Top Reason Why Biochar Doesn't Increase Crop Yields & 5 Ways to Fix it

[@aliceedwards3053]

John have been watching your videos for three years now and I want you to know you have taught me more in this time than I learned in thirty years of gardening thanks for all you do.

[@shanmacpherson1603]

After three years of incorporating activated biochar, the garden astonished me with a 34 pound kohlrabi. I didn't know they could get that big. It was tender and wonderful all the way through

[@sbffsbrarbrr]

New to biochar.....can you share how you activate yours please?

[@johnbrazelton6130]

no way! omg

[@homebrew2102]

@@sbffsbrarbrr Activating means soaking it in compost tea or a liquid fertilizer (preferably organic) or mixing it with compost for a while...etc. Unless it's already activated when you buy it, don't just throw it in the garden. That is why people think it doesn't work.

[@nocapitals9833]

@@homebrew2102 wouldn't it self activate over the years in ground?

[@BigWesLawns]

​@@nocapitals9833 try experimenting with 2 plots. Best way to know.

[@itsno1duh]

I used to rake and flash burn leaves (very dry) and make lots of leaf char to mix with compost. Once at the end of the seasonal burn it was late and I quenched 4 piles: 2 completely burned to crisp char and 2 that were only half burned leaf and and half char. Seriously done for the year I forgot those piles and come the next year when I finally thought of the char piles I came and kicked one of the piles that was only half burned and it was a solid mass of mycelium and roots grown to the ground whereas the completely burned char piles were as loose and sterile as the day I quenched them. I totally changed my burning pattern to half burns as they without any other inputs or effort become a direct part of the growing soils around the property.

[@TheRainHarvester]

What exactly is half burned? Still black and solid char? Still makes a metal sound when dropped?

[@anajinn]

Where I live, we are not allowed to burn anything. We did once, and the neighbours called the fire department. We did not know you cannot burn.

[@davidmckay9558]

This comment is Underrated. Ash is very different from biochar.

[@pambennett8967]

Do a video!

[@JesseMiller-x4s]

You must have good soil... Lucky you

[@lynnemitchell9584]

i have improved my soil by adding biochar for 2 years. Definitely works. Now use less water!!!

[@charlescoker7752]

What your soil doing now? 4 years later.

[@miskas123456789]

how is the soil going?

[@Valchrist1313]

omg, he used biochar, now he's dead!

[@NoNORADon911]

@@Valchrist1313 I see you support the rainbow freaks and BLM ter ror ist.

[@anajinn]

@@Valchrist1313 he should have listened to Fauci

[@markhenrichs8388]

I'm a commercial bbq cook. Hardwood lump (wood cooked in the absence of oxygen) is where you start. I've thrown tons of fines away that were left in bottom of bag. Have a great use now.

[@JesseMiller-x4s]

Do you though? 4 years and no update. You all do the same crap

[@saintmichael2759]

Jesus. People, go straight to 7:45.

[@karlsapp7134]

thanks!

[@crazy808ish]

Thank you.

[@zoharborage6609]

MVP

[@humanmcperson272]

thamnks he is so fukn boring

[@samnelson4975]

thanx

[@ercatiis]

This video made me Sign-in, Like and Comment. Both of your actions are so real and so sincere. The way you mix, sit and all.

[@robertmuzira2173]

Thank you guys for educating us. I am going to do the same in my garden. I have using farmyard manure but this is new innovation on my side with cheap materials available in my community.

[@seattlebiochar]

Great Job you guys!!! That is hands down the best biochar how-to video yet. Very needed.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Your moon analogy made me laugh - very cool :) Biochar certainly makes sense from a gardening perspective but most good soils have natural charcoal mixed in anyway because it's such a common element on Earth. Just about every living thing is composted down or burnt and turned into soil but the key is not to look for the one magic ingredient to grow that super garden moreover it's to learn how to grow your soil through adding lots of different elements over time and then keeping it alive by feeding it when it needs it.

[@charlescoker7752]

Maybe in Australia. You may have char already. But in the states. It is a different story. You have poor soil. And are trying to turn it around. Using char makes perfect sense.

[@jaydnhughes6947]

Ooh I'm subscribed to your channel as well. Fancy seeing you here lol 😀

[@FelonyVideos]

Biochar is carbon, but carbon is not biochar. It is the porous and benign surface structure of biochar that is the needed component in poor soils. That structure provides a storage depot of water and nutrients that fungi and bacteria transport to plant roots. It is a scaffold. You absolutely cannot achieve any effect if you just use graphite (also pure carbon), for instance.

[@leerocks3859]

Hi Mark, Fancy seeing you here 🙂 I enjoy all your videos. See you over on your channel 👀.... Now lets get into it !! 👍🏼😄

[@surferdude-ll2qu]

I can't stop laughing 😂 colonize the moon. I was about to comment on it and here you are top comment 👍

[@charleslaferriere2138]

I was weary of the video length at first, but it was well worth it. Wonderful video. Thanks to both of you.

[@Cyara248]

The most helpful and generous video I have ever watched on using BioChar. Thank you so much to both of you.

[@steveevans1841]

40:42 "I'm learning at the same time" is the mark of a good teacher. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, thank goodness I'm only 73 years young and still able to learn. This is the best video of your collection that I have ever seen. It is up there with Dr. David Johnson's views of getting carbon back into the soil.

