Agronomy
Biochar
II've read and watched a lot on the benefits of Biochar. Funny thing is I never see anything negative. There has to be things to consider or negatives. If you have info on negatives or concerns please share. Thank you in advance. ****
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My understanding is that if it is not charged with nutrients before application it can cause a short tie up of nutrients in some soils until the carbon shapes are filled.
Also heard that it is less effective on high OM soils.
I think it has promise in some systems on some soils, but not a silver bullet for every situation.
1
I just put down a humic/fulvic/humin containing granular. The same company has a humic/biochar product produced from wood through the burning process. I'm on dry hill ground and this second product is supposed to break down with little moisture. Looking at it for water retention with dry weather coming.
1
By "Biochar", do you mean the USDA definition of a carbon source for enhancing the soils ability to hold and utilize nutrients?
Or do you mean the South American charcoal Terra Preta soils?
The term "Biochar" gets used in both scenarios but they're a little bit different.
2
The first place that I heard about Biochar was in relation to the Indigenous groups in South America who were doing controlled burns and then turning the charcoal from that into the soil. This put a large amount of carbon bonds into the soil that allow nutrients to remain stable and available to plants. Growing a good crop results in bio mass that breaks down and gives up more carbon chains in the...
I guess I didn't realize there was a difference. The ancient method is what I thought modern furnaces were recreating. Please educate me or point me to info if you can. Thank you.