. Thanks I really needed this science. Much appreciated

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Any variety of wood will work as the high temps will turn everything pretty much to carbon and minerals. Because wood chips absorb so much water, I load up my buckets and garbage cans the day the tree guys drop them off. Even one rain doubles the amount of time it takes to turn them into char AND cuts in half the usable life of my retorts.

[@araja2939]

Very good explanation.

[@grumpyn1nj453]

Great Video! Excited to put this knowledge into practice.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Make sure you tell us about your results. We're here if you have any questions! If you go to the Playlist section, there's a whole section on Bichar. I'll be adding more this winter, so make sure to sub and hit notifications so you won't miss it!

[@elainacasey7672]

I found this very helpful

[@kitioarmel7586]

Very good vidéo thanks may god bless you with more years for more vidéo

[@randalmoroski1184]

Great detailed explanation!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Glad it was helpful!

[@johac7637]

How are you joining, putting the lid on the 2 cans, thanks

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Watch the next video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZm5qYOmo7WHY6s

[@yusufalbalooshi2723]

Thank you dear for excellent information

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You're welcome!

[@robertsmyk4102]

Gee! Another question! Does the Terra Preta that self-renews in the Amazon appear as the large chunks of charcoal that you are distributing or is it more like tiny bits of soil that I might find in my back yard?

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

As far as I know, terra preta just means dark soil, so I'm guessing, based on what I've been told, it's just dark soil filled with microbiological life.

[@zoro-i8u]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow It seems like both - it's that dark soil filled with microbiology AND charcoal pieces that hold the fungi, etc.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

@@zoro-i8u You're right it IS both!

[@AJPemberton]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow Terra preta is both, but the part that 'renews' can only be the soil micro-organisms - unless someone is out there making more charcoal.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

It's NOT only the microorganisms that are renewing, it's the nutrient content of the soil that is increasing. The charcoal isn't duplicating itself, of course, but that part doesn't have to because it doesn't decay. The charcoal provides the homes for the microorganisms, but more importantly, increases the cation exchange capacity, which simply means the soil is capable of holding more essential plant nutrients. That's the part that's regenerating. The fungi send their mycelium deep into the soil, and hundreds of feet away from that immediate area, to collect nutrients into that central location making the terra preta more fertile with time without having to add more fertility.

[@hamiltoncamp]

I’m watching a living Web Farms biochar inoculation video right now and the first thing I noticed was that they are crushing the biochar. They said it’s crushed and screened from a quarter inch to dust. I’m already confused.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks for the question, I plan on making a video about this, but as you know, there are a lot of misconceptions about biochar, even the definition of what it is! One area of confusion is about charcoal which for gardening has to be inoculated, (activated), vs. charcoal used for water purification, which to be the most effective, must be activated by a completely different process. The confusion, I believe, comes from the word, ACTIVATED, which has two completely different meanings. When you make activated charcoal for water purification, you want the smallest particle size possible, because you want MORE surface area so the charcoal can attract the largest amount of toxins from the water. When you use charcoal in the garden, and ACTIVATED with nutrients, you don’t want more surface area, but more cubic internal storage area. So leaving the char slightly bigger, about the size of a US quarter, leaves more open spaces in the biochar to hold more nutrients and provide more places for micro- and macro- biology to inhabit. Every other “nutrient” you add to your garden soil will be more effective the smaller it is because it needs to be consumed by your soil’s biology to become plant available. Biochar doesn’t decompose, and it’s not absorbed by plants. It primarily is the home for biology and nutrients. One other important consideration for me is the release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) into your soil from biochar. PAH are a class of organic compounds produced by incomplete combustion and are in our rainwaters, lakes, and all soils on earth. This study: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c00952# shows that crushing biochar to a powder releases more PAHs into the soil all at once, and could be detrimental to soil microbiology and plants. However, when you leave the biochar in larger particles, there is a specific bacteria that will live IN the char that will turn those PAHs into nutrients and decompose them, actually benefiting your soil! Another thing the study brings about, (and you’ll find it in the conclusion section) is the temperature at which the charcoal is produced. When produced at temperatures lower than about 1500°F (815°C) there will be more PAH and other toxins present. That’s why making large batches in a kiln, large drums, or in a firepit, I believe, is not the best option! Even when you buy biochar, you have NO IDEA at what temperature it was pyrolyzed at! When it’s made in large batches, some of it will reach the proper temperature and some of it won’t. Making it in small batches in the #10 cans ensures that all of it has reached the temperature needed to eliminate potential toxins! Because you make it in steel cans, you have the perfect indicator of temperature- when the retort turns cherry red, you know you’ve reached about 1500°F (815°C). One thing I want to mention about that study though, is that you must read it all the way through or you may come to a wrong conclusion. This is true of any scientific study you read, especially about biochar, as there are scientists that call CHARCOAL biochar when they are two completely different things! Charcoal BECOMES biochar only after it has been inoculated with nutrients and biology! Very few of the (prestigious) studies on biochar I’ve looked at were done on actual biochar, but on charcoal! I believe having correctly made biochar of varying sizes is the best for agriculture, but I’ve found that even if I put in larger pieces, the natural weatherization and contact with soil life, moisture, acids in the soil, and plant exudates will break them down to the size needed by my particular soil condition. Don’t get me wrong. I’m NOT saying what other people are saying is wrong, but these are the conclusions I have come to after doing all my research (including what I learned from Living Web Farms) and after seeing the results in my own garden! I easily have gotten at least twice the yield from my garden after implementing correctly made biochar!

