Biochar - Simple method for crushing charcoal

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We make a lot of biochar. We mainly make it in our woodstove so we can heat our home while we make it. I talk about this in greater detail in this video:
• Biochar - Making it in... - Biochar in the woodstove
In this video I share a really simple way to take chunk charcoal that is completely cooled off and dry and be able to crush it down into a finer powder if needed, or just simply into smaller chunks. This method is incredibly simple, requires really no new components and is definitely 'good enough' for most biochar crushing needs.
I've seen a ton of videos of contraptions and systems to crush charcoal that are great if you want a pure powder, but so completely unnecessary for 90% of the uses of biochar that I've found.
Hope this is useful to ya!
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Опубликовано:

22 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 145

@elisemenne8758 6 месяцев назад

THANKS!! Love it when people are practical, no nonsense and get the job done without gadgets! God Bless!

@edibleacres 6 месяцев назад

Hey our pleasure!

@rickbailey7183 4 года назад

What a blessing you are to the community. Your videos are always more than I expect, very educational and thorough. And who knew that cats could be useful in the garden...

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Thanks for the kind words, and our cat Stanley appreciates it too :)

@kylehumpherys 4 года назад

I love your method and use it in my wood stove, but with two soup cans fitted together. I just put saw dust in it instead of chucks. I can fit way more biomass in a given space if using saw dust, and bonus nothing to grind in the end, it’s already in a very small uniform size. Works out very well.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Glad you have a system you like. Ideal style, and sometimes I do this, is to fill the container with chunks AND then pack in hardwood sawdust into every single space so you get as much material in the volume as possible...

@thecurrentmoment 4 года назад

Fantastic! I've thought of doing this but haven't quite got there. You've given me the confidence to do it for real, it helps seeing someone who has ACTUALLY done what I am thinking of doing.

@breese7488 Год назад

I've been making my own charcoal for us in my homemade forge. It comes out quite chunky. This is such a simple and easy way to render it useable. Thanks!!

@edibleacres Год назад

So glad!

@HergerTheJoyous 4 года назад

Nice! I'm planning on building an Aircrete rocket stove to heat my geodesic greenhouse and I want to incorporate a way to also produce biochar in the same stove. Thanks for another great video 👍😀

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I'm excited to hear how that goes for you! Please post a link to that video when you've got it up if you ever document it (hoping you do!)

@miguelpereira702 4 года назад

LOL that last head turn with the cat at the end cracked me up :D another great video, as usual

@frederickheard2022 4 года назад

Stanley! What a great helper!

@allanturpin2023 4 года назад

I use an old pillowcase and a wooden mallet, and crush it when it is slightly damp to keep down the dust. I do like the cat option though.

@Godshole 4 года назад

I am not sure my cat would keep still long enough for me to stuff it full of charcoal. Chasing it round the garden with a mallet might be fun though.

@allanturpin2023 4 года назад

@@Godshole- yeah... I'd have to borrow a neighbors cat too.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Great approach you've got for yourself. The cat option just ups the quality a bit :)

@Godshole 4 года назад

@@allanturpin2023 I finally figured out why crazy cat ladies are so important!

@Beansie 4 года назад

Omgoodness! Haulin' the kitty kat was the BEST!!

@dimitrinoahutz9547 3 года назад

Jep. And the string too. It‘s 20minutes later and i am still smiling!!

@noimagination99 11 месяцев назад

Great tip, so simple! Thanks.

@edibleacres 11 месяцев назад

Happy stompin!

@natureboy6410 3 года назад

I found that once it is Thoroughly saturated with water after putting it out, it breaks down really easy just using my hands and it's a good workout for my hands to. And I add it to my compost pile or I put it into 5 gallon buckets then fill them up with a combination a fermented plant juice from local plants and some urine and let it sit for a couple of weeks before I use it to mix into the topsoil of the garden or the mix for containers. It helps to keep the nutrients from being leached out of the really poor soil here in the Mojave Desert, plus I had a little extra clay or natural kitty litter Plus some gypsum, the combination of the three makes it so I don't have to fight this hyper arid environment to keep the plants healthy.

@edibleacres 3 года назад

In an environment like you are living the inoculated charcoal is really a critical element. Glad you are making it!

@richardfreeman2288 3 года назад

Thanks for your efforts. Those charred bones are easy enough to grind into bone meal -- minus the bio-matrix (c. 30% by weight), which burns out. Without the N from the biomatrix, this bone char (Ca5(PO4)3(OH)) is a great addition to bloom formula or to blooming plants.