[@milkymeats]

Can't teach an old dog new tricks is actually about the fact that an old dog, signifies, having lived, and experienced it all.. hence, old dogs, are wise.. flip ay, everything has been flipped about the place haha

[@lukeboshier]

activating Biochar is actually cleaning out the legions with super heated steam (400 C) to improve the surface area to 800-1000 m2 per gram. I think you are referring to inoculating your Biochar?

[@truthdefender54]

+Luke Boshier Agreed, it is inoculating.

[@bipedal-ape-man]

+Luke Boshier Yes that would be a physical activation or carbonization, how ever a chemical activation is much easier in my opinion.

[@CaptNemo-vj3bf]

+cannibis sativa As Luke Boshier pointed out, activated carbon and inoculated carbon are two separate beasts. Activation, an industry term for steam cleaning, opens the carbon pores so that adsorption can take place when stripping a waste stream of VOCs. The removal of the nano sized particles of carbon would be counter productive in this application. Carbon is non porous per se but the increased nooks and crannies provides the perfect medium for endo-mycorrizal fungi to attach themselves to.

[@bipedal-ape-man]

Capt. Nemo Yes i am aware that this video has nothing to do with activating carbon, i am just pointing out that there is more than one way of doing it.

[@sevaliogas4955]

Luke Boshier I

[@ernststravoblofeld]

Here's a plan for an alternate video: Video opens. "Mix your biochar with living stuff, to get bacteria living in it. Thanks for watching!" Video ends.

[@dystopiagear6999]

Yeah. I've watched several of this dude's videos and he often only half knows WTF he's even talking about. *Lots* of excitement and hype, but also quite a bit of just-plain-WRONG stuff he heard somewhere and is just repeating, painfully-obvious mistakes he's made, and a little good info mixed in among it. It's sad because this sort of video can actually do more harm than good and gives a lot of good products and techniques a bad name by either using them wrong and turning people off or promising ridiculous miracles that never happen and turning people off. He sure is enthusiastic, though.

[@paulchristen7610]

@@dystopiagear6999 I hear what you're saying, and I see it in the videos to same degree, but I love the hype and excitement. He has "guests" on the video- that are experts and it gives good information which (for me) was a starting point, I then did my own research. You shouldn't trust ANYBODY's opinion, get a variety of sources and figure out what's up. I actually really enjoy this guys videos and his enthusiasm. But yeah, I do follow it up with more research.

[@victorsr6708]

Dystopia Gear have you seen his garden?

[@brescalofrio1]

Biochar has some nutrients from the product that it came from; increases the soil's ability to hold onto plant nutrients and beneficial soil microbes by slowing or reducing the leaching of nutrients.

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

I agree that it would be easy for him to just list his main points, but he's not a robot, he's a passionate person and that's a good thing overall.

[@seashell12932]

also, John, you are the man, every time I search something you have a video on it... Def in the fan club, hope I can meet you one day!!!! Thank you SO MUCH for your channel, such a huge contribution you have made

[@kevenskilatonyius2178]

This would be nice to be taught in agricultural School. I was taught only the corporation way. Which has only depleted the soil .

[@ericwwtaylor3157]

Mindblowingly magnificent! I was turned on to biochar in 2009 reading 'The Vanishing Face of Gaia' wherein James Lovelock calls it the most practical way to sink carbon and fight global warming. This video is by far the best explanation I've come across. Thank you!

[@scottritchie9543]

Awesome video. Don't understand how anyone could be disappointed with the info.

[@frankcomber759]

I've BEEN ADDING bIOCHAR TO MY SOIL FOR OVER TEN YEARS MY VEGIES COME UP TOPS THE BEST EVER VERY GOOD VIDEO ;I ADD SEAWEED GREAT STUFF

[@southbeachmiamiart895]

Seaweed works well? That's a great idea.

[@mikecosby7799]

How coronavirus fooled everybody in the world kzbin.info/www/bejne/pne5f3qrnNWkq80

[@jeffclarkofclarklesparkle3103]

Good idea with the seaweed. I heard to cool the hot char as well with sea nutrients mixed in the cooling water. Expands the inner walls of the char, drives off tars and puts the sea nutrients deep inside the walls of the char 👍

[@MateoMrtacos]

@@mikecosby7799 hey man! Did you download the vid? Thanks

[@ck-4203]

Thanks for all the options for activating biochar and the entertaining video. Sorry there are some negative comments here. Don't let that discourage you. I enjoy your videos.

[@robinrawle5909]

We've found mixing charcoal with well rotted horse manure and adding the liquor from the dung heap works really well. It's one of many methods, some more technical than others. Whatever your method, biochar is wonderful stuff.

[@Partysize2]

I don't get all of the biochar excitement. Plants get their carbon from CO2 in the air, not from the soil. Tell me why horse manure and dung heap liquor isn't all that is needed along with water and a host of other trace minerals, none of which are carbon. It's probably illegal to make biochar in CA, because of the terpines and smoke which pollute the air. Someone please explain the biochemistry of why biochar is a solution to anything, really. I'm not trying to be a put-down artist but I really haven't seen any good scientific explanation that supports biochar.

