Using pistachio shells to fight drought

[@go-ek7sg]

I need a 1 hour version of this story instead of 3 min.

[@martinwinther6013]

Look into bio-char in general.

[@Catmemegod]

At least you know what to look up now!

[@go-ek7sg]

I’ve actually been watching all kinds of videos on youtube about biochar and making my own in the wood stove for few years. Series by Living Web Farms was awesome and I also like watching Edible Acres videos. I find lots of individual and small scale experimental projects using biochar but I will love to see how much of these are implemented on an industrial/commercial scale. Thanks anyway.

[@MISNM0]

Agreed 💯

[@mattriegler]

Absofuckinglutely

[@more__plz]

Bio char is something I’ve used to amend soil in my gardens in Colorado for many many years, I’m glad he is getting the data and benefits info to farmers

[@sandy_sd10]

Sweet quick question about bio char is nitrogen in it?

[@michaelfoort2592]

The potential for soil innovation has barely been scratched

[@Isaacmantx]

My grandparents shelled pecans for a few decades. Looking back, those shells would have made an excellent biochar similar to this.

[@3Kings_Industries]

My grand dad used the pecan shell for his BBQ, and then dropped the char into his flowerbeds. His gardens were scores better than any of his neighbors. Secret unlocked.

[@christopherleblanc9599]

i like the use of nut shells as bio-char, in that they take so long to break down naturally , this makes them available as soon as it applied, added that bio-char can be inoculated to form a living soil amendment . it seems a great end use for what was a waste material or simply burned in incinerators and buried in land fills

[@ngana8755]

1:49 min: biochar treated soil has 23% more moisture than soil that has not been treated with biochar.

[@jillionairess]

i bought Wakefield Biochar Compost from Walmart this spring. i had idea what biochar was but i got more tomatoes, chiles and cucumbers from my garden this year than ever before. i will never not use it again!

[@maryperry1773]

I love pistachios. I have made a “pistachio path” in my yard of pistachio shells. Glad to see this.

[@theck672]

Love this… thank you for covering this important issue.

[@guest6423]

Of all nuts, those are said to be the angriest. They're pist'.

[@CIAVERMONT]

Someone let dad on the internet again.

[@finnmcginn9931]

As a dad I will be borrowing that.

[@levmoses742]

I’ve always wondered and imagine it takes years to break down those shells. Love it! Love reuse! ♻️

[@thatguychris5654]

As a colliar of 25+ years, I will tell you: Biochar is NOT the fancy name for charcoal! - Charcoal is raw carbon nuggets. - Biochar is charcoal that absorbed nutrients, water and microbiology to create a living sponge that benefits root systems, soil biology, and anti compaction. It's like saying a Ferrari is a fancy name for a Toyota lol Now go a step further, create terra preta by adding terracotta pieces and manure in a pit. The fertility will outlast our lifetime (search Amazonian terra preta).

[@Dysiode]

Interesting! Is it more than activated charcoal too? I'd love for us to use more sustainable (and less labor intensive!) methods like terra preta or water bunds that also just plain work better than what we've come up with today

[@georgewashington7829]

But Toyota's are the work horse just like biochar no?

[@johnlee7164]

​@@georgewashington7829exactly, strange to use that metaphor, since Ferraris are useless luxury vehicles.

[@tonysu8860]

Well, correcting your correction. Biochar is not itself living, it's what remains when every bit of flammable material has been burned away leaving only the carbon based framework which serves as an excellent holder for water and microbial organisms plants love for their symbiotic functionality. In other words, biochar is a great component supporting a living soil of beneficial bacteria, viruses and small animal life that plant roots live

[@srl2634]

A study of the Olmec people talk about the use of tera preta I think I remember. 🤔

[@RandyZimmerman-pp5wj]

I love your calm trying to save the farm and the world by accident

[@verified.my2cents]

Science at work. Salute.

