Biochar and charcoal supply / demand

[Beardie]

On 26/11/2019 at 19:35, AJStrees said:

better than harmful fertilizers I would imagine

Interesting point. Biochar has no nutrient value of its own; the value of it is the dense honeycombe-like internal structure, which gives it a very high surface-area-to-volume ratio. The practical upshot is that nutrients from other sources soak in and stay available to plant roots for much longer. Whether this works as well with artificial fertilizers is something I don't know.

[AJStrees]

6 hours ago, Beardie said:

Interesting point. Biochar has no nutrient value of its own; the value of it is the dense honeycombe-like internal structure, which gives it a very high surface-area-to-volume ratio. The practical upshot is that nutrients from other sources soak in and stay available to plant roots for much longer. Whether this works as well with artificial fertilizers is something I don't know.

Very true,  it does work to help the mycorrhizal fungi and with additions of seaweed and worm casts getting that in the soil certainly makes things happier. Don't know about the PH point but have seen it produce good results on sick trees and establishing trees and shrubs. Cost is definitely an issue as it seems to be a fairly costly product. 

 

More from the view of helping the environment, if you off balance the soil with fertilizers it can cause all sorts of trouble especially the wash off from big areas of land into ponds, etc.. I believe there are many studies on this online for one to peruse as regards fertilisers.