[@abaddon2148]

@@Partysize2 biochar's carbon isn't for the plants, it's for the microorganisms living in the soil such as mycorrhizae. correct use of biochar promotes microorganism growth, which increases plant health and yields. biochar is also one of the easiest ways to store carbon for long periods of time, meaning it's great for the environment, probably THE MOST environmentally beneficial fertilizer out there. california wants to PROMOTE the making of biochar. you obviously do not understand the concept of biochar dude

[@Partysize2]

@@abaddon2148 Thanks for the info. I was just asking and you seem to know the details. What about the smoky fire I see in making it? I have a farm and any burning needs permits (plus money to get one) in CA. It seems the air environment overrules the soil in this case. Tell me what you know about the air pollution and how to deal with it. Seems to me the terpenes in the wood wood be real polluters if not burned properly. Just making a fire and burning wood leaves a lot of stuff in the air. Is this ok with the CA regulators in this case?

[@shyjuhcu]

​@@Partysize2

[@LMBrown3900]

@@Partysize2 Basically your problem is that you live in CA dude. Apparently, unlike CA, it isn't "known" to the rest of the world that everything under the sun causes medical or other problems. It continues to amaze me that people, especially an organic farmer, would continue to live there with politicians making your farming decisions for you.

[@jaybestnz]

1. Balance pH 2. Balance Nitrogen 3. Increase Cat-Ion exchange. methods 1. Mix half with grass clippings leave covered with cardboard for 3 months 2. Mix half with worm castings and half a kilo of flour. mix well, wait 2 - 8 weeks to activate 3. Throw biochar onto chicken coop, with plant, and cornmeal. Harvest 1x a year 4. Urinate into the biochar, and leave. 5. 1 part biochar, 1 part worm castings, one part rock powder, less than a half part flour.

[@DuckhavenOamaru]

😊 just enjoying watching you guys get in there with your hands and mixing everything together and listening to the analogies... great stuff. I'm gonna get out there and mix stuff up for my garden 😊

[@JohnWKerr]

A new idea I've had since learning a little more about biochar: "activation paths". Line the paths between beds with some landscape fabric. Fill the trench with a mix of biochar, rock dust, and flour. Top that with grass clippings. As time goes by walking down the paths will compact the mix. Once the compaction gets to the "right level", refill the paths with the paths with the biochar mix. "Harvest" the results by pulling up the landscape fabric and activated biochar. This turns otherwise dead space in the garden into a carbon sequestration area that will produce excellent potting soil, soil amendment, and/or mulch. Just a thought.

[@helentc]

Excellent idea

[@hillbillyhullabaloo]

That's a ridiculous effort. Innovative, just not reasonable.

[@arlenevega7094]

I am going to try your idea, I was just thinking about what to do with the paths be my garden beds... 👍

[@arlenevega7094]

Thank you for sharing

[@anajinn]

A good idea for someone like me who has a standing compost bin and two tumblers, but no more space for a pile. I don't have grass clippings though.

[@johnndavis7647]

Folks are missing the point. The carbon needs to be charged with organics before adding it to the soil. Such as using it to filter fish tanks for a while before working it into the soil. If you just put it in the soil without charging it, it will take away from the soil until it is charged. Even so, if you already have great soil adding biochar wont make much difference. Adding precharged biochar to poor soul will make a big difference. Thanks for all you do, John John Davis

[@jamesdavis2354]

John I added bio char to the garden I had over 30 years. No improvement. I added it on some land I bought and It greatly improved it. If you got good soil keep it. Thanks for your comment.

[@1rstjames]

@@jamesdavis2354 Do you think it's worth starting a small biochar venture on site based on your findings? I'm thinking of crushing biochar, mixing it with humus and other organic material, feed it to Black Soldier Flies, then feed that byproduct to Red Wigglers, to further break down the BSF compost and un-digested materials, and pasteurize the BSF compost. In my mind, it seams like using biochar in this manner will naturally charge the material. Red Wigglers LOVE BSF byproduct, and further break down their material. And BSF's are super efficient and speedy at rapid matter breakdown. I think a combination of used straw from chicken/pig/rabbit pens, added in the right levels with biochar and mycelium...sounds like it would be a great mix.

[@jamesdavis2354]

Raphael. That is worth the test. Sounds like a lot of mix in the char. I don't know enough to answer what that would be like. I have a friend that mixes it in with chicken, and rabbit waste. He has great results. I like your worm idea I would use dead tree mushrooms for the mycelium from editable mushrooms. Good luck, let me know how it works. PS I did use the house flies from my fly catcher mixed with char. I grew 10 foot okra stalks..LOL

[@1rstjames]

@@jamesdavis2354 Yes! Worms love mycelium and bsf byproduct. Have to keep studying to find the right mix. I'm looking into starting exploring in my little apt to see what works before scaling up. One day at a time.

[@katherinebonkowski8925]

Can you explain how this 'charged' works? Is it not adding to the soil as well, well the needed carbon that the plants need?

[@questforbalance]

My husband makes charcoal for me to use in our garden. I use the raw char for mulch. Because it doesn't break down. So I don't have to replace my mulch all the time. Of coarse I have made the biochar and worked that into my potting soil for a light weight drainage helper, along with all the other benefits... very awesome.

[@JesseMiller-x4s]

But, wood chips are good as they break down... they amend your soil over time.

[@izzzzzz6]

Don't you just love the way all schools taught us priceless information like this :D Keep up the good work guys.

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

School only teach you how to be an employee

[@ragnaraxelson59]

Did you learn how to learn?

[@brunowelsh5421]

Great video. It answered a lot of bio-char questions that often remain unanswered. Great work!