[@DoItYourselfGardening]

I focus in the worm poo side of this and feel it also is a great way to do the same process.. I have a lot of work to do but the ability of worm castings whether they’re dry or even wet already to absorb water and retain it even under stress is amazing to me and these along with fruit peels and bio polymer type stuff is very cool.. can’t wait to see how much better it all gets day by day!!!

[@Technoanima]

Why not both?

[@TasteTheRambo]

"40,000 years of agricultural science and we've barely tapped the vastness of soil retention potential." -The Green Thumb Goblin

[@skygh]

I assumed someone had already come up with that machine. I had clay soil brought in with no organic material I had aerated which I followed by raking in sawdust to replace the plugs all the while imagining a machine that would fill the holes with something organic and again I am late to the party. Bio char seems to be a game changer

[@colleenpeterson5290]

Very interesting, clearly explained. Thanks!

[@intellectualiconoclasm3264]

On top of that, each granule becomes its own microbial reservoir. That means a richer soil biome and a ready and robust colony to race out into the soil.

[@Sjalabais]

Enthusiastic presentation.

[@IslandGirl40]

Very fascinating. Thanks for sharing this. 👍

[@yolo_burrito]

There was a company making a product that was biochar put under chicken coops then sold as natural turf fertilizer. It was fantastic

[@finnmcginn9931]

Is it no longer sold?

[@yolo_burrito]

@ the brand I was getting went out of business.

[@lauriaktahi]

he didnt mention the inoculation of the biochar. And he didnt point out that aerating the soil also lets more nitrogen in. our atmosphere is about 72% nitrogen.

[@lisascenic]

Fascinating! Thank you.

[@suzyq3746]

Very interesting, there is so much more to discover out there.

[@nannerz1994]

I barely understood this but it sounds really really cool kudos to these guys

[@robsin2810]

What a great idea.🙏🇦🇺👍

[@MM-sf3rl]

Thank god for the scientists.

[@etx8920]

Ive been doing this with my trees for years. I was called crazy but now look 😅 i must still be crazy 😂

[@dennismorris7573]

Excellent.

[@JXZ-JAM]

It's nice to finally see CSU (and its corporate financers) embracing, researching and accepting the science and these resulting management practices when not even less then 40 years ago they were demonizing and chasing its pioneers like Dr. Elaine Ingham and similar people out of the university. Go RAMS.

[@scottprather5645]

Very interesting

[@JoseMartinez-df2db]

I use pistachio shells in my soil! I noticed I didn’t need to water my plants as often.

[@customer5032]

Do you crush them or compost them whole? Thanks!

[@NanayLV]

Less Politicians, More Scientists!♻️

[@haha20042003]

Well does he do the aeration on the other field without the biochar. Because I’m sure the holes let more water into the ground.

[@centurione6489]

Farmers are the new rocket scientists 🤯

[@marcomendoza2879]

This was really cool!

[@drb996]

Oh wow, who would have thought not stripping the soil of all it's vegetation would help with water retention and thus increasing yields.

[@alexrapada]

This guy knows his data.

[@katherineking3174]

Sooo excellent!!!

[@christinaburney5935]

Biochar is why we have the Amazon rain forest. It has several feet of biochar. People have been taking soil from the rainforest for farming. They don't bother to just make more themselves.

[@ThomasBensler]

and not to mention, biochar ist carbon no longer being in the atmosphere

[@DemPilafian]

Do we know for certain that the soil benefits are from the pistachio shells and not the broken off fingernails?

[@Andbygrace7024]

Incredible 😊

[@lancepounds788]

Cool story, this looks like an interesting job

[@pleasureincontempt3645]

It’s rough and not a complete story. Have you ever worked? Nothing is clean and simple. You’ll start as a hand.

