2015 Biochar Expo

This year’s Biochar Expo attracted some fifty people interested in learning more about biochar. It was held at the Discovery Garden Pavilion.

A Japanese-type, sloping, steel kiln fabricated locally by the UCC Welding Department is used to burn a rick of dry fir and other wood materials. Eventually the rick is pushed down to burn all pieces equally.

Water extinguishes the fire and stops the process.

The char can be broken up into small pieces or added to the soil “as is".  We added the 5 to 7 gallons of char to the Demonstration Bed without breaking it up into smaller pieces or pulverizing it.

A couple days later, the biochar bed was turned and the char forked into the top 6" of soil. The other bed was turned over and smoothed out, too. We will plant cover crop(s) before the end of November.

Ending the Season

The last of the peppers and tomatoes were harvested and we began clearing out the plants. We noticed a varmint had already harvested most of the carrots.

Something's been digging in the garden!

Last of the tomatoes!

In this first year crop, few differences between the two sides were noticed. Next year we’ll have to adjust the overhead sprinklers so both sides get adequate and equal water. We will re-test the soil, add amendments as necessary, and plant different crops.

Aside from the onions, carrots and beans, we saw little difference in plant growth between the two beds. Our yields of squashes, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes were good from both beds. In mid-September, the squash and cucumber plants were removed because of powdery mildew. They had quite overgrown the small space of the gardens.