[@samnelson4975]

When I worked in the edumacation biz I discovered that there were 2 basic approaches--make the complex simple or make the simple complex. These guys do the latter.

[@JesseMiller-x4s]

Your grasp of the English language leads me to believe that you have no idea what you're talking about.

[@williamalston4660]

this also was a great video... this answered a lot of my questions that i have had on biochar... please never stop making these videos, they are a special learning tool to helping people understand great gardening and why everyone should be do this from the start, especially growing their own foods and creating resources for the future... i am teaching and starting workshop on these subjects, helping people understand the important reasons for using and learning these things... your videos help supply most of the answers to questions that are asked everyday, so i refer them to your videos and your youtube site for better understanding... thanks for changing my life and all the people i know follow you here, thanks again helping find this path to a better life and future... from all of us here in spokane valley, washington state and me (william) please keep growing your greens... thanks william.

[@malafarma7730]

I should have gone to comments first. This guy loves to hear his voice.

[@TheEarthCreature]

Thanks a lot John. This was a good explanation that I am glad I ran into before I tried this out.

[@natecus4926]

We use the chicken technique, they do an awesome job of covering it with nutrients. We clean it all out after winter and add everything to the compost pile. Then let it sit until we are planting. It has worked really well at keeping smells down, utilizing another waste product(we make charcoal from sawdust from a local mill), and it’s awesome at retaining moisture and nutrients

[@JesseMiller-x4s]

Cool.. i'll get some chickens... from somewhere...

[@SmithJohnZ]

I would like to see some methodology here like making accurate measurement about the soil before and after.

[@fatboysfarm3607]

So happy you did this one John. I am so tired of the naysayers trying to contradict all of the great gardening practices you bring to our attention. ( you know who you are ) I will be doing some Biochar tests this year with some super inoculated Biochar at ( fatboys farm ) "A Different Kind Of Biochar Test" . I have 4 different batches with slightly different inoculants. Not sure what is going to happen. But I can not wait to get started, and I will be posting updates throughout the season. Good or bad, I am looking for the perfect Biochar mix if there is one.

[@vitali-opal-and-gem]

What where the results?

[@fatboysfarm3607]

@@vitali-opal-and-gem Peruvian Seabird Guano worked the best.

[@vitali-opal-and-gem]

Thanks for your reply

[@glen.simpson]

@@fatboysfarm3607 this was all 7 years ago.....are you still using biochar, and any observations?

[@fatboysfarm3607]

@@glen.simpson I used Dr. Earth the past two years because I am going to start rebuilding and rearranging all of my beds in 2023. As I rebuild and refill the new beds. I will be using the Peruvian Sea Bird Guano mix. I will be adding that at a rate of 10% to the raised bed soil mix. ( Every 10 gallons of soil mix, gets 1 gallon of Bio Char added to it. ) I had amazing results with this mix along with Boogie Brew or some other compost tea used once weekly. I got tired of editing the videos, so I really don't have any good results on tape. Good Luck

[@sum1t0m0]

Just one question john , isn't it easier just to mix the bio char to my tumbler compost bin?

[@rufia75]

lmao probably

[@davidbrieske6148]

That's what I do. It has plenty of nitrogen and urine, and sits for months. If my bio char isn't activated by then...

[@southerntexashomestead5028]

Everytime I watch your videos I learn new things that improve my garden, farm and life. Thanks

[@seashell12932]

dude that biochar cat cruising by is the cutest thing i ever saw

[@bmzaron713]

One of the best videos I've ever watched

[@SkillCult]

I keep getting comments on my channel of people saying that you say biochar doesn't work. It's because of these borderline clickbait titles about biochar not working. They aren't watching the videos through or aren't watching them at all. Just FYI.

[@mihaiilie8808]

Ive seen it first on your channel but here there are somme great advices like using mollases .Il use just plain sugar or alcohol or vinegar to add a carbon source for bacteria. Its a bit crazy thogh to add a carbon source to charcoal.

[@pierre-oliviercomeau5277]

Well to be honest, studies haven't proven that it increases yields in temperate soils

[@katjoy9921]

Great video and great timing for me as I recently got some inactivated biochar. Well put together and good explanation.

[@devakicasey5448]

Very cool. Nice work guys. I’m a northern California native and 4 years ago the land I get to call home was about 90% burned in a wildfire, leaving close to 900 acres of oak, madrone, fir, pine, etc of what I now believe is inactive biochar...would that be right?? I’m curious if so and also if there’s a time limit on activating it from its first stage. Love to hear from you and thank you for your stewardship and great attitudes!💛

[@annak804]

No real time limit for it but some of it will be naturally activated

[@micahlantz905]

If it was completely burned with being rained on to smother out the fire to leave charcoal, then it is only ashes and that will also fertilize the land, it's just probably not biochar. Just fertile land from all the ashes. Makes sense?

[@abaddon2148]

some of it probably is biochar but most of it is likely ash. still great fertilizer that promotes forest regrowth after a devastating event, but not biochar.

[@MissMeganBeckett]

Some might be biochar if it was an out of control wildfire that was causing it’s own wind while it was burning, because that means it was consuming all of the oxygen in the area as it was burning, and I don’t think there’s any time limitations for the activating of biochar, especially because it should be able to stay the same in the soil for something like a hundred years if it was burned at or above 600°C and in the absence of oxygen to produce a true biochar. I hope you are successful in revitalizing your property, fireweed and other first colonizing plant species of wildflowers are very pretty and can grow in areas that have been recently burned and by growing and dying and being left in place they can introduce some new plant materials back into the soil so that it can begin growing things again, maybe look into different similar plants that are native to your area.