[@lanaschattschneider5988]

Awesome

[@tonysu8860]

I must have missed it un the video, is pistachio shells being turned into biochar? As hard and likely dense shells are, that would require very high heat and maybe some pressure. Unless shells just happen to be available as a wasted potential resource, I'd imagine plenty of other dead plant material could be turned into biochar more easily. But generally speaking I think every grower will agree that biochar is a very valuable ingredient to enhance microbial soil health.

[@BMcFamily007]

Why pistachio char specifically, why is it better than other, & more readily available char??

[@johannageisel5390]

The shells are a by-product. They would otherwise be discarded. So why not use them?

[@BMcFamily007]

@ agree 100%, I just wondered if there was a specific quality to pistachios that made it a much better char product than other char??

[@johannageisel5390]

@@BMcFamily007 I'm no expert, but I don't think so.

[@jumpingsloth3963]

I like the basis. But its just funny to me that they used pistachios as the medium example. Pistachios are one of the most water intensive crops. Drought tolerant, but farmers water excessively to get larger yields.

[@agh7185]

In my home country they turn date seeds into charcoal, the seeds of the date are quite big and contains a lot of fatty acids and oil. Dates are quite drought tolerant and don’t need much water. They are mostly grown in California tho not other states

[@1sttigertiger426]

The speaker didnt state it directly, but there must also be nutrients available from biochar (in this case pistachio shells), as it decomposes in the long-term.

[@dantwaites7097]

Come to iowa, you could fill tankers everytime it rains from the water leaving the fields thru tile. Your struggling to hold it, and our farmers wanna get rid of every last drop

[@dougjenks6954]

Nice video

[@wejsmith5446]

Not sure when this was done, But if it was this year, the weather has been wonky af, some native and some not of my plants were flowering at abnormal times, not sure about colorado specifically tho

[@josemilian4167]

pretty decent ad.

[@sunnindawg]

Amazing

[@endospore6465]

What about when it rains? Would the runoff minerals in the charcoal negatively affect water ways or soil ph levels / other attributes of the soil?

[@magesalmanac6424]

Keep the ground covered, you keep more water in it!

[@Dysiode]

This applies to everyone too! Gardens and even lawns do so so much better when leaves are left over winter. Nature is giving us free mulch and we just throw it out

[@Stonecutter334]

Somehow an unknown ancient culture created the soil in the amazon rain forest. We have been looking at it for decades but can’t recreate it. We know so little but act like we know everything and we’re the smartest humans yet. The truth is we’re not even close.

[@koi-pond]

Has anyone explored to see if charred coffee grounds work as well?

[@tonysu8860]

Biochar isn't created by burning something, including coffee grounds. Biochar is created by utterly burning something carbon based until nothing is left but the carbon lattice and because of its 3dimensional structure holds water molecules well and makes a great home for a microbial community essential for healthy soil.

[@DanRyan-pq2ov]

Cool : )

[@butlerdawgs78]

Would this become a problem if you suddenly had a very wet season? I'm thinking about mold or just plants rotting?

[@VedaSay]

Excellent effort. Carbon is not a bad thing....remember we are a carbon life. Only problem is Carbon in wrong place is bad! If world over we increase organic mix in our soil to just 4-6% we will be able to remove even historic emissions by human activity. And you know only change we need to do to achieve this is to just now by from farms that have say organic mix in soil below certain percentage say 2%. And we pay extra if the organic mix is say 6%.

[@abeclarkatp2595]

Will this prevent water that would have normally gone to the aquifer from reaching its destination?

[@marilynjackson5752]

Could this be used on golf courses?

[@Mary-hx7wh]

Where do I donate my pistachio shells? I eat a lot of them!

[@TheReflectivePerspective]

I'd happily take them! Though, you likely have a friend or neighbor who gardens closer by who would be thrilled to get them, too!

[@JackieC831]

How does increasing the surface area of the surface of the soil increase the water storage capability of the soil? What's the surface area of the soil without the charred pistachio shells?

[@richardmyhan3369]

Huh, never thought about using charcoal in my garden for water management. Anybody know how it affects soil pH?? I grow tomatoes at home. They like it a little more acidic. I usually use charcoal to lower soil pH.