@edibleacres 3 года назад

Thanks for the info!

@thebafarm2638 4 года назад

We love your channel. Your chickens are amazing.

@aysen8366 4 года назад

Hello and Thank you very much for all your videos. I love them all and learn a lot from them. About biachar, I would like to share with you one comment. (I am a student of Elaine Ingham Soil Food Web Class and this is where somebody made this comment). It is indicated that biochar is an inert form of carbon and fungi wont break it down. So it doesnt feed the fungi. It only holds microbes. So it is recommended to be used only when the soil is in a bad condition. Otherwise the effort to make it is not very usefull for the soil.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I feel like most/all soils we're working with have been abused, degraded, eroded, etc., and so adding an element that can be neutral at worst, and be able to step in/step up to support healing at best feels worth the effort. I appreciate your information here for sure.

@williammeszaros3382 6 месяцев назад

Simplicity is best. Very nice !

@edibleacres 6 месяцев назад

Yes, thanks

@Michael-vp4zt 4 года назад

I've been running over it with a mower when I mow the grass. Wet it down first so no dust comes up very fine.

@dougalexander7204 Год назад

Thank you. I make compost biochar from horse manure. After charring it breaks down to a fine grit just looking at it. I do make hardwood lump charcoal for the forge but keep the runs separate, (neighbors buy it for grilling and figure they’d frown if they found a charred turd in the sack.)

@olsonlr Год назад

Would like to know how you process the horse manure. I consider all cattle manures contaminated with herbicides from the sprayed hay fields, but this would be a good use for it and I'm sure the fire would destroy the herbicide. Thanks

@shyflyzz 3 года назад

You might mix some fine charcoal dust to your animal feeds so when it comes out in the manure it is charged and also spread around the property.I have read about people putting it in their cattle feed in small amounts .

@edibleacres 3 года назад

I've heard of this idea, too... We give our chickens older raw milk, maybe we can make it charcoalmilk!

@tomjones4318 4 года назад

I'm right at the stage I needed this tip. Funny how we make baby steps to master a new area. Yes I bet all different sizes are good from 1/2" to dust.

@mickmccard 4 года назад

I found that if I "drench and soak" my crushed biochar, I can pour it into my compost and incorporate without the dust. Great video, thanks!

@edibleacres 4 года назад

That makes sense, sounds like a good system!

@_TheGoob 2 года назад

Old bag to crush, and water before dumping. Such a simple and effective method. Awesome.

@HJG-1019 4 года назад

Thanks so much for the timely info! Question: Many folks like to use a combo of charcoal / pebbles/ sand for water purification. Can this charcoal char be used for such? Also where do you get those square metal boxes that you carried the char in? Are they part of your woodstove? *Always great to see your videos!*

@edibleacres 4 года назад

The boxes are stainless steel 'hotel pans' that we got from a local restaurant supply store. We went for ones that fit in the wood stove with a good bit of wiggle room to fit wood around them. Roughly $25 a piece new, and now we've invested in 3 since we work with biochar so extensively.

@SkillCult 4 года назад

I've thought for a while that a long tube of material that could be laid along a path would be a good way to approach it. Or maybe just a series of bags. A viewer sent me a link to his video using a lawnmower recently. he just runs over a pile of it.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I've been making a lot lately with sawdust so thats nice, already done! But I'm also learning that I like it to not necessarily be completely, perfectly broken up. This rough way gets me close enough.

@NavdeepSingh-ek8vi 10 месяцев назад

Sir after shredding it coal powder also produced. What to do with it? I mean is that powder also useful or we should discard it! Plz do reply as I am curious to know this

@jazzrat2000 Год назад

Plus I Just made one of those five gallon bucket stoves that I can burn my wood in. Thanks!

@alishaberrey4479 6 месяцев назад

Good idea. Can you just put it directly onto your garden?

@edibleacres 6 месяцев назад

NO! You can but it's rough on the soil to add freshly made charcoal that has not had time to adsorb a ton of nutrient. Crush it and mix with compost piles, mix with manures, mix with food scraps, urine, etc., and THEN add to garden later. It's phenomenal if you innoculate first

@aftvsfdrum7857 3 года назад

this video is underrated

@gutersteinker 3 года назад

You can pre mix a little bit of damp soil or compost inside the bag to avoid dust and loses