[@ing.jorgegutierrezmunoz4704]

Excellent..!! All the information you share is surprising .. !! Thank you and I hope you reap many successes .. !!

[@Enrique_Calero]

9:06 Cat already activated

[@stephown5374]

If you have a smoker or know anyone who uses a smoker, the wood they use comes out as biochar. Although a small amount at a time, can be used in your garden. The types of wood that are used are clean as it is made for use with food.

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

At 3:25 you are mistaking cation exchange with electronegativity which creates hydrophobic conditions where sun dried soil takes time to be able to absorb water. Cation exchange is better thought of as a train station for nutrients. The passengers come from everywhere to collect at the train station and wait there for the trains, then leave on the trains. Nutrients are the passengers and roots are the trains.

[@JosiahHunt]

+Natural Ponds Lakes & Streams by Spring Creek Aquatic Concepts This is great, thank you!

[@Hakkeholt]

I agree, just putting it into the soil doesn't really make sense, except that it can prevent some elements from flowing to a nearby river. As a farmer I have lots of cow manure, and easily it's put in the cow beddings, then it will move anyway into the manure pit, then it's mixed with the manure and later injected into the soil, it saves a lot of ammonia emission and fume...

[@deflatermouse9948]

Hi John, longtime viewer here, I love your work, thank you! Could you just add biochar to your compost to activate it? then when your compost is ready, it would also contain activated biochar?

[@josephthomason447]

Sorry you had to wait a year for your answer, but yes, this is exactly what you want to do. If you stick regular biochar in the ground, it's actually going to suck up nutrients and beneficial microbes out of your soil for storage, but if it's already "full," it will instead provide that storage to the soil.

[@ochiengjackson4]

@@josephthomason447 great. Lesson and we really need this in our çountry Uganda, God bless you dear

[@josephthomason447]

@@ochiengjackson4 Of course, always glad to help. Biochar is definitely one of the best and easiest things to do for soil, and that charcoal will stay stable in the soil for hundreds of years. The cheapest way to charge biochar would be to soak it in diluted animal urine for about two weeks (humans are animals, wink), or mix it in with compost for two weeks. I recommend David the Good's video: "Recreating Terra Preta" for an easy way to do a full garden bed. Another topic you might be interested in is "Korean Natural Farming" methods, these guys garden with as few industrial inputs as possible, they make their own fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides, their climate is very different, but their techniques are very useful in places where industrial resources are limited.

[@anajinn]

@@josephthomason447 thanks for making this clear

[@HawaiiLimey]

I'm moving from South Kona to Fern Forest. Clearing out a huge amount of invasive guava which I'm turning to charcoal and biochar. This was a great video, thank you so much, Aloha.

[@bobbiejofouts1708]

Ash is super-alkalizing. I know biochar is different, but is there any concern about over-alkalizing the soil using biochar or a biochar mix?

[@dwwolf4636]

Typically not a problem in red soil locations. But the application rate is typically only a couple of % in poor soils.

[@jodyjnlv]

Great video loaded with info and humor I enjoy all your output man thanks for sharing

[@cherylstraub5970]

The prairie in the midwest originally was burned every three years by either lightning strikes or native tribes for thousands of years. The top soil was in some places 6 feet thick when europeans started to plow it and still is black in color. Amazing stuff.

[@MrOhgoodgolly]

Cheryl Straub I recall reading that when the white men first got to the plains, they could work their bare hand down into the soil to their shoulder.

[@cherylstraub5970]

Actually they couldn't. The prairie was so thick that a new type of plow had to be invented to break the soil.

[@MrOhgoodgolly]

Cheryl Straub I thought they a made the big plows about a century later, after depleting the top several feet of the top soil.

[@cherylstraub5970]

John Deere In 1837, John Deere developed and marketed the world's first self-polishing cast steel plow. The large plows made for cutting the tough American prairie ground were called "grasshopper plows." Before 1850, the great mid-continental grasslands stretched from southern Wisconsin to western Montana, from central Texas to Canada. In wet periods the tall grasses of the eastern edge of the prairie might advance deeper into the midgrass territory. In years of drought the hardier short grasses, which extended all the way to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, might expand their range to the east.

[@scrubjay93]

***** Don't do that Justin--sunflower seed shells actually contain substances that inhibit the growth of other plants! :) google it

[@tiggywink1]

If biochar is not activated, it will absorb the minerals out of your soil....Let it activate as long as you can. It becomes a supercharged mass of life! Your vid is great info!

[@anajinn]

Thanks for explaining it in this way. Perhaps I should not use it in my beds the first year, but put it into my compost. I say "the first year" because I have only just heard about it because I am a new grower.

[@tiggywink1]

@@anajinn I seasoned it only a few months and Kaboom! It was ready...Plant growth and health and no insect predation has me sold....The flour feeds the myko well. Id do some this year when it is seasoned... Would be nice to have victory the first year.....

