Page 41 - Simply Veg 4 2022

Biochar
I have recently been reading an article on biochar and the improvements it can make to soil health and fertility; it also locks carbon in the soil which is a good thing from the climate change point of view. Biochar has been known about for
over 600 years as the native South American people were using when Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent back in 1492. Also, apparently the North American natives in the Iowa region were using a type of biochar around the same time. One thing we Europeans are good at is messing up other people’s lives and the environment as biochar was virtually lost to civilisation and it is now only just being appreciated how useful it could be.
One of the problems with using biochar on your garden / allotment is that it is expensive to use on large areas, this is partly because it is expensive to produce especially in large quantities. The article I was reading mentioned gardeners being able to make their own using various forms of biomass and burning it in kilns which controls the fire and reduces the amount of oxygen getting to the fire this results in charcoal being made and not all ash. Unfortunately, they did not fully explain the process or say how easy / difficult it is.
Do any members use biochar, if so what results have you had and do you consider it worthwhile? Have any members tried to make their own biochar, if so were they successful and how easy
/ difficult was it? Also how did they make it? If you are the type of person who likes experimenting and trying new things perhaps you might like to make some biochar, be careful though as fire and hot materials are dangerous.
To improve our soils we need to consider what materials can
be added as well as organic matter to maintain and improve the soil fertility especially now that fertiliser are becoming increasingly expensive. Biochar could be an option if not too expensive, it is very long lasting as well as it recycles a waste product if using waste wood to make it.
Please let us know if you have any experience at using biochar or have made your own. One word of warning the charcoal used in barbecues is not biochar and cannot be used as biochar.
Our new catalogue for 2023 will be out shortly and has 12 new varieties, many of which are exclusive to Select Seeds.
Thank you to
all our valued customers.
01938 535007 www.selectseeds.co.uk
Simply Vegetables 41
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A leading seed supplier of vegetable, flower, herb and sweet pea seeds, as well as seasonal products including seed potatoes, flower bulbs, fruit, garlic, onion and shallot sets.
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