@acsoul1 4 года назад

Great content as usual. You know as I was watching this video I was thinking.. I’m able to practice SOME of the ideas you teach us on this channel, I’ve been lucky to have landlords who let me garden a little. But we are working towards getting our own property in the next year or so, and with your wealth of videos I’m confident that I can recreate or at least adapt what I’ve learned from you. However, starting from scratch is gonna be a little stressful. I was wondering if you could do a video or a chat with others in the community discussing some good places to start with a fresh property. Would starting compost be an immediate priority? Laying down wood chips for future beds? How do I know where my future beds should be? Where should I plan on putting my annuals and perennials? Obviously these questions are very specific to the site, and require a lot of personal observations. But I’m curious as to where you and the others who watch this channel would suggest starting. Maybe there are recommendations for videos that answer the questions I’m asking? Thanks! Andy

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Lots of questions here, maybe too many for me to answer in this format. Perhaps a live video session one evening to have folks ask questions and for us to share notes!

@olsonlr Год назад

Calcium. OK for veggies but I think it creates alkalinity; not so good for acid lovers like blueberries or azaleas I would guess.

@000Krim 4 года назад

Please use a Neodymium magnet to catch nails

@northeastslingshot1664 4 года назад

Do you charge it before ammending? Great video. 🙏

@lionscircle4700 4 года назад

I was wondering the same thing myself. From what I understand biochar will actually take a year to charge directly in compost(expect lower than normal yields while this is happening). After the 1st year of compost charging the biochar, I hear the garden begins to perform above average! I've seen folks soak their unbroken biochar in buckets of aerated compost tea in order to avoid the 1st year lag. Also the power of biochar is in the carbon matrix. People should avoid producing lots of biochar dust as is the chunks of biochar that have the matrix. Nice video! Haven't seen bone used as fuel before. thanks

@erector5953 4 года назад

@@lionscircle4700 biochar is active carbon offering more surfaces when it's crushed to sand size particles . Active carbon can be charged in 4 days depending the surface accessibility . When mixed with nitrogen natural or synthetic fertilizers and are urine to reach 33:1 c:n ratio it can be usable in a week . In the case of charging this material in the compost he need to be treated as a carbon source 100:1 and can be ready in 18 days using the Barkley method of composting ! In any case biochar is an active carbon that need to be charged before application in gardens to avoid nitrogen lockdown , also no extra year is necessary to benefit from this very stable humus if the recommendation are applied . Biochar is not dangerous for health and it's a very safe material at all except in the case of chronic exposition via particule respiration !

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Definitely do charge it, thats why it goes to our composting systems.

@northeastslingshot1664 4 года назад

@@lionscircle4700 I was taught to submerge in water and soak. Once it sinks it has been charged.

@erector5953 4 года назад

@@northeastslingshot1664 he need a very concentrate source of nutrients and in the best scenario 4 days of immersion (when it have been processed in sand size particles before charging ). What ever it will charge naturally overtime ( many years ) also expected nutrients deficiency in the zone before the end of this phase !

@Tinaejs 3 года назад

After needing to find a simple way to make biochar while I'm working from home I'm finally doing it after watching just 2 of your videos! I've hit a roadblock however. Do you inoculate when it's in chunks or after you crush it?

@edibleacres 3 года назад

Either works fine. I like to crush it a bit and add it informally into or near composting areas, sometimes in the walkways around a compost bin so I crush it up for a while with my feet then scoop it up and in.

@Tinaejs 3 года назад

@@edibleacres got it. Now I just need to find a feed bag to put it in and my cat so I can walk on it! 😂

@thebitcoingarden 2 года назад

amazing, thanks for the tips!

@marcvictoria1414 2 года назад

Oh man... thank you.

@jeil5676 4 года назад

I dont have a cat to carry over my charcoal. What should I do?

@edibleacres 4 года назад

A small dog or a huge mouse should both work in a pinch.

@winjoda 4 года назад

I have seen you track the results of different techniques/ideas over the time I’ve been subscribed to your channel but I don’t recall seeing much about biochar (I may have simply missed them if they’re there). So, I’m curious - have you tracked results much with and without biochar? Do you feel like it is a settled “definitely worth my time” kind of amendment or are there others (more generally beneficial) you’d spend time on before this?

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I am not science oriented so I don't numbers to provide. But I'd like to think I pay somewhat close attention where I can. In beds that I've added charcoal to 8 years ago, I have seen a darkening in color (from what started as pretty light/lean silty clay), a refining of texture, a deeper resiliency to drought and quite healthy plants. Was it compost, deep mulches, etc? Was it just the char? I suspect it was all of the elements in combination. I think when the charcoal can be folded into the heating of our home using waste wood, or be an alternative to brush fires or wood chippers when doing land management then it feels incredibly worth while. If I were to buy biochar retail from someone to fix soils, I would have to question the value. I hope this makes sense around my perspective on it...

