the village idiot

Nasty! At least you look in better shape than the guy behind you.

I am no biochar expert, I am just enthused by its possibilities. I have been tracking it's development over the past couple of years. There is a mind boggling array of scientific papers focusing on the nutrient holding capabilities of biochar. Many of them are published by the UKBRC and the International Biochar Initiative. I hear you on the British Biochar Foundation. They are definitely a breath of fresh air, although not quite as devoid of knowledge as has been suggested in an earlier post. I am a member of the BBF, we had a very inspiring conference earlier this year. If you have any doubts about the potential benefits of the black stuff watch the videos of the guest speakers (on the BBF website) If you only have time for one then watch Hans Peter Schmidt. He's a bit slow to get going, but by the end you will be biochar convert.

Hazel is my favourite, beautiful charcoal with few fines. Also find hornbeam very good. As has already been stated, avoid Oak, tends to shatter into small shards, maybe due to the radial lines.

Mr Stubby! You should be ashamed of yourself.

It depends on how you look at it. Raw uncharged biochar Will provide no nutrition at all. Biochar is essentially pure carbon, which when incorporated in the soil remains incredibly stable, not breaking down for thousands of years, hence it's potential for fixing carbon. Biochar works a bit like a permanent sponge in the soil. It has a huge surface area at microscopic level. Nutrients bind to these surfaces and are held where the plant roots can reach them, potentially reducing the amount of fertiliser that needs to be applied. Manure will give the soil a short term boost before it is all taken up or leached out. Mix some small practical charcoal in with your manure and you have made your own biochar. Apply this to your soil and I reckon you will be mighty pleased with the result.

Why all the biochar bashing. This is a product that if universally accepted could in time provide a huge boost to our sector. One of the expected main sources of raw material for biochar production is the waste arisings from forestry and other tree work. Application rates at the agricultural level are expected to be in the region of 10 ton per hectare. The unfairly maligned biochar could well act as a driver for the increased management of our neglected woodlands. It might be useful to think of biochar as being in the same family as charcoal, whilst being a distinct product in its own right. To produce good quality biochar the pyrolysis process needs to be closely monitored. Temperatures are held within a certain range to create a 'charcoal' with the desired properties. The charcoal then undergoes further processing, reducing it to fine particles. It is then advisable to charge it with nutrient rich material before adding to the soil. Uncharged char will provide benefits over time but would have a negative effect in the short term as it will tend to 'soak up' the nutrients present in the soil. Hopefully it is clear from this that there are important differences between charcoal and biochar, and although they come into the world through similar processes they need to be thought of as separate entities. Biochar could be a vital help in locking up carbon to help mitigate climate change. Admittedly this could also be achieved by burying millions of tons of charcoal, but why not capitalise on the soil improving characteristics that biochar can bring at the same time. OK, rant almost over! But finally, please stop criticising biochar for attracting added monetary value. We all know only too well that woodland product is currently undervalued (in both senses of the word). Biochar can be produced by people operating at all levels, and I for one would like to see it's value rise.

:confused1: I can only suggest you do a bit more research Also, products need different names to accommodate for their different uses. I would like to see a firewood man's sales figures who advertised their product as 100% hardwood kiln dried trees! Biochar prepared for application to soil would make for a pretty rubbish BBQ

Fundamentally there is no difference. Biochar is charcoal not intended for use as a fuel. I must say that I disagree with Mr Croft. I think Biochar has huge potential for good. Suggesting it will lead to tropical deforestation is misleading. Biochar can be produced from the pyrolysis of any organic matter. Carbon Gold are not without their faults, but they are doing a lot of very worthwhile research. I think anyone who does some digging into biochar will see that the possibilities are extremely encouraging.

Do you find these to be robust enough? Do they require ongoing maintenance? I am looking into them myself at the moment. Many thanks TVI

I think the anti energy company feeling is also a significant factor. I feel slightly sick when I hear about the price hikes and then the subsequent huge increases in profits for the big companies. It is very, very wrong. I realise that on the whole people will (and need to) opt for the cheapest mode of household heating, but thankfully there seems to be a growing trend towards questioning the practises of the main suppliers and considering a more localised, sustainable and 'wealth spreading' form of fuel- the mighty log!

:lol::lol: brilliant!

Another vote for Pratchett here:thumbup: Especially any that major on the Wizards or the Watch.

We could call it Lax Men: Half an hour of extended tea breaks, 'who can produce the most wind' competitions and 'Mars bar in chainsaw boot' type shenanigans.

Just finished 'Singularity of Dimensional Dynamics in Discontinous Vector Fields' by Professor L.A. Laland. Just started 'Spot loses his bone'- finding it a bit heavy going to tell you the truth?

I used to have a mini woodstove in the back of my landrover. Used to do my woodmans porridge in the morning and burn my toes in the night!

Thanks Logun, I too am after a small timber trailer but will give this one a miss. Not sure that the Timber Dragons are particularly well thought of anyway.

Excellent Stuff:thumbup:

It's not just you team players that have to contend with these issues. I work by myself and the banter often goes beyond acceptable levels. I have tried the storming off in a husty tactic numerous times, but to little effect, aside from a marked slowdown in my productivity!

I have the Experia GO which has been pretty good in standing up to the rigours of forestry, although I did fry my first one trying to charge it with wires connected straight to a car battery. My avatar name is not wholy inappropriate! Being a Sony it does sound great with a good pair of phones.

I have quite a few tonnes of spruce, not sure quite how much until I extract it. Most of it is in 2m lengths but also some shorter bits and pieces. Felled early spring this year. I have no means to deliver, but if you were interested we could discuss the options. Wood is in South Suffolk rather than Essex.

I'm sure you will do it justice Stubby:biggrin: Bit of a departure from the standard orange. I imagine that the all black styling is intended to instill a sense of authority in the wearer, and will command the upmost respect from those working alongside you. Also, the chainsaw hat with integrated receipt spike is a long overdue innovation.

Just wondered if anyone would potentially be interested in working with me to provide high quality firewood to the wood burners of Suffolk. I am a woodman operating in a large ancient woodland in south Suffolk. In the course of my work I will be producing large volumes of wood which I process whilst my charcoal kiln is puffing away throughout Spring and Summer. I am keen to spend as much of my time as possible within the wood, so would rather not get into the delivery side of things. The ideal scenario for me would be to find someone reasonably local who would be willing to collect processed logs (in vented bags or in bulk), pay me by the cubic metre and take back to their yard or deliver straight to their customers. I am only interested in providing a quality product and would like to work with someone with the same ethos. The price of the logs would be negotiable, but obviously we would need to settle on a price that worked for both of us. There is excellent road access into the wood, and any vehicle type can be accommodated. If anyone is interested feel free to send me a PM with a bit of info and contact details. All the best. TVI

Our mutual overlord was talking about a possible demonstration of this machine in the wood I manage. Perhaps we could have a 'process off' You with the multitek, me with my chainsaw bench, 8 tonne electric splitter and a hearty breakfast!