[@tepesSTM]

@@LiveOnWhatYouGrow You are correct, terminology and definitions of the terms are very important, for any field really. That is why I'd like to mention a few things that I've learned about biochar and it's characteristics. Biochar adsorbs NOT absorbs nutrients. Best way to remember is, adsorption is it has the prefix "add". A dish sponge absorbs water, that is, water goes inside the sponge. Nutrients are adsorbed by the charcoal, that is, "added" or better said, attached to the surface of the charcoal. Charcoal made properly (no signs of brown in it) has a negative charge which will attract positive ions to its surface. That is why I like to have my charcoal crushed and have a range of particle sizes, from whole corn kernels to dust size. The mix is better for the biology, then just one size. There is research done on this. I have charged/inoculated charcoal with compost tea before.When you dump large chunks in there, they mostly float, as air is trapped inside of them, but the smaller pieces easily sink to the bottom. That is why charcoal used for water purification adsorbs what ever impurities are in the water to its self, and that is why charcoal (filters) will have to be replaced after a time. Make more Biochar!!! Sam

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks!

[@nowafarmer5398]

Thanks for the idea.... Its simple and works like a charm!. Am using 500ml paint cans and add them to my wood stove that is used exclusively to heat water. There is more tar at vessel base ! That I wouldn't mind as I am able to produce charcoal each time I heat water.!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Sounds great!

[@cherylbaker6806]

Would biochar help with cliche soil? To help loosen and add nutrient?

[@cherylbaker6806]

Would I apply the biochar the same way you do?

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hi Cheryl, it seems that microbiology is the answer for everything! Dr. Elaine Ingham said there is not a soil (not dirt) on earth that lacks any nutrient your plant needs. And she's proven that by turning desert areas into highly productive farms. She says the biology in the soil, especially bacteria and fungi can mine the soil for nutrients and transport them to your root zone. Biochar and Compost will provide the environment for all that life and concentrate it in your growing zone. For the people reading this who don't know, Caliche is a common problem in the southwestern states of the US soils. Caliche is layer of soil in which the soil particles are cemented together by calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ). Cement is a good description because the soil is very much like literal cement: rock-hard and non-porous. Hardly anything will grow in it! So your priority should be to make your soil hospitable for biology, and in the case of Caliche Soil your first order of business would be to lower the pH by adding Agricultural Sulphur like this one: amzn.to/3SOy6rf so the microorganisms can survive, and then to make and add as much compost as you can. I have a different problem where I live. My soil is predominantly clay in its natural state and can become rock hard, much like what you have. And I use about 6 tons of compost a year on an area of about a quarter acre. Biochar is what makes it all work as the provides homes for the bacteria and fungi and increases the cation exchange capacity (CEC) which enables the soil to maintain fertility longer, and retain more water and nutrients in your soil. I have a video that shows how I incorporate it, and I would suggest the sheet method. Here's the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGTagaVqndyGaNE One last thing that will help a lot is to never let the sun strike your soil. You can either let the plants' canopy fully shade the soil or use a thick biodegradable mulch! Here's a link for Dr. Elaine's channel and I would highly recommend watching as many videos as you can, like I do continually: www.youtube.com/@soilfoodwebschool