@winjoda 4 года назад

EdibleAcres it absolutely makes sense. The tracking I was primarily referring to (and which I’ve been watching more closely over the years for my own use) is the work you’ve done with chickens and compost (sprouting grains, using the heat in the winter to help keep them warm, results from warming your polytunnel with compost, etc.) - it is fascinating! While you haven’t put down numbers, you’ve definitely been observing the results/trends when you make changes, and sharing that with us - that’s really the “data” (so to speak) that I was looking for with biochar. I would for sure be making my own biochar. The stuff on the market is way outside of my budget and, to me, kind of defeats some of the purpose of what I’m trying to do on my land (sourcing as much of the materials as possible from our own 3ac). Wintertime is slower here so i think I’ll try making some biochar and experimenting with it in some of my compost and beds. Thanks for your input, and for your work providing these videos - it is definitely a source of inspiration for what to do on our own property!

@erector5953 4 года назад

*Biochar is the only know viable economically technic that is carbon negative and Also is millennial bunker for life* Please encourage people to produce and or use this amazing soil amendment !

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I do every time I put out a video like this! :)

@AndrewBeeston1 4 года назад

Is there a reason you don't wet it (to reduce dust) before spreading it out? Total n00b question.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I find that it gets quite sticky/messy once wet, so my preference is to process and deliver it dry and wet it once where it needs to be (or let the moisture of the nutrient draw into it.) Just one way to go about it.

@o00oZu1o00o 4 года назад

If you're in a hurry, I guess you could roll on the bag slowly with your car..? Great tip as always, thanks

@micbuchanan688 3 года назад

AWESOM IDEA!!

@am2schmarvelous 4 года назад

Hello Stanley! He's a well behaved cat. Not trying to escape you as you walk about. Is Henry still with you? I haven't seen him helping recently.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Thanks for being so connected to our path here. Henry is no longer with us in the living realm, but down in the earth in our garden and hopefully off to amazing new adventures as another being.

@am2schmarvelous 4 года назад

@@edibleacres He was a grand old gentleman. I'm sorry you have lost him. It was always a gift to see him tottering along on your garden tours. :-)

@judyofthewoods 4 года назад

I like simple ways, especially if you don't have to spend extra time on them - two birds with one stone, as the unfortunate saying goes. Annother way to charge the char is with pee, which also deodarises the pee if you collect it for the garden - also if you have a compost toilet and separate the pee from the poo.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I have a friend who has offered up a more fortunate saying of: "Feed two birds with one scone" I've never looked back :) Charcoal is amazing for so many nutrient streams!

@ajb.822 3 года назад

I would just add that it wasn't an unfortunate saying back in the days of blackbird or pigeon pies for supper... . I'm guessing the stone was often out of sling-shot.. ..

@jazzrat2000 Год назад

I am definitely going to try this but since I'm a fall risk i'll have to pass on the putting of it in the path I walk on ;)

@edibleacres Год назад

Different designs for different folks!

@briantorsell 4 года назад

Do I have to carry a black cat, or will any color work? :)

@flatsville1 4 года назад

Dude, It's biochar. Needs a black cat obviously.

@briantorsell 4 года назад

@@flatsville1 Makes sense. I guess I can just use the biochar dust and convert an orange cat...

@erector5953 4 года назад

Biochar == black cat only

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Any color cat should work, just know that with all the charcoal they'll turn black over time :) Our cat was white when we got him! :)

@erector5953 4 года назад

@@edibleacres okok that make sense !

@terijean6351 4 года назад

Hi Sean, do you still have a source for off cuts of greenhouse plastic?

@edibleacres 4 года назад

polyrem.amleo.com/

@crazysquirrel9425 4 года назад

When pioneers relocated they always burned down their homes. Why? So when it was done they would gather up the nails. Nails were VERY valuable.

@benneb663 4 года назад

spontaneous combustion is a hard thing to predict....it's spontaneous!!!

@onLYbyM 3 месяца назад

Do preach.

@Lord_Nemesis8 Год назад

Such a sweet guy❤

@BalazarsBrain 2 года назад

Driving over it w a car?

@saprmgtllc8715 3 года назад

he walks on it. thats the big reveal

@edibleacres 3 года назад

Tada!

@peterellis5626 4 года назад

Sounds like you're getting it right where it needs to be in terms of size. Really powdering the char destroys so much of the structure that makes it great for holding biology in the soil ;)

@erector5953 4 года назад

We are talking about molecular scale surface not macro structure

@peterellis5626 4 года назад

@@erector5953 Yes, and if you make it too fine you lose quite a bit of that.