[@ThePoehladian]

Negative people are a trip. They ALWAYS project their weaknesses onto others to feel better about their ego (which isn't the real "them" at all.) ⚡

[@1mtstewart]

Cation Exchange Capacity is like a pipe for ions to move through. Cations are molecules like iron Fe++, Phosphorous", Calcium++, Magnesium Mg+, etc... recognize the fertility components from fertilizers? Sure you do. The ability for a soil to allow the transport of these Cations is measure by its Cation Exchange Capacity. It is similar to adding sand or gypsum to clay soils to increase the peculation or drainage of water through the soil. Bio-char has structures that are like honeycombs. these honeycombs provide pore spaces and places for storage for nutrients and soil organisms. When some people add raw, inactivated biochar initially, they may have a set back in yield. this is because the inactivated biochar may absorb some nitrogen and make it unavailable to the plants for a while. so activate the bio-char before applying it with worm castings or nitrogen rich compost. Great video John. This is a valuable input and easily manufactured by land owners with DIY savvy. Thank you.

[@ruthwilliamson862]

In my area, the available free resource is spent coffee grounds--John, do you think I can mix that in as an activator?

[@TheRainHarvester]

Did you ever find out?

[@fredschuttenbeld4571]

Hey John, great video. When people say biochar doesn't work or make it worse, make me think of what happened to me ones. An arborist was cutting down a big tree in my neighbors yard and spilled a lot of wood chips on my lawn. I joked and said to the arborist "are you going to clean that up?" He told me then that it was good for the grass. I disagreed with his statement and had to correct him. In order it to be good for the grass it needs to decompose first. For decomposition you need a balance of carbon and nitrogen. Since wood chips are mainly carbon, it will suck nitrogen out of the grass (mainly nitrogen). So your grass will do worse if not die. Biochar is even an higher carbon source then woodchips so it need even more nitrogen (like the pee). A good side effect of charcoal is that it absorbs chemicals very well (like your water purification system). It then can be taken up by microbes and plants from that. Since biochar doesn't degrade, it can do it's job (holding on to nutrients from organic decomposition, so it doesn't wash out) for a very very long time (some say for thousands of years).

[@JesseMiller-x4s]

So... are you saying that the arborist was correct?

[@fredschuttenbeld4571]

@user-fy9mj5nm7i no, he was incorrect. If I buck firewood in my backyard on a grass area, I'll covert the grass with tarp before I start bucking. Or if I spill some woodchips on my grass, I'll suck it up with the shop vacuum. My wife made one's fun of me doing that, and told her her friend. Turned out her friends husband is a licensed landscaper and does the same thing (with the vacuum). Put the woodchips in the compost pile or as ground covering for walking paths (this is what I do with it)

[@JesseMiller-x4s]

@@fredschuttenbeld4571 Nitrogen can wash out of everything... But, yeah, wood chips are only good for mulch until they decompose. They'll just smother your grass just like weeds.

[@CherylHillier]

Also, in the same way as you are keeping odours down in your chicken coop - it sounds like it would be ideal in composting toilets combining methods three and four, and making composting toilets more palatable for the uninitiated, although I've been wanting to make home methane from that... :O)

[@veryannoyingname]

Look up gobar gas toilets. Been used in India for decades!

[@jimsmij]

The biochar debate continues. Fantastic discussion further down in the comments! Thanks, as always, John for sharing your video.

[@izzzzzz6]

I was waiting for you guys to start mixing the pee bucket by hand :D

[@phiksit]

#4 ...piss on your char... #5 ...drop a deuce on your char :-D Oh wait, that would be #6

[@emmwen4549]

LMAO!

[@doloresreynolds8145]

Had to laugh when he said: Ok, here is how you activate your char with pee. Number 1,……………..

[@wienerdogracing5980]

Bob and Doug McKenzie show us how to charge biochar at night. Awesome! Both informative and entertaining.

[@CherylHillier]

Hey, recently learned about routine use of Glyphosates as ripening agent on wheat crops - I am thinking this could be the cause for our increasing intolerance to wheat - it is an inti-biotic too, so I wouldn't personally be wanting to add that stuff to my soil if we are wanting a healthy microbial party going on.

[@glen.simpson]

the problems are much deeper than just more people being wheat intolerant. In my yearbook from the 80's only 2 out of 1200 kids was autistic. Now, 1 in 40 is, and 60 percent of the population has some sort of chronic illness.

[@ragheadand420roll]

Use organic Like u shud always use anyway

[@nophdcoyote3635]

It would make sense that it kills your gut Flora

[@islandgirl637]

Are you referring to the O organics brand flour?

[@_TheGoob]

You're right. It seems to be causing many issues, but it definitely kills bacteria in your gut, and causes wheat intolerance.

[@crabtrap]

its not that i feel like you're on Mushrooms when you filmed this; its more i feel like I'M on mushrooms after watching it.

[@TheLastLogicalOne]

John, perhaps you could do some field trials, though you may not have the room. I'm sure all your subscribers including myself would like to see the results.

[@AlbertaUrbanGarden]

TheLastLogicalOne We would love it John would join OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening and my trials testing both Biochar and Rock Dust.

[@slickism1]

***** This would be great

[@AlbertaUrbanGarden]

I agree :)

[@saintmichael2759]

Depends on where you live, if there is occasional high to moderate wind and lots of Granite or Basalt where you live, you may have the right rock dust in your yard already. Just scoop it right off an upper layer of untampered earth. when i add this to my organic compost mixes, the difference in plant growth is substantial. But I do recommend checking the dust in your area before buying a $18.99 bag of dirt from a company. Yours might even be better.

[@tallioegian]

A field trial comparing charcoal to 'innoculated' charcoal. More than one type of plant would be better.

