Being raised in So-So Cal and then living for several years in Oregon it was an interesting week that's for sure....
Coot, I've been thinking, very dangerous for me. I have access to biochar. Could I also incorporate this in the worm bins? Would I treat it as part of the 15% aeration?
Ficky I started using a finished worm bin that had about the amount of biochar added that you asked about. I used it for a new cycle which I rooted directly into a #1 Smart Pot filled with my standard potting soil and I couldn't be happier with the health and vigor of these cuttings. That tells me a lot about the quality of a batch of vermicompost, i.e. the results from rooting in a mix with a specific batch. Are you planning on making your own? Hawaii Biochar's prices are 25% less than what we pay for Black Owl out of northwest Washington. CC
Thanks for the confirmation Coot. I was looking at the 1/4-12 minus they sell for orchid medium. No way I'm making it with access to such a quality local product.
My worms should be here tomorrow or Friday and I haven't mixed my compost for them yet. It's supposed to be hot the rest of the week as well so I am going to be sweating mixing 8 cf of that material. Haha
Mike More mass = faster the process. Composting worms are self-regulating and just like a plant's roots the dynamic creates higher reproduction rates. I'm helping you plan for the near future when you'll have 3 or 4 such set-ups. Yes, it's a process but the rewards cannot be measured. Get your humus is dialed in then the rest of this deal falls into place. VOE CC
Ficky When I first began to study this and that about using biochar it was daunting because for every 'positive' it's just as easy to find cites that are less than enthusiastic. When I watched Hawaii Biochar's videos, studied their processes and commitment to those processes I decided to test it out for myself. You've got one of the premier biochar with these folks. They answered a few emails from me knowing full well that I would not be ordering from them and that made a huge impression. CC
I was brought up shoveling what is left from cooking in imu's into vegetable gardens. I know biochar is big business but is it enviornmentally sound advice to burn mass quantities of anything especially in place like remote areas of Hawaii where the air quality is excellent? It just does not make sense to me to burn trees when you have options like using what you already make or asking a neigbor for the wood from their fireplace or imu? Is there something special about the biochar that comes from intentional burning of wood as opposed to what we burn to smoke meat or warm our house? Coot the people you talked to is it a company owned by a 30 something brown kinda curly hair haole who looks like (no offense) he came from Seatle? I cant think of the name fo the company but I have watched a few videos and read some of this guys propaganda. So I was just wonderign if it was him?
I don't play the strawman argument game so you'll need to find someone else to pass the time.... I learned all that I needed to know about your 'science' on the pumice discussion a few weeks back. You can't wear me down with silliness so don't try. No need to thank me but you're welcome regardless...
I don't even know what strawman is My sincere apologies if you took my question as something it's not. I was asking because I wanted to find out if you had some information that would help me understand why this is ok? I recognize that adding the wood left in a fire helps plants because I can see it. I have read sites that say it is a terrible idea from people I know nothing about? Wrapping my head around large scale biochar farms is out of my scope of understanding as far as enviornmental issues or anything else so I asked someone I have been able to follow long enough to know that I have a reason to credit the response I get. If you read something into what I say/said that I did not intend all I can say is sorry for that and welcome you to ask me if you think I meant something I did not. I'm the last person to ask a question or make a statement to upset or offend someone. I was asking you because I have respect for you and the answers you give regardless of whether or not I have the knowledge needed to agree with all the answers. I know I don't know most of the answers but every question I ask will get me more information to make understanding things I don't understand easier.
Well someone needs to come and let my wife know before I buy more and more 65 gallon Smart pots and compost.
Tell that to the residents of the big island. It really depends which way the trades are blowing or not blowing. They have a meltdown on Oahu every time the VOG shows up. http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs169-97/ Didn't we have an ibiza discussion recently about the time of the hurricane. Also have you ever been at the landfill when the rubbish trucks roll in from the fish processors? They char that as well. It doesn't go to waste in the landfill. Nothing is wrong with using imu char as long as commercial charcoal wasn't used. It's just not as good. Content of the ash is what causes problems. Plus the pyrolysis process is what they are concentrating on. Imagination microherd condos. The process has been around for thousands of years, but they are dialing it in so it's the most efficient use of the material while being environmentally sound. There is some good science behind it skyclad808. Look into carbon sequestration. The field trials sealed the deal for me. UH Manoa has some good information on biochar. http://www.biochar-international.org/biochar/faqs http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/SCM-30.pdf http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/huen/nvh/biochar.pdf Really sky, the "h" word. Come on, you're better than that. One Love </div>
Biochar is basically lump charcoal, or 'Cowboy' charcoal, it's not burned per se, that would just give you ash for the most part. Charcoal is a whole different process, check it out. Wet