@erector5953 4 года назад

@@peterellis5626 is their any scientific studies proving that ? So far my understanding is when biochar is crushed in sand size particles the total surface is augmented , that's why activite carbon is on powder ! The molecular structure is not detrimentally affected and is more accessible to microbiology due to the surface augmentation !

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Could definitely be that a fine powder does the best work in some ways, but the chunky nubs do some good work in keeping soil open, insulating, etc. The whole spectrum adds value I'd suspect...

@erector5953 4 года назад

@@edibleacres 100 % agree ! the context it's 99% of the time the main factor └|∵|┐♪

@nzt29 3 года назад

Man I feel so stupid when I used to smash it with a hammer or throw it in a blender with water. Considering I just now thought that using a ball mill lol.

@briancrispano828 2 года назад

Mix with water before dumping it out and you’ll have no loss or dust in your face👍🏻

@fireandashes36 4 года назад

Tuxedo cats are the best! They are also the worst, but also the best!

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Best worst best sandwhich.

@cheskydivision 4 года назад

I was thinking you were making this as a fuel source

@edibleacres 4 года назад

More of a fuel source for the soil, to feed and support soil growth for an incredibly long time.

@norxgirl1 2 года назад

Thank you.....pounding the charcoal with a sledge hammer in a 5 gallon bucket isn't getting the pieces small enough....I'm making urine innoculated biochar....learning curve....

@edibleacres 2 года назад

Always more for us to figure out!

@oliviatiller1088 7 месяцев назад

Dog Food bags! Genius!

@edibleacres 7 месяцев назад

It's really an easy way to go about it, any bag that's relatively tough or woven can hold up to this for a while

@dirtymikentheboys5817 4 года назад

I don't think the deer, care about your sense of beauty lol.

@bcbbc6134 4 года назад

Nice - I do the same and drive my car over it. I guess you could put it in a sack in the drive and in a couple days you would be good. but I really load it up and 5 x up and down 10x total - it is good - less than 2 minutes maybe one - never timed it. oh my wood has no metal LOL

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Thats the deal... Since we sometimes char pallet material or offcuts, I couldn't use a tire to crush this stuff!

@Haliotro 4 года назад

Was that a small human femur? Cool

@edibleacres 4 года назад

More likely deer but thanks for the guess :)

@onLYbyM 3 месяца назад

Dangerous claim my boy.

@brianwhite9555 4 года назад

Art project! Take a perfectly cleaned & bleached raccoon skull(road kill?) and thoroughly carbonize it in a container by itself. After cooling, spray with a matte finish clear lacquer. Mount on a white piece of matte board and place in a picture frame. Frame could be light gray or even black, also with matte finish. Sell on edibleacres.org. Sequester carbon, make art, honor the life & sacrifice of the animal. You're welcome! :)

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Thanks for the brainstorm! I would personally want to avoid the lacquer so that at some point it could be re-incorporated into the soil. Performance art? Hang on the wall for a while, then at some point, bring it outside, stomp it to dust and start again :)

@ccccclark2605 2 года назад

@TheRainHarvester 4 года назад

Funny, I was just researching this. I read that SAH (or was it SHa), could be created which is very harmful. I never would have guessed making biochar could be dangerous.

@erector5953 4 года назад

It's a very safe technic that everybody can do without risks ! Walking in streets it's a risk to ! *Welcome to reality*

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I think that super fine dust would be at the least irritating for the lungs, but potentially a problem if exposed for too long. I like to be careful with things like that when I can.

@TheRainHarvester 4 года назад

The issue was PAH,The incomplete combustion of organic matter produces extremely toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. I read about it on mother earth news comments. Several people commenting on the dangers of VOCs:

@TheRainHarvester 4 года назад

www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/making-biochar-improve-soil-zmaz09fmzraw

@erector5953 4 года назад

@@TheRainHarvester www.nature.com/search?q=Biochar&order=relevance

@rachgina 4 года назад

those look like human bone

@edibleacres 4 года назад

Ha! Deer bones actually.

@georgemartin9618 2 года назад

The police are still searching for his missing neighbour .

@lawrencelawrence3920 7 месяцев назад

Maybe you broke it down too fine. Its a powder.

@edibleacres 7 месяцев назад

It's a very simple method, the way I'm demonstrating here. You end up with fine dust for sure but also a very wide range of charcoal pieces. For how little effort it takes and the fact that it's free, it feels like a good solution to me