[@MariaPerez-ke8cx]

Thank you. I am in South Florida. I need to build my soil this will help me with the process.

[@richstone2627]

Thanks John. Unlike some of the cry babies below I watched the whole video and do same for all of your videos.

[@brennaneaton4734]

that was rich MR. stone

[@richstone2627]

@@brennaneaton4734 Looking for trouble punk? I suggest you troll someone else.

[@Elfunko99x]

Another amazing video. I'm gonna have to buy some t-shirts to give back for all this education I'm getting on your channel. This vid, the one on rock dust, holy moly. It's funny some complain the video is long or people talk, lol, as if they would have taken the time to learn it themselves and now complain about learning it through video and voice explanation. Some people just can never be happy. Lol, luckily that aint me, I dig the long scientific explanations and will be a much better farmer because of it. Now I just gotta source materials and build a way to make the sufficient charcoal. Thanks John!

[@saranlynus]

What is Rock Powder (on final method) ? and Worm casting mean by vermicompost ?

[@-Atmos1]

awesome...i've used wood ash on fruit trees for years & the results are good,but this is new to me...nice one guys....

[@haylspa]

your also putting in nitrates! last method of cores (pee-ing on it) this is a method old timers from 16th 18th century could use to make gun powder! for example if you dig a whole and put your grass and other compost waist in and pee on it keep it covered you will have some of the most dense micro and mineral dense amendments you could ever want and super nitrate dense!!!!! which is one of the main minerals your plants need!

[@robertfox292]

Just an fyi.....urine is NOT sterile as we have always been taught but can contain pathogens. Animal and even human waste can be used as fertilizer but needs to be composted first. I have read that human waste should be composted for at least a year before use (...and even then i would be very reluctant to use it on food crops).

[@uptownscenery9175]

You can just buy 100% hardwood lump charcoal ( I get the red bag) from any grocery store or Walmart it's basically big pieces of biochar and only needs to be crushed and activated with microbes. It probably cheaper than a bag that says biochar, your paying for the name and hype of biochar

[@jamesbelkin9204]

I the idea to try it out but wasn't sure. You've had success doing this?

[@abraham3901]

To activate , Can i add biochar into Jora composter right about when composed is ready? Then tumble it around every other day for about two weeks or so , then use as needed? Thanks

[@LanaMuckraker]

Saying biochar isn't a necessary element is fine. Some farming methods have traditionally used a similar practice, some haven't. However, we have a survival necessity to transition from fossil fuels asap. And fossil fuels are a big component of synthetic fertilizer, so while biochar might not always be the perfect solution, if they can help the transition, i'm in.

[@victoriarogers9180]

Thank you! Great episode! Will order!

[@frithar]

I was a thumbs down until you peed. I laughed so hard that my thumb hit the up.

[@kieykieymama95]

What should I do to activate the charcoal if I accidentally already sprinkled it in half of my soil?

[@moealsharif13]

Hi John, great fan of your videos and message in general. I have a question, I've been adding my fireplace ashes (no artificial logs) the compost pile. Is this is the same thing as Biochar? And if so then I am assuming having it in the compost pile will activate it. Is that correct?

[@SantoshK.Mangalore]

The charcoal in the fireplace ash is the biochar which needs to be 'activated'.

[@joenjesscerda9261]

What do yall think about using sea 90 to mineralize biochar ?

[@MatanuskaHIGH]

you need Nitrogen in high amounts to activate the bio char..the grass clippings alone wouldn't compost nearly as well as adding carbon to it..bio char or any carbon source like wood chips will help activate the composting of high nitrogen compost sources such as grass clippings or leaves..

[@glen.simpson]

urine is real high in N and has acidity to balance the natural alkalinity of the biochar.

[@markorourke5901]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing, can you put the same mix in water to activate it? I have seen it done that way too.

[@kathytrahan6584]

*****DON"T PEE ON ANY FORM OF GARDEN ADDITIVES IF ON MEDS****!!!!!!!

[@ThePoehladian]

If your liver is functioning, then pee is the best nutrient rich distilled water known to man. Don't waste it. Drink it 😀

[@timsumrall6782]

Composting will rip complex molecules to shreds.

[@self-issuedcurrency]

Can biochar be inoculated by throwing it into a dirty pond for a couple of weeks? If so, that could clean the pond at the same time! Maybe put it into a mesh bag with a couple of empty plastic bottles (so it floats) and let the wind blow it around?

[@greenmarcosu]

9:05 Cat video bomb. Awesome informational video!

[@pharmerdavid1432]

I'm getting one of those big hotel pans, and start making biochar in my fireplace. Coconut shells aren't easily available here in Oregon, but nut shells are, sometimes sold for mulch, but I'm sure they will make great biochar too. Making it outdoors in a pit creates a large amount of smoke, which my neighbors wouldn't appreciate, but in the fireplace the smoke-fumes are ingnited as they get released, for a clean burn while charring. I've been doing permaculture with hugels, but for fertilizing from above, biochar seems to be the best addition to my usual compost teas. I already use kelp and seaweed, molasses, worm castings, fish (sardines!), etc., but I understand now how important biochar is. Thanks to both of you guys for one of the most valuable gardening videos I've seen in awhile.....!!

[@omniXenderman]

OMG 3RD!!!!!! LOVE YOUR VIDS/NOTICE ME SENPAI!!!