[@dinkohrvat344]

Every compostable material I find enters my garden . Leaves , vegetable peelings , paper etc. It is amazing what it does to the soil . All city and and agricultural waste should return to agricultural land . Why do we use chemical fertilisers which destroy the natural bacteria /microbes of the soil ???

[@jermainefloyd6558]

Terra prata been around 100,000 years. Nothing new we’re finally re catching

[@janofb]

Might want to check with Advanced Biocatalytics and look at their swift wet products. Rather than holding the moisture in the soil, it makes the plants drink the water faster, before it evaporates. You use significantly less water to begin with.

[@SlipperySlopes]

why dislike this video?

[@calivalley9056]

70-80% of all pistachios are exported from U.S., they require roughly 2 gallons of water per nut, lastly, they are subsidized. Your states water and your tax payer dollars leaving the country for profit of someone else.

[@natel9019]

Trees make clouds which make rain especially compared to a field of grass. So I would minus some of that 2 gallons. I prefer subsidizing healthy food rather than McDonald's. People sell them to other countries right? So they are profiting right?

[@philmckay9973]

First thing i thought of….was not food: golf

[@koltoncrane3099]

Well that seems uneconomical to use a golf course machine to put in charcoal on a large scale. It’s probably better to make several tons of charcoal, mix with fresh or liquid dairy manure or whatever, let it sit, and mix, then spread it out through a manure spreader or spray it onto fields if ya had a setup to make it that fine. Tilling into the soil probably is way more economical or simply using a manure spreader then using a golf course machine if you’re doing hundreds of acres.

[@jamielandis4606]

This is great, but, to get pistachio shells, you have to grow the most water demanding crop ever.

[@akeleven]

You know where those pistachio shells come from? Arizona groundwater. When the water is gone everything will be gone

[@hawk7825]

That’s why forest burn naturally. The burn leaves and branches turn to charcoal.

[@innov13]

How about I take some of your biochar and you can have some of my clay soil. I think it'll be a win win situation.

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

I shred and use all the junk mail we get from PBS.

[@josephl9669]

1.1 gallon per nut. There's the problem.

[@ob15027]

After 3 minutes..."Just make it rain!"

[@markislivingdeliberately]

Mulch… what a concept 😂

[@karezaalonso7110]

Hopefully he can learn to use the metric system for standardized scientific study

[@daveklein2826]

Not necessary

[@birdlady2725]

I hope the shells get crushed a bit. I have seen animals get raw shells stuck in between toes, small dog pads of foot etc... Other than that, this is great! How about using cedar chips/shavings? Will they help? Or does it cause other issues when trying to grow stuff?

[@bellofthedesert1595]

The narrator sounds about as enthusiastic as a wet mop.

[@alpineflauge909]

so thats what im going to do with them, thanks

[@alpineflauge909]

my perma professor just showed meh this

[@hilly5488]

lol, more studies do nothing to improve our condition. We know what we need to do. There needs to be policy that supports it.

[@grantsturgeon7881]

Earthworms need to be repopulated in many areas

[@boogiedownforever]

I burn all my Amazon boxes and it makes for a great addition to my soil.

[@kenhunt5153]

First, think faster, cheaper, easier. Are canals lined. Is the center pivot at the correct height. Do not use center pivot on windy days. Flood irrigation...extremely wasteful. There are so many smaller ranches that use white pvc pipe to flood their few acres in the area. Must go to subsurface irrigation. After that ride Rustler's Loop and eat at The Hot Tomato.

[@DAT240Z72]

Ah….. why do you think Farmers use to burn their fields?? How much taxpayer money was spent to study something we’ve know to work for 500+ years?

[@chrishedlund2688]

Ok but wait, aren’t pistachios grown with government subsidized water that has severely depleted aquifers? I don’t understand how any of this makes sense

[@VanderlyndenJengold]

It's a tricky balancing act and, as recently shown, people will get it wrong more times than right.