[@reversingthrulife]

+Jimb X

[@johnndavis7647]

It takes time for charcoal to naturally charge the charcoal. Using it in a fish pond filter is one good way of doing it. One other thing. If youve already got great soil you may not see any great improvement in the production. It cant hurt if you precharge the charcoal.

[@duffland_au]

You guys are right. We started building the largest bio char facility in Australia (maybe the world). Come and visit. Have many great Soil Guru's for you to meet.. Graeme Sait... Dr. Elaine Ingham.. and more. Come for a tour Down under. We are about to revolutionize Agriculture down here..X)

[@DavidKing325]

Where?

[@quad55555]

@@DavidKing325 yeah Australia is a little vague where more specifically besides Australia.. it is pretty big

[@Aussiehomestead1965]

3 years later...did we achieve that..?

[@dystopiagear6999]

The problem with people trying to get rich off biochar is that it just doesn't make sense on a large scale. If you've got tons of it and you're trying to ship it all over, you will either have to charge so much that no one will buy it or you will quickly go broke from the shipping costs alone. Lots of people have already gone out of business trying to shoehorn something so simple into the standard capitalist model of "more more more, let's be the biggest and make a million dollars!" It really only works as a business on a small scale like each community having a modest plant that produces just enough to be sold within about 50 miles of where its made.

[@helenredding4100]

You want to make sure the grass clippings are chemical free right?

[@4telescopes958]

I live in the Amazon where you will find the biggest reserve with biochar, and the reason why it doesn't work for you is because you don't know the Indian technique to make it. Matter of fact, nobody knows. Even me (an Indian descendant). When you see the massive reserves we have and how fertile they are youll change your mind.

[@TheRainHarvester]

I think much of that fertile ground is because it hadn't been tilled in decades. No till method.

[@mikenovember5884]

@@TheRainHarvester no tilling no destruction of the extensive subterranean almost single organism made up of Mycorrhizal fungi and bacterium. You break that soil up without knowing how dig in you can kill hundreds of square miles of it. I believe the key/ technique was in the way they lived and treated the land in and possibly had either a frequency running through it or had a small electric currents running through it or different enzymes to make other work

[@schlafin]

I got excited when he said the (3rd?) mixture colonized with mycelium. That's pretty cool.

[@rompelstompel2987]

Sheldon Cooper and Will Ferrell

[@marlonmopon3033]

Very nice info about biochar..God bless bro. Keep up the good work.

[@Moostery]

"Biochar" Hmm. Basically all it is, is composting and using pure carbon for your carbon source and grass trimmings for nitrogen.

[@deathbyastonishment7930]

Robert Briggs mostly, but the charcoal does more then act as a carbon source. It improves soil structure and water holding capacity.

[@maituub]

Not at all, you can put fresh biochar into a starting compost pile to inoculate the biochar while the pile is composting, but you can't count the C of biochar as a carbon source for the composting process. It is recalcitrant carbon that'll go's into the soil for centuries.

[@southbeachmiamiart895]

True, and researchers, only recently, discovered that plants highly thrives on vitamin c. Don't know why that would take so long to realize.

[@billclinton6040]

@Moose I downvoted your comment because biochar IS NOT a carbon source nor compost for plants. Recalcitrant carbon it is a form of carbon sequestration and will persist in the soil for hundreds and potentially thousands of years without decomposing or plants taking it up in their roots. Plants source carbon from the air via photosynthesis, not the soil. Thus biochar is completely different from other soil amendments like compost which can get used up by plants in a single growing season. Also, composted grass trimmings are very low in nitrogen and carbon since most of it escapes as CO2 and NOx during the composting process.

[@nikosvithoulkas180]

@@billclinton6040 Nice one Bill. Still the best

[@tommyderthomas]

thanks a lot for that video john, I've learned a lot in the last40 minutes

[@brennaneaton4734]

Soooo many chances to really explain the science behind things....like adding molasses for instance, why? Well because its the food for the microbs, carbohydrates are the food, and there are many ways to get them. But not just any molasses right? Make sure you tell them to get molasses with no sulfur in it, "like black strap". Dont want the sulfur to kill of your bacteria do we? Good video, great to be sharing, but would be even more impactful if you actually taught people why, not just how.

[@AwesomeK285]

Does any know why my bioc char smell sour and had something look like white mold on top, and I wonder if I could still use it in my garden? About a month ago I burned wood to make charcoal, then I inoculated in a 5 gallon bucket with 1/2 charcoal 1/2 (cow manure and worm casting), added some flour and water, and covered. Now some bucket are watery and smell sour, one with some look like white mold on top. I wonder if they still useful to use in the garden or should I threw away. Not sure if it was because I covered it and no air circulation that cause the problem. Can I still use them and does that cause any health concern? Thanks in advance

[@kindterps5593]

i would still consider trying it on a few plants (KNF) Korea natural farming uses a lot of fermented and anaerobic methods

I just pee an my char while its still hot from the barrel.

[@ValueYourTimeOnEarth]

lヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ノ don’t forget to shit on top of the bio char to add microbes and other micro nutrients found only in shit. Urine is sterile and does not have as much nutrients as pure unadulterated human shit. 😂

[@johnappleyard1244]

That smells gross.

[@davidbarnhart6228]

@@ValueYourTimeOnEarth 😂😂😂😂 What da shit?!

[@johnbladykas4454]

Thanks John for sharing. Do more on this subject