[@lamdao1242]

For now there’s no way to change the government subsidised water. So saving more water is a benefit

[@HSstriker]

it's re using waste that is already there... cant complain about that. most organic matter can be turned into biochar so doesnt really matter what you use.

[@vedacarmony5754]

Go to school. Then you’ll understand.

[@GoldStreet09]

Exactly.

[@NS-ms5tc]

Trump and his croonies better not touch PBS funding!!

[@texasranchadventures]

Don’t pistachios require a ton of water to grow and one of the reasons why California is in drought? 😂 talk about ironic.

[@noitallmanaz]

that is why i spit all my sunflower seeds into my backyard. now i have a pool...of soggy sunflower seeds.

[@aenorist2431]

Finally someone just says it: Biochar is charcoal. Still great effects, but the amount of BS and Hype being made around it is disgusting me.

[@simonpaine2347]

Biochar and charcoal are similar carbon based materials that are often confused with each other. However, they have very different applications, properties, and production processes.

[@simonpaine2347]

Both biochar and charcoal are made via pyrolysis - the thermal decomposition of organic material like plant waste into carbon in the absence of oxygen. However, they still differ in the way they’re made. Here’s how: A. Biochar Biochar is typically made using the modern pyrolysis method. It uses the heat released from the combustion of gases to facilitate pyrolysis. The process occurs between 840-1200°F (450-650°C) and is relatively fast, taking minutes to a few hours to produce biochar - along with byproducts like syngas, a great fossil fuel alternative. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lists biochar production as a negative emission technology as it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow down climate change. B. Charcoal Unlike biochar, charcoal can be produced by either the old or modern method of pyrolysis. The old method involves using a carefully arranged pile of wood and a chimney to facilitate the thermal decomposition of wood into charcoal in the near absence of oxygen. Unlike biochar production, charcoal production occurs at a lower temperature, around 750°F (400°C), and can take days to complete. Moreover, pyrolysis gases and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds are released during charcoal production. This increases atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, making it a positive emission technique, which is harmful to the environment. You're welcome.

[@glen.simpson]

it disgusts me making it

[@glen.simpson]

@@simonpaine2347 plus, it's dirty, dusty, and made right, biochar should be rinsed.... but ugh, nasty water.

[@simonpaine2347]

@curiousbystander9193 if you feel the need to rinse it, then the water is also perfect for use in the garden. Just make sure it's not too concentrated.

[@GoldStreet09]

SMH. Considering how much water it takes to grow nuts commercially, the best thing for drought would be to stop growing them. This us what happens when tge Department of Agriculture funds agricultural research at land grant universities: outputs focused on preserving agriculture, not the resources it consumes.

[@zweigackroyd7301]

smh that many on this thread can't get around this topic. It turns out the CSU research center can't forbid anyone from growing pistachios, but they have access to the shells, a waste product. What they are doing is not going to increase demand for pistachios. They use them because they're available. This really isn't hard.

[@Dysiode]

@@zweigackroyd7301 It might be for him, Gen X experienced *way* more lead as children than any other generation

[@HR-op2cq]

So instead of wringing your hands and "kvetching" about climate change as in proper progressive fashion.. you do something about it.. Nice

[@hmmccray]

I hate to be skeptical, but putting charcoal in an area that's drying out sounds like an awful combination for wildfires.

[@rcjbvermilion]

It's not charcoal. It's essentially inert carbon.

[@Dysiode]

It's in the ground. Once it's placed there soil will fill in the gaps, plant roots will spread it out, and because it's keeping the ground more moist that means the plants themselves will stay wetter longer and resist burning

[@dougaltolan3017]

CHARCOAL! Theres no need for a made up word.

[@Dysiode]

My brother in christ, all words are made up

[@daveklein2826]

Biochar... Get it straight